WHEW!!
'Tis the season that I love . . . I look forward to this time of year so much, the friends, the fellowship, the food, the drink . . . ahhhhh.
Oh, wait - you're thinking Christmas! Noooooo, though I do love the holidays, too. I'm talking about TGIO!! Personally, I think it should be a national holiday. Thank God It's Over. Those NaNo'ers out there understand exactly what I mean. I can hardly wait for November to arrive, that frantic rush, the realization that nearly 100,000 people all around the world are also typing away like mad, the thrill of pushing myself, the decadence of doing what is important to me and, gasp (!), saying no to others. It is wonderful, and finishing is a feeling like none other. It must be like the rush a runner feels after completing a marathon.
This year, I had the joy of finishing my novel at a write-in, which I highly recommend. I thought I would finish early, though I had my doubts earlier in the month. But last weekend, I set a new record for my Personal Best (P
- 8,026 words in a single day - and that was the tipping point for me. That's when I felt like I really hit my stride, and the characters took over. So, when I went to the write-in on Saturday, I knew it was within the realm of possibility that I could win. I needed about 7K words to finish, and I knew that physically I could do it. The question was, could I mentally do it? So, I made the trip to Westwood Coffee in Fulton, ordered my Penny Lane latte, and plugged in the trusty old IBM ThinkPad. Ericca, Doug and Chris got there before I did (by the way, kudos to Ericca for coming and writing even though she had already passed the 50K mark!), and Teresa got there after I did. By about 5:30, I realized that it was really going to happen. I wrote the last few sentences with Teresa, Doug and Chris cheering me on. They waited while I typed away madly and then submitted my novel for verification, and they cheered when I made it! WOO-HOOOO!!! It was so much more fun than the last three years, when I finished at home. My DH is wonderful, supportive, and loving, but he just doesn't get overly excited about me "winning" nor does he really understand the writerly side of me. Being with people who truly get it was incredible! I'm sitting here grinning just thinking about it.
We had an excellent region this year. We blew away a neighboring region that is like five times bigger than us, and we had a bunch of people who passed the 50K mark early in the month. And we have several more that are going to finish this week.
We're having a TGIO party Friday night, and I can't wait.
For those of you who went through this NaNo madness with me this year, kudos to you for trying. If you won, or if you're about to win, CONGRATULATIONS!
A side note on my story - I'm pretty darned happy with it. And ideas are already swirling around about edits that I want to make and ways to rewrite it, but I'm going to put it away for a few weeks. I have some editting to do on last year's NaNo novel before I send it out. And then there's that pesky Christmas thing - I guess I'll have to take time out to get the cards made and sent out, go shopping, and decorate. <SIGH> ;o)
You all take care and have a good week. Relax this week. Take a break and take care of yourself.
TGIO!!
Elle
Oh, wait - you're thinking Christmas! Noooooo, though I do love the holidays, too. I'm talking about TGIO!! Personally, I think it should be a national holiday. Thank God It's Over. Those NaNo'ers out there understand exactly what I mean. I can hardly wait for November to arrive, that frantic rush, the realization that nearly 100,000 people all around the world are also typing away like mad, the thrill of pushing myself, the decadence of doing what is important to me and, gasp (!), saying no to others. It is wonderful, and finishing is a feeling like none other. It must be like the rush a runner feels after completing a marathon.
This year, I had the joy of finishing my novel at a write-in, which I highly recommend. I thought I would finish early, though I had my doubts earlier in the month. But last weekend, I set a new record for my Personal Best (P
- 8,026 words in a single day - and that was the tipping point for me. That's when I felt like I really hit my stride, and the characters took over. So, when I went to the write-in on Saturday, I knew it was within the realm of possibility that I could win. I needed about 7K words to finish, and I knew that physically I could do it. The question was, could I mentally do it? So, I made the trip to Westwood Coffee in Fulton, ordered my Penny Lane latte, and plugged in the trusty old IBM ThinkPad. Ericca, Doug and Chris got there before I did (by the way, kudos to Ericca for coming and writing even though she had already passed the 50K mark!), and Teresa got there after I did. By about 5:30, I realized that it was really going to happen. I wrote the last few sentences with Teresa, Doug and Chris cheering me on. They waited while I typed away madly and then submitted my novel for verification, and they cheered when I made it! WOO-HOOOO!!! It was so much more fun than the last three years, when I finished at home. My DH is wonderful, supportive, and loving, but he just doesn't get overly excited about me "winning" nor does he really understand the writerly side of me. Being with people who truly get it was incredible! I'm sitting here grinning just thinking about it.We had an excellent region this year. We blew away a neighboring region that is like five times bigger than us, and we had a bunch of people who passed the 50K mark early in the month. And we have several more that are going to finish this week.
We're having a TGIO party Friday night, and I can't wait.
For those of you who went through this NaNo madness with me this year, kudos to you for trying. If you won, or if you're about to win, CONGRATULATIONS!
A side note on my story - I'm pretty darned happy with it. And ideas are already swirling around about edits that I want to make and ways to rewrite it, but I'm going to put it away for a few weeks. I have some editting to do on last year's NaNo novel before I send it out. And then there's that pesky Christmas thing - I guess I'll have to take time out to get the cards made and sent out, go shopping, and decorate. <SIGH> ;o)
You all take care and have a good week. Relax this week. Take a break and take care of yourself.
TGIO!!
Elle
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