I won!!!

I won NaNoWriMo 2009! Wow, what an experience! I've written more in the last month than I ever have, and it's been totally worth it. Not only do I have the product of my efforts in black and white, but I also have the satisfaction of knowing that I am capable to do whatever I want to do in life. (Yes, I can think deep on demand...)

So while I've still got plenty of writing left to do before I hit The End, the rush of this last month has been thrilling and exciting on a whole new level. I can't wait for next year!

Now for the acknowledgments...

I'd like to thank the Academy...

Er, no. Sorry:p I couldn't resist.

No, seriously, I do appreciate everyone who's been encouraging me. It really helped me get over my own anxieties of believing that I AM a writer, not just that I'm aspiring to be one. So thanks!

Here's to living life to it's fullest, getting everything we want in life, and slapping life around a little until it's forced into submission:)

Almost there!

I just made 75%! I have to say, it's a very liberating experience to realize that I'm actually capable of telling a story of this size. I mean, all my life, the idea of writing a book was something that totally intimidated me, and I never saw it as something I could obtain. But now that I'm three-quarters of the way to my NaNo goal (though I'll still have an extra 20k words or so to go on top of that), I finally see that it's really not as daunting of a task once you've broken it down into doable sections (a little writing every day, chapters broken into scenes, etc.). And I just added another subplot today, so that always helps. As does my new random character who will prove vitally important at the climax.

I've decided that (obviously) I'll hit my 50k, and then I'll take December to add the extra content that I need before I can start revising. I was planning on revising in January (after taking a break from the book, stepping back and getting some fresh perspective), but depending on how long the extra 20k or 30k takes, it may be pushed back to February. Even still, that's not a bad effort in my opinion - 4 months (hopefully) to a drafted novel ready to shop around to agents/publishers.

Wow! That's crazy. A year after I decided to take the plunge and just be the writer already, I could be sending out my manuscript. Wish me luck:)

Yeah, I'm crying. So what?

I just killed off my main character's best friend. And I'm so sad about it! I guess I was able to convey the emotions well enough (at least for a first draft) since I'm a blubbering mess at the moment. Tristan even came to give me cuddles because I kept saying through tears, "That's so sad!"

I guess this is the downside of living vicariously through your characters...

Halfway, baby!

Second post in one day. Sorry:) But I think this deserves its own post. I just made the halfway mark to 50k! I was worried that I would be struggling around this point, but I'm just starting to get to the meat of my story. So the next couple weeks should be just as productive as the last two.

Hmm, I wonder if this justifies getting half of my reward early...

:D

One of my stories is being published!

I was completely thrilled this morning when I checked my email and found an acceptance for a story I submitted for publication! My kids probably thought I was going a little insane as I clapped and shouted, re-read the email, then started the cycle all over again.

What an awesome feeling it is! Cam (my husband) asked how many readers the magazine reached and my response was basically, "Dude, they're paying me to publish my story. That's all the validation I need!"

I'd love nothing more than to dish the story here and now for all of you to enjoy, but of course, I can't do that. So, anyone interested should stroll their merry little fingers over to www.thefirstline.com and have a look around the site. Obviously, you won't be able to buy the issue with my story in it yet, since it hasn't been published yet. But if I'm not mistaken, it will be identified as Vol. 11, Iss. 4 - Winter 2009 "Waiting for change always seems to take longer than you would expect."

So yeah, there you go. Woohoo! I'm so excited!

And I'm giddy. Which means I should stop now.

I've hit the 20k mark!

Despite having just gone through the most hectic weekend I can remember, I'm still on track to win NaNoWriMo! I've just hit the 20k mark, and I can't wait to keep writing my story (which, by the way, will so not be finished at 50k).

As for the writing itself, I'm definitely starting to understand what so many authors mean when they say things like, "I'm just the transcriptionist of the story that needs to be told," "You get to know and love your characters as you write," and "The characters tell me what happens next, not the other way around." Just today, my main character assaulted his best friend! And last night, I was quite literally in tears when he was having an emotional meltdown. (Even now, thinking about that scene makes me sad for him.)

So while I may not be a professional writer (yet!), I am certainly learning so much from the experience of getting into a story and developing it in a way that intrigues me. I value the time I have with these characters, and I hope that one day, many others will, too.

I just broke 10,000!

I feel like I need a reward! Any suggestions??

This experience is so amazing! For the first time in my life, I feel like I actually am the writer I've always wanted to be. What a fantastic feeling:)

The only frustration I have at the moment is that my last chapter has proven more wordy than I anticipated. Yes, that is a problem. Well, not so much that it's wordy, but just that I haven't been able to get the whole thing done. I think I'll spend a little time tomorrow (assuming I can scrounge a few minutes here and there) tweaking my outline to get it looking a little more polished.

Then again, maybe I need to just suck it up and write for a few hours until I get the longest chapter of my book finished...

This is turning out better than I expected!

So I'm 2 days in, and while I'm not breaking any records in the word count department, I'm sticking to my targets pretty well. I've got a prologue and a 1st chapter done. Yay for outlines!!! (Side note: while in high school, I would've NEVER said those words!)

And the best part is, I was really worried that because I have a really detailed outline, I'd end up writing the dry, "point A to point B" kinds of scenes/chapters. But I'm actually throwing in a lot more material than I put into the outline. So I've already got an extra character that will probably come into play later, and a whole other take on the book itself.

Woohoo! Yay:) Go team! Or...go me:)

Okay.
I'm done.