NaNoWriMo 2001 Winner!

Well, it was touch and go for a while but I made it. 51,407 words! I'm so happy with myself. I had a rough month. Early in November my husband and I went away for a week. I wrote on a few days but I couldn't write too much without being antisocial, though I did write in the car while we were driving home. (Very bumpy and a lot of spelling mistakes). Later in the month I had a bit of a person drama which threw a spanner in the works, as they say. Because of this drama, I told myself that if I didn't finish NaNoWriMo this year, then that would be fine. Half way through the month I only had about 9,000 words. By the 22nd November (about 5 days after the drama), I had just under 12,000.

But I changed my mind. I'm such a wank that I couldn't not finish. Fortunately, because I only work part time at the vet clinic, I had three weekdays off in a row. This was my saviour, because every weekend was full of social engagements. I mean Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. Phew. But I did a few massive days where I wrote 7 or 8,000 words and I thought 'Shit, I just might make it.' By the 27th I only had about 5,600 words to go and I'm like 'Hell yeah, I'm gonna make it!'

And I did and I'm so proud of myself. The story is far from finished though, and it's in quite a random order. To make sure to get big word count days, I'd stop writing the boring bits and skip to the parts I wanted to write. Like certain characters who I thought were cool, or certain scenes. So I'd make a note like 'This chapter to go after the such and such', and things like that. So I have a lot of work to do, but I'm happy with the effort so far. I'm taking a few days break, but not too long because I want the story and characters to remain fresh in my mind. It doesn't stray too far as yet. I went to lunch with my mum-in-law the day after NaNo had finished, and while we were waiting at the table for our order to arrive, she noticed I was absent-mindedly tapping my fingers on the table while I talked, as though I was tapping away at a keyboard. I think that's quite funny.

Anyway, if I wait a month before I continue with the story, then it'll be hard to get back into the swing of things. Not that I will be able to keep up that pace, but I'd like to remain consistent and 'on top of it'. But a rest is in order. Interestingly, I only actually wrote on 15 days of November. Granted, I did stay up into the wee hours of the morning on several occasions, but it made me wonder if I could aim for a higher word count next year. But then again, it was pretty brutal. No sleep, no gaming. Plus my husband said I was being boring. Pffft. But it took a toll on the body too. My back was stiff, my neck was sore and my thumb hurt. Just the one thumb. I seem to sort of hold it in the air out of the way when I type. *shrugs*. Don't know why, I just do.

So anyway, I guess I am all excited about the fiction writing again which is good. I even have a crush on a couple of my characters. Lol.