Now that Nano is over, now what?

You may be saying this to yourself right now. I know I am. I realized last week that thanks to Nanowrimo, I have almost completed three rough drafts for novels in the last year. Wow. For a picture book writer, that's a ton. But now it's time to give each of these projects a good hard look and begin the rewrite process if they are worthy of it. Let's assess.

Deep Secrets—This was last year's Nanonovel, a dystopian thriller. I finally printed it out so I'd have a hard copy of the rough draft, and my kids immediately picked it up and read it. I was surprised at their reactions. They said it had them on the edge of their seats. It didn't have me on the edge of my seat while I was writing it, but maybe that's just the way it is for authors. You know too much about what's going on for it to be a surprise. Also, made it to the 50k mark for Nano, but too bad I didn't write an ending for it. There was a little grumbling on that score.

Assignment for 2011—Finish Deep Secrets and do a rewrite to see how it comes out. I think it's worth it, and my kids are going to nag me to provide an ending if I don't.

Pirates of Time and the Navigator's Watch—Still in progress, but hubby is bugging me to get it done. Started it in March and took off November for Nano, but I've been working on it steadily, so we're past the midpoint, I think. Time to get back to it and finish it. Think I'll try to make 1k a day my goal, because I'll do it better if I work faster. The problem is, my mind keeps on mulling over the plot line of a possible sequel, which sounds like a nail-biting winner to the critique group.

Assignment for 2011—Finish Pirates of Time in a timely fashion. (Pun intended.) Work on the next draft.

The Girl from Left Foot Lake—This year's Nanonovel. Working on the next draft, believe it or not. It's a Christmas gift for someone, and I'd like to work out some of the main problems before I put a bow on it. May never go all the way with it, but it was worth it anyway.

Assignment for 2010—DEADLINE DECEMBER 24TH!!!!

Also, I've joined an online critique group for picture book writers. So far getting helpful feedback on ms that got interest of at least one publisher. Hope to sell it this year.