All through the month of November. And achieved this:
Which was so bad ass, it made the plaster crack even more when I drove in the thumbtack.
"This" refers to the certificate proclaiming me a WINNER.
When last I posted, I was going on about NaNoWriMo anticipation. Now- 50,436 words later- I am kicking up my feet, sitting in front of the pellet stove, happy to take a break from working on the novel without worrying about how it will affect my month's word count, and daily targets. Yesterday I plowed through the last 5,ooo words to take me across the finish line, and went to bed feeling relieved that I had met the goal I'd set for myself in signing up, and thinking "Writer's Ass has to be a real thing, a diagnosed occupational hazard."
Now, if you look at the fine print, 50,000 words doesn't necessarily mean a finished novel. If you finish the story in that number of words, it is a short novel, a Gatsby-sized volume. So really what I have accomplished is momentum, routine, and support. I've learned and fell in love with a long-form writing program, Scrivener. I am back in daily contact with my best friend from college, as we OCD cheerlead ourselves through the process. My cat has forgiven me for my three-year hiatus in the household, and steadfastly napped by my side as I worked away on my laptop. Dave gave me space, family and friends put up with email that pretty much only talked about word count stats. November was a really good month, so when Thanksgiving rolled around, coinciding with my wedding anniversary, I had a ton to be Thankful for.
As I was working through the last weeks of my job in June, I was following a guide about becoming a writer. Taking some of the first suggested steps, I wrote out what was driving me, why writing intrigued me, and writing goals for the year. I re-read the list this morning, and was happy to be able to check off one of the big goals- which I had down as "participate in NaNoWriMo." I was one of the luckiest participants, in that time was easy to carve out- the weather was terrible, and my boss is my husband, who totally supported me in the 50k goal. I am incredibly lucky in that he'll also support me through wrapping up the draft, which will take the month of December as well.
Incidentally, one of my goals was also to...
"blog to my heart's content."
Let's pause to admire how very wily I am as a writer of goals. I would "participate" in NaNoWriMo, I will blog to my heart's content. Give yourself leeway to fail, and I think you'll do just fine.
