o.o So I opened my novel today...

Yes, I opened it. I've been avoiding it like the plague since November 30th...and I opened it up today. Yup. Just opened it. Scanned a little bit in some scenes. Didn't change a word. And I'm terrified. My writing is repetitive, suckish, my characters are underdeveloped, my plot is hanging by a simple little thread and it's the simplest plot I've ever seen, I don't even know how I pulled it out into 50,000 words. -shot- I'm so terrified to try and edit this monster I've created, I have...no idea where to start. Help?

Now you have me scared.

It's okay, Creative. That's what we call first draft. That's why there are subsequent drafts. It does get better, especially if you remember that writing is a largely iterative process. Give it a chance, don't forget to tell yourself what you DO like about it, not just the things you don't like. It'll give you a place to stand while you're working on the rest.

As for where to start, at the beginning. Don't focus too much about language use just yet if you have plot/character problems. There's no point in polishing the wording if you're just going to be cutting/rewriting sections. Get that structural stuff done first before you tackle the other stuff.

-Julie

Don't judge the entire novel by the first chapter or so. Remember how it got easier to write as you went along. As you knoew more about what was happening in the story, you did a better job of writing it. You'll likely find that the ending is better than the beginning. Now you get to rewrite the beginning complete with all the knowledge you gained in November!

Not gonna even LOOK at mine until I've finished editing my WIP. I'm scared that by looking at them simultaneously I'll feel like an utter failure. XD

Do not be afraid to change everything. I've heard of professional authors who throw away 80% of a draft, where the only way you can tell it's the same story by the time it comes out (around draft 10 or so) is because the characters' names are the same.

Try to find what you like, what drew you in, and then run with that. Look at different directions the story might go. Instead of the the plot going one way, what might happen if it went another? Look for the most interesting ways to fill in holes. Develop the characters.

Good luck.

Was it your first year though? Don't worry about the plot. Trust me when I say that the more you write, the more you are able to come up with and juggle more complex plots. My first novel, the plot was entirely about characters running away from things. All the characters were the same character with different names.

I've talked about it to people who are in the writing/editing business. Trust me, that kind of thing is completely normal. Don't worry about it -- it will come.

And yeah, first drafts always suck. Just think -- now you get the fun of fixing it (No, I'm not insane, I just really like editing).

Don't give up! Novels are never, never, never even close to perfect to begin with. Take your time editing- Make sure the plot is all in line. If it isn't, think up solutions and rearrange the novel accordingly. Sit down and think about and develop your characters. Cut out the bad bits of writing and replace them with fresh new pieces. Your story is like a rough gemstone- it might seem ordinary, or even ugly at first. To reveal its true beauty, it must be cut and polished until it shines to its utmost ability. Keep going! Your story will be wonderful!

I recommend going through and reading it. Make notes if you want to about what you like and don't like. The important thing during this reading is to determine if you like it enough to keep going. The first novel I wrote for NaNo was absolute crap. I was trying a new style for me (more "funny" personal narrative than fiction novel), and I learned that I should never try that again. I never looked at it again.

I have several more novels that suck but that I'm still really attached to because I love the characters and plot (sadly, I generally only like one of those things at a time). In those cases, I tend to rewrite my first draft completely. Most people probably don't do anything as drastic as that, but I tend to view my first drafts to be really long outlines where I determine what works and what doesn't work. It's during that second draft that I write a novel I actually like.

It may sound like that takes a really long time to rewrite a novel, but I just do it during another novel writing month. I did my first complete rewrite for Camp NaNo, and I'm currently rewriting my 2011 novel now during JanNoWriMo. That way I take two months to write two drafts (not counting the time in between spent planning), and I still feel good about the novel.

I'm not saying you have to rewrite your novel completely - I'm just throwing that out as a suggestion because that works for me. Good luck!

You can do it! Remember, you're tough. You not only wrote a novel, you wrote it in a month! You can edit.

Don't worry. I was- cough, cough, am- in the same little predicament. What I'm doing is using the first draft as the plot "outline" and rewriting it. I can't actually stand to look at my first draft for long, so it's probably in my best interest...

Don't panic.

