Camp NaNoWriMo is over, and now you are probably thinking, now what? Well, here are a few suggestions and some tips, to help you figure out what to do next.

Option #1: Decide How Important the Story is

Sometimes we write stories that we just don’t feel connected to, and believe me, this happens to me all the time. You may be really excited to write something, but then half way through you realize it isn’t really working or you just aren’t enjoying it as much as you hoped. If it isn’t something you want to continue with, save it, because maybe someday you will come back to it. If it is something you love though, definitely look at making it better!

Option #2: Keep On Writing

You may have achieved your goal of ten, twenty, thirty, or maybe even fifty thousand words, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you finished your story. If you still have more story inside you, keep on writing! My goal was pretty small, being only ten thousand words, and I am definitely not finished it so I know what I will be busy with for the next few months.

Option #3: Second Draft

Maybe you did achieve your goal and you are completely done your first draft which is awesome! But that also means you have a second draft to write. I used to never write a second draft for anything, whether it was a NaNoWriMo project or just a short story, but trust me, it helps so much. If you didn’t plan on writing a second draft, definitely reconsider and maybe spend another few months writing it to make your story even better and cleaner.

Option #4: Take a Break

After writing a lot for an entire month, it can be a lot on your creative brain, so if you feel like you need to, take a break. There is no shame in taking a step back and taking some time away from what you just wrote. I find that it helps to take a break after I write a lot, or finished something, because when you go back maybe a few weeks later, you will be able to see any little or big mistakes you made.

Option #5: Enter it in a Contest

Writing contests are amazing because not only can you win cash prizes, but you can sometimes also get some feedback on your story. Maybe you finished Camp NaNoWriMo feeling really confident with your story, so edit it a bit and then send it in to a few different contests to see what happens! If you need some writing contests to enter, check out a blog post I wrote not too long ago where I list writing contests with no entry fees.https://mylifewithbooksblog.com/2017/03/29/writing-contests-to-enter-no-entry-fee/

Those are five suggestions on what you can do after Camp NaNoWriMo and I hope you enjoyed. Don’t forget to check out my last blog post: April 2017 Wrap Up!