stuck!

One word: epilogue.

One next step you could take (since you have the time) is a natural one for post-NaNo editing. Go through your current novel (in a quick pass). Identify the key plot line and major subplots. Now consider the flow of your novel. Could it be made richer, more tense, etc. by introducing new subplots? If so, identify the insertion points in your current plot line and then begin writing the pieces to integrate those subplots...

Think about plot complications that can add richness/growth to your key characters or maybe make some of your minor characters more memorable.

Note that most commercial novels are at least 75k words, so this is a step that you'd probably want to take anyway...

Congrats on your incipient win!

--Tim

Dave has a good idea. Here's one along those lines:

You have an ending to your book - a solution to the problem you character faces. Now come up with a different ending, one that might not be so obvious. This is going to be harder but it might give that twist you were looking for. If you do that, and you still have time, look for a different ending - a third one.

Again, this can be hard but it also serves as a great writing exercise. You may find that the third ending is the most challenging, creative and also the most unexpected and rewarding.

See you at the finish. I' m like at turtle, I'll get there eventually....

One suggestion I have is to add a flashback which explains why you main characters wants/needs to do whatever it is they did in the novel.

Just write that section or series of sections. For now leave them at the end of your writing. After you pass 50k you can then go and find the best place to insert it.

OR

You can add a twist at the end of the novel in which your protagonist realized that the solution (the resolution of your novel) doesn't actually provide what they thought it did - you might get a second section of your novel and another ten thousand words!

Congratulation, by the way at being at 48K.

Dave, AKA TRRDEAN, Naperville Co-ML

Thanks for the advice! I'm going over my novel now and looking for places to elaborate...

Your 2K away, there has to be something more you can write.

Go back to the parts of your novel you really enjoyed writing, the sections that descibe a place or event as it is happening. Think about that event and pull every piece from it that your character experiences - the emotions, the senses. Many writers only write about what thier characters see or hear. They forget the other senses. What did the forest smell like in the morning? What did the cheese taste like? What did it feel like to swim in a pool filled with whipped cream?

Add more emotion to a scene of dialogue. Were the characters just relaying info to each? If so, add emotion and see where it goes. Angry characters often have a lot to say, as do sad characters. Happy characters dance around and hug people I guess. I don't know, most of mine aren't happy.

Anyway, good job. You're almost done and have plenty of time to finish. Good luck!