Hey guys!  As you might have heard, I’m on a bit of a blogging break, which means you might not see as many weekly quotes and you won’t see The Card Dealer update until January.  But that doesn’t mean I’ll be gone completely until January!  I’ve still got posts I’m writing, so a few will be out this month!  For today’s post, I’d like to give a final NaNoWriMo update, and I’m sure you know what it is, considering my title…sorry for the spoiler…

So yes, the title speaks the truth; I am a NaNoWriMo winner!  I’m super excited that I made it, and I managed to write 50,119 words in thirty days!  Of course…my book is not finished.  I still have a chapter or two to go, but it is coming to a close.  But I do have something to confess…I did not start this book at the beginning of November.  I know, I know, usually you should start a new book, but I really needed to get this one done.  It’s one of my favorite ideas, and I really enjoy writing it.  When I started NaNoWriMo, I had already written around 22,000 words in the book already, and now the book is up to more than 70,000 words!

As someone who doesn’t have a lot of confidence in themselves, I’d say that this was a big boost for me.  Writing 50,000 words in a month taught me a few things.  First of all, the hardest thing to do was to stop editing.  The editing monster in my head had to be tamed so I could focus on getting the story done.  Editing is for later drafts and definitely not for the first draft.  I had to gain the confidence to write it and stop doubting myself, though there was plenty of that throughout the month.  But I worked hard and got through that, and now I’m almost done with my book!

There is no feeling in this world like writing the last word in a book.  I have gotten to that point in this book yet, but I have in others that I’ve written.  Not a lot of people can say they’ve felt that satisfaction before, and that’s what makes an author’s life so different.  Not everyone can create a story with lovable characters.  Not everyone has such a powerful imagination that they can form entire worlds for people to escape to.  It’s hard work, and it’s only for those who are willing to do it!

If any of ya’ll took part in NaNoWriMo, I congratulate you, even though you might not have won.  Writing anything is hard.  Creating is hard.  But if you jumped into NaNoWriMo, you did something incredible, and I want you to believe that!

Did you take part in NaNoWriMo?  Are you a winner?  Let me know in the comments!