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Well, here we are. November 30. For me, this day is monumental.
Why?
Because today is the day I finish the rough draft of my first novel. *Exhausted cheers*
I originally set my deadline as December 31, but when a friend decided to participate in NaNoWriMo and write 50,000 words in the month of November, I decided to join in. I had already finished 30,000 words of my novel but knew if I didn’t light a fire under my hands, I’d never finish writing this thing by the end of the year.
There were many days I felt like (1) I was an awful writer, (2) I had no originality, (3) my story was as dry as days-old bread, or (4) I shouldn’t be wasting my time. Writing wasn’t always fun. It wasn’t always easy.
But some days, it was both, and those days carried me through.
Now, this is a very, very rough draft. I plan to go back and read through it all, scouring off the grime and getting to the good stuff. But instead of moving hastily on to the next step, I want to stop and reflect on what it took to get here.
Patience
Patience with myself. Patience with the process. Patience with my inexperience at novel writing.
Perseverance
I kept moving ahead, plodding along. No. Matter. How. Hard. The. Next. Step. Felt.
Prayer
I asked for divine gifting of the aforementioned patience and perseverance, and a confirmation that God was OK with me spending my time like this.
Your Turn: What goals have you set for yourself lately (writing-related or otherwise)? Have you achieved them yet? If not, what will it take for you to achieve them?
P.S. – I’ve read some really good advice on this topic of perseverance and the writer’s calling lately. Author Jody Hedlund and literary agent Rachelle Gardner have particularly provoking posts.
Photo courtesy of http://tvtropes.org
Writing is a journey! Congrats on finishing your first draft!!!
My goals: Keep polishing my novel and query, get an agent/publisher and finish my second book in this series so I can start the process all over.
That's awesome, TC! I hope you reach your goals. 🙂
Congratulations on reaching The End, Lindsay! That's a huge accomplishment. I hope you took time to celebrate.
Thanks, Keli! I definitely did a happy dance…but every end is a new beginning, so onward toward editing! 🙂
Woohoo! Congratulations! Don't you love those endorphins from typing "The End"? 🙂
I sure do, Sarah. I sure do. 🙂
Celebrating with you, Lindsay! Happy Dance time!
NaNoWriMo (and the My Book Therapy version MBTWriMo) took an unexpected turn for me when my story took an unexpected turn.
So, I had to realize:
a) I wasn't going to reach 50k
b) That was OK.
Not reaching 50k didn't mean I'd failed. It was reality in my writing life. I needed to reassess where I was going as a writer and accept the detour as the right way to go.
Thanks, Beth. And that is so true. Sometimes, we need to reassess goals instead of tenaciously moving forward with something that isn't working. And reassessment does not equal failure.