Wednesday, November 30, 2011

NaNoWriMo The End? Not Yet!

Today is officially the last day of National Novel Writing Month. I "finished" my novel about a week ago but I thought today would be a nice day for reflection. This was a great experience. This month forced me to realize that I am perfectly capable of writing a significant amount daily. I finished a first draft of a novel in 23 days, that's huge for me! However, the work is not over. December will be Edit the Book Month, along with the month that includes preparing final projects, getting ready for Christmas and getting another ebook ready to put up for sale. It's going to be a busy month but this month has made me realize that I can handle it.


When Kortnee convinced me to participate in NaNoWriMo, I kept thinking, "Wow, 50,000 words in a month...that's a huge commitment," but then I realized this is a commitment I should be making every month. Having a daily word count has made me commit to a story and I like that commitment so I will be implementing word count goals into my writing from now on. I am grateful to both Kortnee and NaNoWriMo for showing me I can write again.


After my car accident, I couldn't write for at least nine months and I thought I may never write again. It's been a slow process to get back to where I should be and I still feel slow at times but I have new hope. I'm a writer, you can't knock that out of me no matter how hard you hit me. This month made me realize that I was down at one point but I am certainly not out. I know many people assured me I would get back to my writing but I needed to prove it to myself. Thank you to everyone who told me I could do it.


So, congratulations to everyone who "won" and finished their novels! And to those who didn't, congratulations on a great effort and I am sure you will finish soon. Thank you to everyone who supported me, believed I could finish and helped me along the way. The encouragement met more than you could know. A special thank you to Bill for pushing me toward my daily goals and always being there to tell me I can do it. Thank you to Kortnee for pushing me into this and for taking the journey with me (You're a winner!). Thanks mom for constantly asking when you get to read it (still...soon!). To anyone else who kept track of my journey, thank you! I look forward to getting my list of "to-dos" done soon and I'll keep everyone updated on the novel and the upcoming ebook (look for it around Mid-December). Have a great night everyone! I am going to sleep the content sleep of knowing NaNoWriMo has been conquered.

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