After having gotten my NaNo novel into a semi-finished state, I was at a loss as to what to do next. I let it sit for a few months and let my mother and
latech read it over to see if there were any major problems with it, such as the characters sucking so bad that they couldn't finish the book, or something similar. I was relieved to get their feedback that I have something good going, even in its raw state, so now I've decided that it's time to polish the thing up.
Someone on the NaNo boards mentioned Holly Lisle's writing tips and she has a course on her website that covers exactly what I've been trying to figure out called "How to Revise Your Novel". I put off joining for a long time because I wasn't sure that it was the best option, but I haven't found anything better short of going back to school and even then you can't be sure they're going to teach what you need to know. Anyway, I joined up tonight and got my first lesson and I'm sure this is all going to help.
I'm super intimidated, but writing it in the first place was an epic battle of wills with my muse fueled by lots of HiBall energy drinks. I think I can do this if I just take it step by step. But just in case, I think I'll stock up on HiBalls, just in case.