win nanowrimo 2005

I just don’t think I’m confident enough yet to write a novel that fast. Not sure I’m ever gonna be for that matter …

Hey everybody – I did it! I wrote 50,229 words in November and won NaNoWriMo 2005!

Life is just hard sometimes! I got to 23,703 words. That’s better than nothing, but it’s not 50,000! Next year we’ll see. I’m hopeful regarding the start I got on this year’s story though, so maybe this Christmas break I’ll work on it some more?

but I didn’t get anywhere near the 50K again this year.

I’m not too worried though, the writing I did do was a wonderful creative vent and the “no editing” rule helped keep me on the straight and narrow. ie. everything I though went down on paper, no mental editing, no physical editing. My end result is still an interesting piece of writing that I may do further work on …

It was a bitterwsweet victory as I wrote those last few pages. At one point, I wanted to cry even though I knew I was being very silly. There was something about those last words that made this whole experience just seem worth it. For the past month, I have written until I thought I could write no more. I fought with my characters and watched as they took on lives of their own. I got frustrated and screamed at a computer screen but in the end, it all came together beautifully.

My husband and I celebrated by popping open a bottle of cheap champagne and sitting around the table eating pizza and discussing my novel. He has been so supportive of me throughout this month, and I think he actually cares more about my little craptacular novel than I do :)

So now what? people keep asking me. When are you getting it published?

A lot of people don’t understand what NaNoWriMo is all about. For the majority of people who enter the contest, it’s not about getting published or becoming famous. It’s about the sense of achievement that you feel at the end of a very long and stressful month. Even those who didn’t reach 50K feel a sense of achievement because of the fact that they actually put themselves out there and tried. NaNoWriMo is more about having fun in the moment when you’re creatively expressing yourself in ways you would have never imagined before.

This was such a fun, stressful, and wonderful experience for me, and I can’t wait to do it again next year :)

but there’s no way to win Nano and finish law school at the same time. I’ll be back next year- I promise. Until then, the brilliant novel “Two Ships Passing” will have to wait. Sigh. I really want to be a winner.

43364 words as of this moment. I think I’m actually going to finish this goal. My husband says he’s going to throw me a party the second week of December. He has been so supportive and such a motivator. I think he actually took this goal more seriously than I did!

I’m 26,297 words away from crossing the finish line this year. I just have this feeling that I’m not going to make it. I wasn’t that dedicated, though, so if it doesn’t happen I’m not going to slit my wrists. OR WILL I…......

It’s not going to happen. Feh.

I reached 30K in my NaNoWriMo novel tonight. I never thought I would actually be more than halfway through. The novel itself is no great work of art. In fact, it’s probably one of the most suckiest things that I have ever written before! But, it’s funny and the plot is actually somewhat coherent. And the most important part is that despite the stress of the deadline, I’m having fun and that’s what it’s all about, right? Now, this goal is looking a lot more easier to achieve. Honestly, I might even be a little sad after I finish. I’ve grown somewhat attached to my characters, even though some of them are tyring to take over my novel