I'm officially done. While the clock is still counting down to the 11:59:59 NaNoWriMo deadline, I've settled at 38,918 words. I could spend the next hour and a half writing another 1000 words or so, but I'm spent. I'm happy with the work I've done so far and I want to continue working on the draft over the next couple of months, but it's time to go back to normal life. There is laundry that needs washing, contract writing that needs to be done, and other freelance work that I'm getting paid for that I've completely neglected over the last month.
So it's back to the real world, where writing fiction is something I have to make time for. At least I know that if I put my mind to it, if I plan and focus, I can reach my writing goals. There will always be something else that needs to be done. I have to make my writing a priority and make sure that even though I'm not getting paid for it, I take the time to write the stories that I have in my heart. I'll never be happy if I don't.
In other news, my car was officially declared a total loss yesterday. The insurance company paid me a sum in excess of what I owed on the car, which was a major blessing. So tonight, I bought a new car. I'm the proud owner of a 2008 Honda Civic in Atomic Blue. It's very cute and drives well, and I got a pretty good deal on it after some haggling. Then there was all the paperwork and the whole financing process. Now I'm exhausted--the car buying process always exhausts me--and ready for bed, which is where I'm headed right now.
Tomorrow I'll be out putting the first few miles on my new car and doing anything other than writing a novel. Of course, I'll still be writing because I have freelance deadlines looming. Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, November 30, 2007
No More NaNo
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2 comments:
Oooh, but 38,000+ is GOOOOD!
Had you done NaNo before? I signed up last year but was a total failure. I don't think I wrote even 1,000 words all month. I think the difference for me this year was that I joined a local group, and we had weekly write-ins. I also participated in the forums, which was pretty motivating.
Oh, and I stopped caring if I sucked. :)
Thanks P! No, I'd never done NaNo before. I did volunteer to run bi-weekly write-ins, though, and knowing that other people would be showing up really held me accountable and my state was competing against another which kept me pushing the word count. Unfortunately, it was all the life events that cropped up during the month that kept me from reaching that coveted 50K.
And yes, there was a huge freedom in the realization that it's OK to suck during the first (and maybe even the second, third and fourth) draft.
Maybe next year...
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