NaNoWriMo 2018 report

It's official: I'm a 2018 NaNoWriMo Winner!

I wrote after work for a while and surpassed the goal. I wrote a bit more when I woke up today. Then I verified my word count and, yes, I am officially a 2018 NaNoWriMo winner with 54,392 words!

Yay!

There is one particular story I worked on that I will continue developing. Several of the other short story pieces will probably be wrapped in to this other story, too. I realized several short story starts and pieces in, that I wasn't really writing a bunch of disconnected stories, they were mostly like from a larger novel. Or maybe just a book of connected short stories. That remains to be seen.

But, for now, I get to celebrate that I complete NaNoWriMo 2018 and I'm glad I hung in there. This was not an easy year in terms of writing and, next year, I will plan differently. I'm still thrilled that I went ahead with it and that I finished. I almost quit more than once.

Due to my persistence and not giving up, I now have a good start on another dystopian story and some other bits to chew on and see what they become.

This marks my eleventh consecutive NaNoWriMo win!

It's a Wrap: NaNoWriMo 2017

I achieved both of my goals this month, as I know I already posted: I wrote every day in November and I surpassed the 50,000 words written in 30 days.

I continued writing past the 50k target, and my validated word count for NaNoWriMo 2017 is officially 56,281. That isn't the highest number of words I've written in a month. My highest NaNoWriMo was last year, at just over 60,000 words. But I don't think I've ever written every day in November before. I tried to look at my stats to see - but they weren't tracking all of the stats in the same way (or data was lost in a website upgrade) my first three years, so I don't know.

A very successful NaNoWriMo this year. And some impressive "lifetime total" NaNoWriMo stats.

And I just successfully passed the goal for my tenth consecutive NaNoWriMo win!

NaNoWriMo Update Day 29

NaNoWriMo Winner for *10* consecutive years!

Yes, I did!

I wasn't ready for sleep, though I am getting tired.

I decided to work through and assignment about writing on each of the senses.

I have three senses done, so two to go,

and while I'm still not ready for sleep, I am ready to stop writing.

For today.

I compiled my project.

I opened the document and checked my word count.

I uploaded the project into the NaNoWriMo Validator and

voila

I am a 2017 NaNoWriMo Winner 

with a word count (so far) of 

50,725.

I will continue writing on Wednesday and Thursday.

I will update my word count at NaNoWriMo.

But I met the requirement of 50k words in 30 days.

Go, me!

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NaNoWriMo Day 29 - New Goal Met

Today, at my weekly Tuesday writing meetup, I passed my second, self-decided NaNoWriMo goal. 

When I passed the 50k mark on November 21st, I knew that if I didn't set a new goal, my writing would most likely fall off. It might not go away, but I would probably lose momentum and wouldn't get much else done.

And there was more to be done.

There is still more to be done.

And just a few minutes ago I passed my updated NaNoWriMo 2016 goal: 60,000 words in 30 days. My current work count is 60,329 and I did validate that on the NaNo website. 

Tomorrow I will write a few more words, because I have written every day this month except for November 9th. That is my only red day on my NaNoCalendar this year and it seems fitting, because of the implications of the election and because that was the day we drove to the coast for the NaNoWriMo writing retreat!

I did it! My longest NaNoWriMo project to date. And there is more to write and I will. This one will continue being the main project I work on. Because this was a rewrite and new pieces for a project I already had in the works.  

Yay for NaNoWriMo! Yay for me!

NaNoWriMo Day 21 update - I'm a Winner!

I haven't been keeping up with my daily posts about NaNoWriMo this year. I was a little derailed by the election and then other things keeping me busy. But I have been writing every day.

And - tada - I'm happy to announce that I have been officially verified a NaNoWriMo Winner! I uploaded my story, word count checked, and I am at 52,252. That is a happy number.

In years past, when I passed the benchmark early, I usually stopped shortly after. Because (a) the story was done, or (b) there wasn't much more to write before The End so I did and stopped, or (c) I didn't like what I was writing and vowed to never touch it again (two of the years writings will not be revisited - yuck).

So this year, my ninth consecutive year as a NaNoWriMo winner, I have decided that I am going to keep writing. Because I have more to write about for this project and I don't hate it, yet.

Therefore I am announcing that I am setting myself a new goal of 60,000 words before November 30th. I was going to just say, I'll keep writing every day, but I know me. And knowing me means that having a more concrete target is a little more motivating. And telling a few other people keeps it real and keeps me accountable, even though I doubt anyone would really do much if I don't make it.

I'm a winner!

NaNoWriMo 2015 : Consecutive Win #8

The writing is not yet done, but I did cross the 50,000 word benchmark on Tuesday 11/24/15.

Proof, again, that the annual writing retreats help.

Making time and space for focused writing helps. Being in a place where the only distractions are the ocean and the sunsets and walks on the beach helps. Being prepared with food and drink and snacks and tons of tea helps.

And I did it. I wrote over 50,000 words in the month of November - from 12:01 AM on November 1st until 11:56 pm on November 24th, to be more exact. And my manuscript (in it's very raw form) was validated on the NaNoWriMo website at 11:58 pm.

I am a NaNoWriMo Winner!

Announcing: Seven Consecutive NaNoWriMo Wins!

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Yes, I did.

At 11:56 pm I validated that I have written over 50k words. I had hoped to reach the goal before Thanksgiving. And I did. Barely. But I did.

It has been challenging and fun. For a while I thought I wouldn't make it. But I did.