Building a story is like building a person (character?) from the bones up. The bones are your main plot, the outline of your story, the basics of your characters. After that, you have sinew and muscle, and this is the details. Then you have the skin, which is veil over all your significant plot points, so the reader is always surprised throughout your novel. And then you have the clothes, which is basically to polishing up of phrases, exact wordings, etc.

So I wouldn't jump to anything critical. Your inner critic can be useful, as long as you keep him in line, give him timeouts in the corner when he's bad, and don't let him control your writing. Instead, until he reaches his use, why don't you use your inner advocate? He's like the opposite of the critic; he sings only your praises.

Oh, and when you're really stuck, why don't you give the pragmatist a shot; he's the realist. But just don't be ruled by your critic, that's all.

I ran into this same problem while in the early stages of editing my first novel. There's a post about it in my blog, but basically I described the book as my baby.

It has problems. It has lots of problems. That's what happens when you spend so much time building it up and then leaving it on its own for a year or so. It might be scatter-brained, inconsistent, or even a bit violent in places where it shouldn't be, but that baby needs you to come back and steer it in the right direction.

There are going to be parts of that novel that you will like, even love. Focus on those and help them to grow, while cutting out everything that's bad. Remember that your baby is troubled and needs TLC.

Hope that helps.

Don't look at the first few pages. Keep scanning and look for the scenes that really worked, the scenes that just seemed to write themselves or the places where the plot took a twist you totally didn't expect but you went with because once you saw it it just made so much sense. Find the good bits, the ones that made it worthwhile, and read those over. There will definitely be a lot of crap in a novel written in 30 days, but there will be some really great parts too. Read those over and give yourself a pat on the back--you definitely deserve it.

And if there aren't enough to make this a novel? (This is what happened with my Nano this year, it just didn't come to life...which is why I stopped halfway through the month and still have a blue bar.) Someday you'll transplant those good bits into something else. You're a writer; you never have to throw anything away.

Welcome to writing.

I reiterate what all of the above folks have said endlessly, and add that it's best not to spend time complaining about how bad it is, because it's nobody else's job to make it better.

It sucks, okay, we get that. It's yours. Work on it relentlessly until you've made it good. Then come back dancing and singing, rubbing your finished manuscript in all of our faces and giving us all a mix of envy, hope, and determination.

I actually take the time to print out my novel (it's worth the paper and ink, at least for me). I have to have a hard copy to actually write on when I edit, especially for the first time through. I need to underline, cross things out, scribble in the margins, etc. I also alternate between writing myself notes ("Fix this passage/change scene to fix awkwardness") to actually changing the words and adding/deleting sentences and/or scenes.

Another thing I like to do is take my manuscript (before I've marked on it) and give it to a friend I trust to be truthful and honest. Ask them to read it and mark it up for me, give me notes. What works, what doesn't, where is my characterization weak, how's my pacing, spelling, grammar, missing or misspelled words, whatever catches their eye. This usually takes a while, and I end up working on a different story while my friends reads, but when he or she gives it back to me I read through their notes and then go back to the beginning and begin editing it myself. With a pen. My pages usually end up bleeding blue ink by the time I'm done, and I only edit a few pages at a time, otherwise I start to become frustrated.

They key thing to do is to take your time and edit the story a few scenes at a time. Maybe do four pages a day until you get into a rhythm, and then do five, and then six. Or, just stick to four.

If you can, I'd suggest keeping a separate notebook where you can write down important facts you don't want to forget. This is especially helpful if you have characters who have certain items or skills at the beginning, and those things might be helpful later in the story--a separate notebook can help you keep track of those items/abilities so you can use them later, instead of forgetting about them. :)

Welcome to my world... I've been carrying around my manuscript for the past two or three months too afraid to read it... but I read the first 27 pages two nights ago. :) Twenty seven down, 270 to go! :D

Well for starters, you shouldn't wait between draft completion and editing. That just gives you time to build up expectations/negative anticipation. And once you get going, stat at the first page and work your way through at whatever pace works. Take a few hours or even a day or two to think out the larger problems, but whatever you do, don't stop. And don't be afraid to do anything, up to rewriting your entire plot.