Conquérir (Surviving NaNoWriMo #5)

I won NaNoWriMo.
Not only did I win, but I finished my novel about two days after I actually hit 50k.
The first draft of The Fate Machine clocks in at nearly 57k, which is small for a novel but really good given my track record.
I shall document my experience in .gifs.

When I first heard about NaNoWriMo, my initial reaction was along the lines of, "no stinking way."

"50k words in a month? You're crazy."

However, this period in my life didn't last. As I looked at the breakdown and figured logically, suddenly this task sounded doable. I began to think "There is a chance I can do this!"

So I, brave soul I am, clicked the fateful "sign up" button.

Thus began the madness.

I had to finish my current first draft, along with outlining a brand new one.

The good thing was that I did have a story. I had characters and some semblance of a plot and a goal and main idea. I had all the basic ingredients. I just needed to put them in order.

I am not an organized person. One look at my room will tell you that.

I don't like outlining because it forces me to slow down and put things in order; it constrains my creativity. But it must be done, and so I did it.

I never did complete that outline, but I did come to a point where I felt it was 'good enough'.

I still had a few days until NaNoWriMo, which were spent reading, blogging, and worrying.

When November first rolled around, I was ready.

I was prepared to write and I understood that 1,667 words were a lot, but I really enjoyed myself.

I would get up at 6:15, take a fifteen minute shower, and then write until 8:00. Normally I would also eat breakfast at that time or talk to my daddy, whom I don't see much, so I could get anywhere from 500 to 1000 words at a session like that. I also wrote throughout the day; normally at college or just in my bedroom.

Honestly, NaNoWriMo wasn't that hard.

Yes; I know. It really should have been difficult. I mean, 50k in a month?

But, for me, it wasn't. I never really struggled. I just wrote, I exceeded my goal every single day and hit the goal over a week early. I suppose it's just because I have a lot of free time, but NaNoWriMo never gained an impossible feel to it. I wrote and I wrote everyday. I wrote a lot everyday.

So I beat it. So I won.

A few days later, I finished my entire rough draft. It stopped at an odd point, thanks to the fact that the beginning of my book needs to happen at the end, so the end was really somewhere in the middle... anyway.

The book is, as a rough draft, completed.

Because I was so pumped from NaNo, because I felt like I could do anything, I decided I would straightaway begin editing.

To sum up:

I finished my second rough draft of a book

I won NaNoWriMo

I now embark on the wonderful journey of editing this book and making it worth reading. Expect more posts on my editing process in the days to come.

This officially concludes the "Surviving NaNoWriMo" series, as I am not adding any new words to my book at this point. Look for the "Aftermath" series on book editing to come next!

How has your NaNoWriMo experience been/are you planning on participating next year? Tell me in the comments!

Vene Vidi Vici

The highly improbable had happened.
I kid you not! Something I have, for many years, considered to be beyond my reach has finally occurred.

I finished the rough draft of a novel.

Yes thank you Faramir and Eowyn.
By the way, I ship it.
Just so you know.

Yes, the news is true! A rough draft has been COMPLETED, as of October the 26th, 2014, at approximately 4:30 PM CT.

A Quick Recap of the Journey

Early this year, I got an idea for a novel. As with every novel idea, it hit me like lightning. I thought it had potential. Still, there was the struggle: I did not know if it was wise to take on yet another story that would surely lie around, unfinished, for months, or even years.

The struggle was real.

However, I decided to commit. Yes, I was going to write this novel. So I sat down and I began.

With the furious passion of a brand new idea, the promise of a brand new story, the beginning almost effortlessly took shape.

I typed with a vigor that cannot be explained.

But then.

The beginning ended. Suddenly, it was harder. The ideas weren't coming so quickly; the ones I had were too far away. How do "real authors" cope? This cannot be!

So I paused. I took a step back and a very deep breath.

Then I began a process that was also a first.

I began to outline my story.

Yes, it was a daunting task, but I made it. The outline was completed and I began my story in earnest.

But yet again, I encountered resistance.

I was spreading myself too thin, focusing on too many stories at once, and not writing often enough.

After a summer camp, in late July,where God really spoke to my heart about several things, I decided it was time to get serious.

500 words a day, every day. At that rate, I knew I could finish a first draft by Christmas. I was strong and steady for the rest of summer.

Then, alas, things changed.

I started.... college.

On college days I allowed myself to do only 300 words.

I was on and off, not always doing what I should but writing at least four times a week.

In early October I made the commitment to do NaNoWriMo, which meant I needed to up my word count to 1000 words a day in order to prepare and finish my current novel. It was an even more daunting task, but I pushed forward with superhuman ability and much caffeine.

Little known fact: for the first week I bribed myself with
Smarties. You know, the little candies in the rolls?
For every hundred words, I received on piece.
It worked.

I cannot lie, it was difficult. Many times I wanted to throw things and forget about writing, ever. I got annoyed with my characters and with my plot, plus it was rough draft so it was automatically not my best work. However, I could not turn back.

So I persevered.

Until today.

The final sentence was writ. The final battle ended. My plot lines were tied up nice and neatly.

All the arcs were ended, every gate closed.

Well, the rough draft anyway.

I can scarcely believe I have done it. I have completed a thought. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yes, it's too short. Yes, it's horrible. Yes, it's out of order.

But it's my story and I have finished it. I have told it once, and it is out there now. All I have to do is polish it and make it shine. Yes, the process will be long and hard, but I am halfway there.

I know I couldn't have done it without God. He inspires me in a million ways. I'm also deeply indebted to my friends, for their constant encouragement.

So, what now? Well. come November first, there's a shiny new novel waiting to be written. One that still needs to be outlined and fleshed out before that date.

Perhaps in a few months I will come back to this story and look at it once again.

For now, I am glad to put it away.