I did it!

November 1st saw me winding down the NaNoWriMo road. I was full of hope, inspiration, and the promise of a shiny 50,000 word rough draft on December 1st. With the help of Feywriter and her challenge I did well the first two days. Then, I fell off the wagon, but I got right back on that following weekend - still on target. Somewhere between the end of week 2 and week 3 I started losing focus and drive. Numerous thoughts floated through my brain; am I done yet, why is this so stinking hard, I've been at this for hours and all I have is 700 words...are you kidding me? I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and thought I was a goner. Mary (Feywriter) sent up a challenge and we nudged each other again. It was just the push (shove) I needed. I got back in the saddle each day and pushed out more words than ever before. My count was climbing and the end was near...I saw the proverbial purple bar with the word WINNER on it. I wanted it. I had to have that under my name. So I pushed myself harder than ever on Black Friday and then Saturday to get the last of my word count out and I DID IT!!! Happy Dance and a cha cha line with my youngest around the house. I got a high five and an AWESOME MOM. That felt good and warmed the cockles of my heart. My lil one was proud of me. :-)

There is no monetary gain by participating in the NaNo's, but I did gain a lot by participating. I learned to shut my darn internal editor off, and with perservance (and a lot of perspiration) I can reach my goals. I sat down every day (well I tried too) and noticed that I was able to put more words on the page each day. Then of course there's the bragging rights. :-) Not too many people can say they wrote 50,000 words in 30 days, right? I did - yeah me!

My WIP needs work, I'll admit it. When all was said and done, I knew it would. Honestly, I thought it would be a mess, but it's not as bad as I feared. Hard to believe that one comment to longhairedfool at that diner 3 years ago about that little boy would turn into what it has now become--a story.

I feel great - hopeful. If the NaNo has taught me but one thing, that would be persistance. With this newfound persistance and tenacity in my writing I move forward. I have 3 other stories waiting to be written but I need to edit these last two stories - REMEMBRANCE and SEREN'S ANGEL in the hopes of someday seeing them on the bookshelves (and in people's hands).

I won't give up. I'm determined.