A Long Winter's Rest

Last night I just finished the first draft of my newest novel. What do I do now?

Give it a month's rest. I will work on another project during this time.

When I resume the next draft in another month, I will be able to see what's working, what's not working, and what needs further development or massive changes. A month's rest gives writers time to divorce themselves from their characters, even if we dearly love them, and allows us to evaluate our writing in fresh terms.

Try it.