Camp Nano in 3 days

So I wanted to go ahead and clarify a few things after my post yesterday, and talk a bit about my process thus far. 

1) I did not WRITE 54,000 words in three days.

My goal this year for Camp NaNo was to finished editing my novel.  I got started early, completing half of it before April even started.  I was at about 42,000 disjointed words before I started this edit and I've ended with 54,117 words.

My first draft was in third person, had some major plot holes, and some extra characters/scenes that just flat out didn't need to be there.  I liked the idea of them more than they were necessary.

So this spring, I've gone through the book point by point, writing several lists that had to do with plot and what needed to happen in what order in the book.  I found this incredibly helpful.  I started my novel using an outline, but as anyone who has written an outline knows- things change. 

My revised outline (which I had been avoiding doing for some unknown reason- maybe I felt tied to the original?) was incredibly helpful.  I went through Scrivener, getting rid of what I didn't need, and reorganizing my entire novel chapter by chapter.  What I was left with was a clean and concise picture to go forward.

And go forward I did!

It was like a lightbulb had gone off for me.  There was no stopping the inspiration that flowed.  

So when I began Camp Nano, I was already halfway through my novel.  I began with 42,000 but my goal was 60,000 (my best guess at what it would be when it was all said and done).  The next three days (and I swear, I don't know how I did this because I had a multitude of other things going on and three kids)- went by q u i c k! 

Before I knew it, I had my novel all set and pretty and ready to go.

So what now? 

I have three steps.

1. Hand my novel off to some friends and writing partners.  If you write, I think this is crucial for your own benefit.  Yes, it's nice to hear pals that want to tell you how lovely it is, but it's also nice to hear what doesn't work.  This, in theory, will help me clean up the plot nicely.  Then EDIT!  
2. Draft a query letter-  This will tell an agent about my book, and hopefully entice them into wanting to read more. 
3. Research agents.  There are so many out there!  A friend of mine, published, once told me that there was an agent out there for every story.  You just have to find yours.

So here's to me finishing up a good draft and hopefully finding my agent !

<3 Dante