I did it, I completed NaNoWriMo!!!! I wrote a 50,000 word novel. (52,228 words to be exact.) And CONGRATULATIONS to my writing buddies Dyann, Maura and Noreen who also won NaNoWriMo!!! You guys ROCK!
How is the novel? It's AWFUL. Terrible. Atrocious. Horrible. It's called "A Time to Dream", that's how pathetic it is. What do you expect of a novel written in less than 30 days? But being good wasn't the point, for me, the point was to get done. 1,667 words a day. It seemed really intimidating until I realized that some of my daily posts here are longer than that, and I do those in less than an hour usually. So while the Graminator is napping, I CAN get into a daily writing habit.
This novel is so bad that I'm going to burn it. It's a time to die for "A Time to Dream". Now I don't believe in book burning (that's wrong) but since this one is mine I'm going to burn it in effigy, as a sacrifice to the 'writing gods' to give me the chance to write better ones. How can it be that bad? Well, I think my fellow writers will understand when I say that I used all the right words, I just put them in the wrong order. But again, this challenge wasn't for a good novel, it was for a finished novel. I'm sure Dyann and Maura and Noreen wrote great novels, but with the challenges of the Vegas Schmegas shoot I was really behind, so I wrote total crap. Pure and utter drivel. It was all for word count. No one should ever be forced to read such manure. So today, I release the words back into the universe so that I may use them again and this time put them in the right order.
NaNoWriMo gave me hope that I can write a better novel this time. I actually have three projects planned for December (I'll tell you more as I complete them) and I look forward now to some GOOD writing. Join me as I wave goodbye to my first (and hopefully worst) novel.
3 comments:
First let me say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Way to go, Shae. I am so proud of you. That you could win this challenge with everything else you had going on in November is nothing short of astonishing. I hope you treat yourself to some sort of celebration.
Second, I hope you don't really burn your novel. I'm sure it needs a lot of editing (I know mine sure does!) but I'll bet you've got some good stuff in there. I see evidence of your writing talent everyday. I can't believe there is nothing salvageable from "A Time to Dream," although I do have to agree that is a bit of a hokey title! :) But as a working title, it's just fine.
Anyway, I am so happy for you. And regardless of what you do with this manuscript, I hope you will look back on it fondly as it reminds you of what an amazing person you are and what you are capable of achieving. :) Keep it up!!
YOU ROCK, SHAE! I'm so proud of you!
And I agree with Maura! Don't burn it! All writing has SOMETHING. I saved the first (and absolute worst) attempt at a novel I wrote in 8th grade, just to have it. One day when I have 100 novels in my portfolio I'll burn it, but for now,I say keep it and tuck it away.
Or use it! Bit and pieces, Shae, but and pieces.
And my title is hokier. So there!
I'm keeping mine and it sucks royally. But I believe it can be made into something better. Much better.
Still, I'm glad you could prove to yourself you could do it! We all knew you could! Yay!
While watching Maura and me type away, trying to make the deadline my mother asked me, completely seriously, "Do you use the same word over and over again?"
Congrats and as far as burning it goes - maybe it will become a phoenix from the ashes
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