Now back to working on the story! I reached 50k, but as I suspected, the plot is not complete. There are words to go to actually finish the novel and I will keep on writing to the end. Then return to the other novel while this one rests.

Woo hoo!!

And my winner t-shirt arrived today. How perfect was that timing?!

NaNoWriMo Day 28: Giving Thanks and The End

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We spent time with family today. A family to which I have no blood or legal connection. But I do have connection of the heart. The head of this family, my partner's step-father, has been in my life for over thirty years, as have his adult children (my partner's step-siblings). There were other extended family members from others' second marriages and, well, it's complicated and I would have to draw you a chart to show the connections, as loose and fluid as it is. The family who have been around for these thirty years, I only see once or twice a year and it was good to see them. I am thankful to have these people in my life and to call them family. And I'm thankful for all of the good things in our lives. It is not perfect, there are some hard things, but overall, life is good.

Also, with two days left in NaNovember, I have completed the story. Yesterday I passed the 50,000 word mark and today I completed the plot. The book needs much editing, some plot points need changing, moving, expanding, enhancing, but the story is there from beginning to end.

The rule is to let it rest. I think of it like making bread: it has to rest and rise and then it's ready to be punched down and kneaded and let to rise again. Yes. It must rest and then it can be manipulated and shaped. But it must rise and "rise" for me and the novel is that I have to forget some of the little things, come back to it fresh, and renew my energy for the project. Then dive in, look at it fresh, and clean it up.

I like the story. Still. This is good.

This was my sixth consecutive NaNoWriMo win:

NaNoWriMo 2013: "The Center of the Universe" 

NaNoWriMo 2012: "Forty-nine Days of Bardo"

NaNoWriMo 2011: "Following Instinct: of Shadows and Edges"

NaNoWriMo 2010: "There Was This Garden"

NaNoWriMo 2009: "Cascade Lakes Footnotes" 

NaNoWriMo 2008: "Open Boxes"

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NaNoWriMo Day 27: I'm A Winner!

The story isn't yet done, but I have surpassed the goal of writing 50,000 words in November. Now, back to writing the story.

Yay!

I am ...

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... an official NaNoWriMo Winner! Yes, indeed, I wrote over 50k in 30 days.

Five for Five (five consecutive attempts = five consecutive wins) 

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My 2012 NaNoWriMo word count calendar. And I'm not worried about all the red squares at the end; I'd already passed 50k and wasn't updating my word count.

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NaNoWriMo Day 23 : 50k in 30 Days Benchmark Achieved

I did it!

I came home after work and said hello to my partner, who was still up reading. Then I poured a glass of wine and played a couple of games of Sherlock to let go of work (the logic puzzle game; nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes - the goal is to work with the clues given to figure out how these 6 things are grouped).

Then I got opened up my NaNoNovel, saved a backup copy in case something happen and I lost what I was about to write, and started typing.

And a little while later, I did it! I passed the 50k mark.

In the story, there is still a big mystery. Although those two characters are on the very edge of revealing what it is. I don't totally know what it is - but there was something revealed two chapters ago that there is a link between the person who died in the beginning and this person who the bartender is having an affair with. And  that may be somehow mixed up in the recent bomb threat - where an actual bomb was discovered - at the post office a couple of streets away from where the bartender works. And it probably is related to the murder of the dog, although nothing has been said about that, yet.

So, we'll see where this goes from here. I will try to get to the end of the first draft of this novel by the end of November. That is my goal and I'll see how it goes. I have another big event happening on Saturday, December 1st - the first meeting of the theatrical interpreting preparation workshop series I've started. I'm very excited about that and have been pulling together material, but I have a few more things to do to get the first session ready. So now that I've passed 50k in the novel and I feel like it is well under way and fun and like I've found its rhythm in terms of story, I might have to back off on the daily word count to make sure I get the workshop material all in order. And I feel like I can do that with this one and not lose that plot thread.

I will get a first draft of this NaNoNovel done! Whether it is by the end of November or not.

Whew!

Five for five NaNoWins! I can't officially validate my word count as a winner until November 25th. But I did run it through the NaNoWordValidator and my word count as of right now is 50,325.

Yay, NaNo!

NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Nine

....and I'm a winner! I typed my final words to the 50k mark, which earned me to purple bar of honor as a NaNoWriMo 2011 Winner! My official final word count is 50,231. I doubt I'll do any more on it right now because I have student journals to grade and an assignment due in the Literary Kitchen and feedback to give to last week's assignments in the Kitchen.

...but I did it.

Now what? Will I abandon this story? Will it grow to a fully developed and published novel?

I'm not sure to the last question. But I do know I won't abandon it. I like parts of it; I like parts of it a lot. And I can see this at least being a longer short story (say 20 - 25 pages). And I can see turning it into a full novel. I did not get to the end of the story - but I will. I owe the characters that much.

I am now a four consecutive years NaNoWriMo winner.

It feels good.

Yes, this story will grow into something. I'm confident of that.

#SheWriMo
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NaNoWriMo day 29

The awesome and amazing Debil became a NaNoWriMo winner, year two in a row, and she has received the Purple Bar of Validation!

        Congratulations, Deb!       

She raced across the finish line by typing an incredible 5991 words in just one day.

You're my hero.
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NaNoWriMo day 25

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I have achieved the purple bar of validation.

I am a NaNoWriMo 2010 confirmed winner

with a total word count (so far) of

50,160

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