The Snowflake Chronicles

December Letter from the Editor

Finish the Novel before Editing

Did you finish your novel in November? Are you ready to begin editing?

My Novel is a Rocky Road

My novel is a rocky road
(not a bowl of ice cream)
it's full of potholes,
boulders,
ruts,
sinkholes,
dead ends,
and detours.

I accomplished the main goal of National Novel Writing Month. I wrote more then 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. I did not finish the novel in November, therefore, I am not ready to edit. The problem I am faced with is a plot that resembles a road under construction. It is full of pot holes, dead ends, ruts, boulders, sinkholes, detours, and side roads that are not on the map. The plot is a mess, but most of the characters are remaining true to the original idea.

I think part of the issue is that once I started writing I entered The Zone and my characters took over. This may explain why the beginning chapters of my novel follow my plan while the later chapters go off the map. The recent chapters, reveal rounded characters, while in the earlier chapters the characters were stilted and cardboard. Is anyone else faced with this type of change in their characters?

I have to finish the novel. I have two options when it comes to finishing. First, I can continue writing without going back to reread the chapters I have written. Second, I can reread the completed chapters before completing the novel. What would you do in a case like this? Does it help to reread finished and unedited chapters before completing the novel? Does rereading those chapters hinder the writing process?

My goal is to finish this novel by the end of December 2014 so that I can begin editing in January 2015. Is anyone else working on completing their novel by the end of the year? If you finished the novel in November are you going to begin editing in December? Is it a good idea to let the novel rest a month before beginning the editing process? Please let me know what you think. Is there any topic you would like discussed in the New Year?