You Did It! NaNoWriMo 2019

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Do you remember when I wrote the post about deciding to participate in NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month? That's where you write 50,000 words in thirty days. In other words, you write a novel. In case you missed my Facebook post, I did it. I’m so excited about having accomplished that. I wrote 50,134 words in twenty-five days.

When I first made up my mind to join the group, they had been at this for four days. I had to play catch-up. Also, maneuvering all the techie things that went along with making that decision almost did me in. Yes. I almost quit before I wrote the first word.

But I hung in there. I sat down almost every day and wrote the words that came to my mind. And I did it. And so did many, many more of you.

Challenges

For me, NaNo wasn’t without its challenges. I had just begun physical therapy for my right shoulder when I took this on. Twice a week, I had to stop whatever I was in the midst of and go to PT. They tell me my issues sprang from too many hours hunched over my keyboard. No kidding. Poor posture, in other words.

We’ve worked on that for a month now and I’m so much stronger and far more upright than I’ve been in years. When I was younger and participated in choirs, my posture was superb. I’ve gotten lazy since I stopped singing in the choir. Maybe it’s time to think about doing that again. Hmmmm.

Here’s the thing—if you decide you want to do something, no matter how challenging it may appear to be, you can do it. Just make up your mind that there are greater things to be done than sitting back (hunched over) and doing nothing. Do not let doubt and fear stand in your way. We all know the origin of those two things.Get thee behind me, Satan.

All those words staring back at me feels amazing. I’ve printed out those pages for edits and they measure at least two inches thick. And the book isn’t even finished. The story took me to such an unexpected place. Now it’s time to to go back, add in some red herrings and other ideas, and then plot out my ending. 

Plotter or Pantser

There are basically two kinds of writers—plotters, those who plan every chapter scene by scene, and pantsers, those who sit down and write by the seat of their pants. I’ve always considered myself a pantser. But this time, I’m a combination of the two since I wrote the first with very little planning, and the ending will be plotted. I think that one is called a hybrid.

As I put the finishing touches on book two—Grave Decisions, then go back and edit it, I will be promoting book one, Grave Consequences. Be on the lookout for Facebook posts, blog posts, and my newsletter. By the way, if you haven’t signed up, this is a great time to do that. I’ll be telling you about my next give-away. You do not want to miss this one.

Congratulations!

To all my fellow NaNoWriMo writers, I’m so proud of you. Whether you crossed that 50,000- word mark or not, you got words on the page. The saying is, if it isn’t on the page, you can’t edit it. Don’t stop now. You’re on your way. Finish it, edit it, then send it out. And congratulations!

What have you taken on that you thought you’d never accomplish? Share that with us. We’d love to either congratulate and encourage you. You can do it!

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