Students, journalists, novelists–in fact anyone at all who writes–experience that moment when the piece is done and you never want to look at it again. NaNoWriMo is no exception. While I have completed 50,000 words on my new novel, IN THE WINDS OF DANGER, it is far from complete. I typed the last word on November 29 and I haven’t looked at it since. My students feel the same way. They have written more on one assignment than they ever have in their lives, and they are sick of it.

The initial excitement of tackling a novel has long since faded to hard work. Now that it’s completed, they are proud of it but unwilling to revise and edit. As we all know, those are key steps. And I am not going to read thirty-one unedited novels! So the question remains, how do I fire their excitement once more about this project?

Professional cover artist Tirzah Goodwin is helping me this year. She has agreed to provide each student with a free custom cover for their novel. We can print the cover and attach it to the student’s work, and Tirzah will feature the covers on her website. So do you want to see them? Check out A Clever Whatever, her blog site.

If you’re a current student of mine, oooh and ahhh over your cover, then get back to revising and editing!

♥

On my Kindle: Here, There, and Otherwhere by Phyl Manning