Monday 3 December 2012

WINNER!

Check out the badge to the right...go on...take a peek...yes, you read it right, I'm a NaNoWriMo WINNER!

I can hardly believe it myself.  I know I was better prepared this year, but even so, it surprised me how easy it was to get to the 50,000.  I hate to say 'easy', because it makes it sound like I could have done it whenever I felt like - though possibly this is true - and that I should have knocked out many multiples of 50k and produced a string of novels by now.  But it really did feel like a pleasurable experience, and looking back I can only remember a couple of days out of the thirty where it felt like a chore.  It almost doesn't feel real.

The extra and unexpected benefit is that I have made friends through NaNo.  I 'homed' myself to Chester and went along to their write-ins at least once a week, and this helped tremendously with my motivation (there were stickers as rewards - I'm a sucker for a sticker).  The online forums were the same.  And having a dedicated #writingbud in the form of a Facebook friend was a brilliant aid, as she and I 'raced' to each daily target and each milestone - 10k, halfway, 40k and on to the finish line.  I genuinely can't get over how different an experience it has been to 2010 and 2011, where I had no plan, no Scrivener and no writing buds (in person OR online).

The best part is that instead of being glad November is over and desperate for a break from my story, I'm finding that I'm missing writing every day.  This can only be a good thing!  Surely it means that I truly am A Writer?   Officially?  I've decided to take December off and then possibly take part in a 90 day challenge that runs from January 1st to March 31st - I'd like to write at least 500 words a day.  Previously this would have seemed daunting, but post-NaNo, 500 words seems like a brief word sneeze...  ;o)