Another NaNoWriMo Conquered

Another November draws to a close and I can proudly say I am one of the NaNoWriMo winners who has written 50,000 words in a month.

I do it for the motivation and the challenge.

I also did it this year as a way to bang out the first draft of the third book in the Reality Ali series.

This is the fourth time I've reached my goal. One year I did not. That was partly due to getting the flu right at the beginning of the month, which threw off my momentum, and having a story idea I wasn't thrilled with.

So now what. I've written 50,000 words. I have a book, right?

Kind of right.

I haven't reached the end of the story yet - so I'm not really done. Which is fine.

But even when I reach the spot where I feel like I can say "The End" I won't be done. I'll be done with the first draft, which is like being done with the outline in a picture or the skeleton.

The next step is to put it aside and work on another project for awhile. That way when I come back to the manuscript it will be with fresh eyes. At that point I'll see what works and what doesn't work and I'll flesh out the story and the description and pretty much everything that makes a book something interesting to read.

So, it's not done yet.

But I still feel accomplished.

Also a bit humbled, because my fifteen-year-old daughter reached 50,000 words a couple of days before I did.

Reached any goals lately? Doesn't it feel great?