Congratulations to those of you readers that finished the first draft of your novel last month. Great job! Now that you have a 50,000 word rough draft on your hands, what do you do? Take a deep breath.
Is it time to start editing? Maybe, but maybe not. As NaNoWriMo participants discuss on this thread, it might be the right time to leave your project aside for a minute and give yourself a break. You can start the new year with fresh eyes and a red pen. On the other hand, if you are itching to get in there and cut things up and move things around and rework your plot, then it sounds like you might be ready for editing.
If you haven’t quite finished your NaNoWriMo novel yet, don’t abandon your project. Use the rest of the year to finish up your first draft and continue on to editing in the new year.