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.

Do you know your plot...?

I have been watching way too many Stephen King interviews. I will continue saying this; That man is a genius. And now I want all his books for christmas.

NaNoWriMo day #14 - wordgoal: 23333 -

So do you know your plot? Because I thought I did. Turns out I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Well...kind of. My plot arch has changed. This resolved in me having to kill off a character a little earlier than originally planned. He was a secondary main character, and only child. I had to kill him while his own brother was watching. It was a very emotional ride for me, and I even had to stand up and walk away for a moment. Hopefully I will cry, when I read the chapter in revision.

NaNoWriMo day #15 - wordgoal: 25000 -

Only half a month left! If you are still behind, I am sorry to do this, but here's a kick in your butt! It is defiently possible for you to win, but you need to get yourself together. I hate yelling at you, but writing is disciplin, and since you committed to NaNoWriMo, you have to go through with it! I don't care if you are lying in bed with a cold...we all sit on the computer anyway when we are sick, so you might aswell be writing.

But on a happier note! I hit 80k! And then I continued to 82k, which means over the course of week 2 I have written 30k words. It is not as much as in week one in which I wrote 52k words, but I am still proud of the amount I have managed!

NaNoWriMo day #16 - wordgoal: 26667 -

I have come to the realisation that after chapter 22, which I intend to finish within the next few hours, I will only have 3 chapters left of my novel to write; the build up - the fight - the ending. Yes I am that close to the end of it. I don't think it has hit me yet. This is what I mean, when I talk about knowing your plot! I thought I had 29 chapters, but no! Apparently I only have 25, which I don't really mind. If I still had 7 chapters to write, I think I would be kind of intimidated. 3 more chapters seems more reasonable, and if I had to make an assumption I would say that my novel is going to be about 95-100k words.

GRAF-TIME:

As you can see I am not too far from the 90k mark! Really exciting!

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.

It is slowly but surely getting to me...

I turned 18 today. Yes I am now of legal age over here in Denmark. But that means I just got rid of a couple of quest, and on top of that I had to do so much homework. It is pretty late right now, so if this post suffer from that I apologize. I will try to fix it tomorrow when my brain is working again.

NaNoWriMo preperation #3

I finished my outline. It is finally done, but tomorrow - which is the last day before NaNo starts - I will have to go over the last 10 chapters again, since all I did was a VERY brief summary of what is going to happen. And I am not really sure I like the direction it went at the end.
But one thing I do enjoy is that I am positive, I have more than enough material to make it 50k words. It will probably be longer, but I am aiming for 90k - 100k this year anyway.
I have also pre-november-cleaned my room. I needed to do it anyway, but having NaNoWriMo come up was just a good excuse to get it done. I cannot work when my room is a mess, so now I will not have to worry about it while writing. And my room is clean. It is a win-win situation!
All I have left to do now is fix my outline and decorate my room in inspiring quotes, and put up some of my sketches as references. 
I seriously cannot wait to get started on my novel. In less than 2 days I will be writing the novel, I want to - one day - publish as my debut novel. I love the characters, I love the setting, but most importantly; I love the story.

Get in the mood

NaNoWriMo is less than 2 days away. The stress is getting to me, but for every passing second I am getting more and more excited.

Some of the ways I get myself motivated and in the mood to write is:

1. Reading lots of forum threads on the NaNoWriMo website.
2. Talking to friends - who could not care less about my NaNoWriMo freakout - about my novel.
3. Watching videos from NaNoWriMo vloggers, fx; Katytastic - I am pretty sure she will be vlogging every day for NaNo this year as well - 
4. Reading inspiring qoutes.
5. Having the story come together in a way that makes sense!

I do not know about you, but I will defiently stay up till midnight tomorrow and write when the clock strikes 00.00.

Next stop: NaNoLand.

Keep Calm and Write On.

- Nanna.