Words...

Are just that... words.

NaNoWriMo day #28 - wordgoal: 46666 -

Now the thing is; Since I finished my novel, I do not keep track of what I do each day of the month... Yes, I actually did that. But I know I was still working on revising chapter 2, so yeah. That happened. What have you been up to? Writing? I hope so. Because only two days remain.

NaNoWriMo day #29 - wordgoal: 48333 -

We are nearing the end. Only one day until the finale. Even though I finished my novel nine days ago, I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach. It's like I can feel the excitment from everyone who is still getting to 50k. Oh on that note; Editing is going great. I finally finished revisions on chapter 2 and started on chapter 3. Chapter two took a little longer than I hoped it would, but that's okay. It is my first time every revising a novel, so of course it is going to be a struggle. I am still having fun with it though, so I got that going for me.

NaNoWriMo day #30 - wordgoal: 50000 -

WE DID IT! Confetti and champaign for everyone! I know I have been real hard on you throughout this month. I yelled at you a couple of times, but that was only because I wanted you to succeed. And even though I have been saying how important it is to hit the 50k mark... it really isn't. Whether you hit 50k, 30k or 168 words... you still did something that a lot of people fear. You wrote. You sat down and wrote. Starting something new is scary. But the only way of getting ahead is getting started. If you did NaNo, in some way or another, you started. If it wasn't for NaNo I don't think I would have been able to start my novel. Having this end goal of 50k words and...the graf...ohhh the graf... it motivates me to write. That is why I keep doing it. This has only been my second year doing (and winning) NaNo, but I am going to keep at it. It is an amazing project that challenge people to take quantity over quality. That is pretty damn hard. We are forced to keep going and finish the project before we are allowed to edit and perfect.

Now, writing is what I want to do for a living, I literally can't go a day without working on my novel. And even if I don't see the shadow of NaNo until the summer camps, I will still be writing. I finished editing chapter 3 and that means there is only 22 chapters to go before I can work on my 2nd draft. It is going to take a lot of hard work, but in the end I know it will be worth it.

The real journey starts now. I hope you will join me. Until we see each other again;

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna. 

The beginning of the end...

I am sitting here; alone in my room. I cannot shake this emty feeling off me. When you have dedicated so many hours to one specific project, what do you then do once it is over?

NaNoWriMo day #17 - wordgoal: 28333 -

The 17th was a very speciel day for me. I started the journey towards the end. When I started writing I only had 3 chapters left to write. it was really overwhelming, and my mind could not gasp itself around the fact that I might only have had a few days left before I was done. But that was not the only reason why it was so special. My total wordcount for the day was 90808. Not only did I pass 90k, but I passed the wordcount of last year's NaNo-novel, which was 90106 words. This makes my current novel the longest I have ever written in my entire life. I was quiet excited indeed.

NaNoWriMo day #18 - wordgoal: 30000 -

At this point you should be around the 30k mark. If you were not, past-me would have to spank you. I want to see you all win, and there are no good excuses to compensate for the fact that you have not reached it yet. Being busy is no excuse. I have been busy. Really busy. But my wordcount was at the 18th about 94k. You just need to find the time. And use every free moment you have to write. Especially if you are planning on getting published one day. Anywho! I am not going to sit here and be mad, so let's talk about my progress! I actually managed to finish the 3rd last chapter and you know what that means; The final battle has arrived! And I freaking loved writing it. Unfortunately I did not have time to finish it because I had school and with that a presentation first thing in the morning...stupid I know.

NaNoWriMo day #19 - wordgoal: 31667 -

I started the final chapter! YES! My story is really coming to an end soon, isn't it? You bet. It was actually really emotional for me to write the final battle-chapter. A lot of stuff happened that really just tied everything together. But who cares about the story, right?! The more exciting news; I crossed the 100k mark...well, actually 100,001 mark! I know... that should not be happening. Especially not for me. I managed to write 100k in 19 days. I did not even know I was capable of that. It kind of makes me wonder what else I am able to, if I really put my head in the game. Could I do 50k in one day? Probably not right now... but maybe one day.

NaNoWriMo day #20 - wordgoal: 33333 -

When I started writing today I was only half a chapter away from the end. But though it was so close I would taste it, it was probably the hardest thing I have ever written. Multiple times I just sat there and stared at the screen thinking "how do I word this?!". But in the end I did it. I wrote that last sentence. I finished the first draft of my novel. The final wordcount is 103,398 words. I wrote a 100k+ words long novel over the course of 20 days. And the most surprising thing is that I am really satisfied with the way it ended. My last sentence was very carefully thought out, and througout the 2nd last and the last chapter there are small hints to this final sentence. But now that it is done I am left feeling empty. What do I do now? My novel is done, but NaNoWriMo is still going. I know I am going to start the reading of my novel probably tomorrow. But while doing that I might start the outline of a new novel that I have been playing around with. The thing is though...I do not want my graf to die...I mean...look at it!

But there is nothing left to write on it. This story has come to an end. And if I want to get it ready for publication, then I need to begin the edits ASAP. 

For those of you who are still reaching for the 50k...stretch your arm a little longer. You are not that far away.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.