Back in action, but where do I go from here?

So the computer is back.  I would love to say that it is back to its old self, but alas, that is not the case.  I have access to the internet, and my word processor, but it is painfully slow and every thing that causes the screen to move, such as scrolling or simply typing to move to the next line, causes the entire screen to move line by line by pixels.  Ahhhh, such is life I suppose.

My current predicament is this: manuscript submissions for Hindman are due May 14.  That is exactly 52 days away.  I have not worked on the novel in a month.  Initially, state testing at school was the problem.  Then my computer promptly crashed.  Now, I'm not sure how to proceed.


My initial thought is that I have to finish the entire manuscript before I can begin editing anything.  There are several problems with that theory.  Firstly, I began "editing" of a sort when I began my reconstruction.  Also, there is the problem that I am not sure I can both finish the entire novel and perfect a section for my application in the 52 days I have available.

This leads me to my second theory.  In the novel category, I can submit up to 30 pages of my manuscript.  Therefore, I should obviously spend the next seven and a half weeks choosing and perfecting my 30 pages.  I have several issues with this theory.  Firstly, once I start editing, all creative process stops.  I am a great story teller and a phenomenal editor; I am not very skilled at the actual creative process of birthing a story.  In my prior novel, which remains unfinished, as soon as I started editing, I never wrote another word.  I really don't want that to happen to this story.  Also, while I have a basic working outline which gets me close to the end of my story, I honestly believe that the story exists as an entity and tells itself through me via the words and actions of my characters.  Therefore, if I stop the creative process before the story is told, perfecting a single section is really no import.  Something may happen at the end that radically affects, and therefore changes, events in the beginning or middle. 

This happens often in my short stories.  However, unlike a novel, short stories are inherently short.  I rarely lose passion or creative juices before the story reaches its arch.  Once I get to the end and the full story finally becomes clear, the first step of editing is changing the events and details throughout the story to match the final piece that became clear in the process of finishing.  If I don't finish before I perfect the section for Hindman, what I am sending, and consequently, if accepted, what I would be workshopping, may not even fit with the final arch of the novel.  What do I gain by working and reworking, then workshopping a section that may have to be radically different once I finish?

So, here is my current idea.  I will divide my time in half and work toward both means.  I will spend the first 26 days working to complete my novel.  If I work at the original NANO pace, I will have close to another 50 thousand words in that time.  Then I will spend the next 25 days selecting and perfecting a 30 page section to apply to Hindman.  My hope is that the first 25 days will get me close enough to the end that if something is going to change significantly, it will have already happened.

Please, please, please give me your thoughts.  Whether you are my best friend at work, my family, or a random internet by passer please let me know if you think my current idea is plausible or if you have a better idea.  <3