My fingers are aching, my brain is frazzled and I’m only still functional because I’m running on tea and sweeties but I’ve done it! I crossed the finishing line for this year’s NaNoWriMo with a full 24 hours left on the clock. I think that’s a record for me. Normally I’m clock watching to get to the finishing line, if I make it at all.
This is my eighth year taking part in NaNoWriMo and my fourth win. I first won in 2010 but I’ve had a winning streak since 2012 and I managed to keep to it this year, which is great. I’m so happy to have made it!
The novel is a strong one, too. It’s currently lacking a third act but the rest is here and I’m really looking forward to December, where I can put in the final part of the story. It will be nice to be able to tick off this particular New Year’s Resolution, that’s for sure!
As Jennie Rigg jokingly pointed out on Twitter, finishing the novel isn’t the end of it. There will be a lot of revision to do afterward. This book has a solid story but I know there are things in it right now that will need re-writing, moving around for better timing and general re-jigging to make the story flow better.
@ZoeKirkRobinson and then it’s edit edit edit edit edit 😉
— Jennie Rigg (@miss_s_b) November 30, 2014
Sometimes that means things will need to be cut out. Sometimes it means whole extra passages will need to be written to clarify points and add in information that’s currently in my head but which the reader may not know.
The first draft of any novel is really just the bare bones of the story. Once I finish that first draft in many ways that’s when the real work starts. I’m looking forward to the challenge, that’s for certain.
But tomorrow I might take the day off from writing. Goodness knows I’ve earned that much!