NaNoWriMo Winner

NaNoWriMo Winner

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Sorry this post is so late. I wrote 15,000 words in three days and my brain got scared and hid under the sofa.

I managed to coax it out with hot coffee and sweet snacks. But it’s still mad at me.

By now some of you are wondering if my grey-matter is seeking revenge. NaNoWriMo isn’t a word and these badges make the Canadian Blog Award beaver look like fine art. Why on earth am I blogging about this? Have I been taken over by an alien entity with a penchant for cartoon banners?

While I didn’t make it to Round 2 in the blogging awards — thanks to all who voted for me — I did cross the finish line with NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month.)

This insane contest asks participants to write a 50,000 word novel in November’s 30-day allotment. Anyone who manages to pound out the required word count, coherent or not, is declared a winner and awarded the privilege of posting a Winner 2008 logo on their site.

Fueled on nothing stronger than double-espresso lattes and the fear of failure, I produced 158 pages of blather. And I’m damned proud of it. In this case, “it” means the 158 pages, not the blather.

I will return to food tomorrow. Be grateful. Last night I made curry and forgot three of the spices.

No Comments
  • Dana McCauley
    Posted at 21:59h, 01 December

    Good for you! I bet you’ll take that blather and hone it into a Governor General’s award winning novel and I’ll be able to say “I knew her (although not in person) then”.

    Congrats. That’ a whole lotta words and I bet more than half of them are fabulous!

    I, too, didn’t make the finals for the blog awards so we can commiserate with one another on that one.

  • Dana McCauley
    Posted at 21:59h, 01 December

    Good for you! I bet you’ll take that blather and hone it into a Governor General’s award winning novel and I’ll be able to say “I knew her (although not in person) then”.

    Congrats. That’ a whole lotta words and I bet more than half of them are fabulous!

    I, too, didn’t make the finals for the blog awards so we can commiserate with one another on that one.

  • cheryl
    Posted at 01:48h, 02 December

    Wow, this is a serious accomplishment. Congratulations on meeting your goal. That’s a lot of words!

  • cheryl
    Posted at 01:48h, 02 December

    Wow, this is a serious accomplishment. Congratulations on meeting your goal. That’s a lot of words!

  • BBS
    Posted at 03:11h, 02 December

    Congratulations! Considering how difficult it can be for me to muster 200 words for a blog some nights, 50,000 takes on a whole new meaning. A question I’ve had for some of the NaNoWriMo writers – do we get to see the results of your (temporary) insanity?

  • BBS
    Posted at 03:11h, 02 December

    Congratulations! Considering how difficult it can be for me to muster 200 words for a blog some nights, 50,000 takes on a whole new meaning. A question I’ve had for some of the NaNoWriMo writers – do we get to see the results of your (temporary) insanity?

  • rachelbirds
    Posted at 10:22h, 02 December

    “Freakin’ awesome!” (as
    my teenager would say) — ’tis
    an accomplishment.

    http://www.thehaikudiaries.wordpress.com

  • rachelbirds
    Posted at 10:22h, 02 December

    “Freakin’ awesome!” (as
    my teenager would say) — ’tis
    an accomplishment.

    http://www.thehaikudiaries.wordpress.com

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 12:10h, 02 December

    Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dana. I doubt I’ll win the GG. My story isn’t depressing enough 🙂

    Thanks Cheryl and Rachel. “Serious”and “Freakin’ awesome” both apply. So does, “Idiotic”. I’m just glad I didn’t have to write the thing in haiku!

    BBS, a 200-word blog post is 10 times harder than 1000 words of gibberish. People will read your post and you need to make sure every word counts. This 50,000-word brain dump was an exercise to break my Inner Editor. It worked for the book but not for my blog.

    One of the reasons I could write freely is that I knew I didn’t have to share the results. But if you really insist, here’s a bit:

    … His eyebrows almost come together. They’re not far enough apart to look like two distinct brows, and not close enough to join. They are at that distracting proximity that makes me want to take out a Sharpie and bridge the gap with black marker. …

    Now, aren’t you sorry you asked?

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 12:10h, 02 December

    Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dana. I doubt I’ll win the GG. My story isn’t depressing enough 🙂

    Thanks Cheryl and Rachel. “Serious”and “Freakin’ awesome” both apply. So does, “Idiotic”. I’m just glad I didn’t have to write the thing in haiku!

    BBS, a 200-word blog post is 10 times harder than 1000 words of gibberish. People will read your post and you need to make sure every word counts. This 50,000-word brain dump was an exercise to break my Inner Editor. It worked for the book but not for my blog.

    One of the reasons I could write freely is that I knew I didn’t have to share the results. But if you really insist, here’s a bit:

    … His eyebrows almost come together. They’re not far enough apart to look like two distinct brows, and not close enough to join. They are at that distracting proximity that makes me want to take out a Sharpie and bridge the gap with black marker. …

    Now, aren’t you sorry you asked?

  • Anonymous
    Posted at 20:51h, 02 December

    Dear Charmian,
    I too say congratulations!! You are so clever. I know there will be gems of wit to provide fodder for many a shorter piece in your “blather”.
    Those people who didn’t vote for you don’t know what they are missing.
    Cheers,
    Love,
    Robin

  • Anonymous
    Posted at 20:51h, 02 December

    Dear Charmian,
    I too say congratulations!! You are so clever. I know there will be gems of wit to provide fodder for many a shorter piece in your “blather”.
    Those people who didn’t vote for you don’t know what they are missing.
    Cheers,
    Love,
    Robin

  • suddenlyfrugal
    Posted at 21:58h, 05 January

    Congrats on the award. I tried giving NaNoWriMo a go this past year but failed because I wasn’t ready to write that novel. Now I am. So I’m trying to spend 30 minutes a day only on the manuscript.

    Are you going to do anything with those 50,000 words? I would think that they’re probably worth sending out to agents, right? Well, congrats again.

    Leah

  • suddenlyfrugal
    Posted at 21:58h, 05 January

    Congrats on the award. I tried giving NaNoWriMo a go this past year but failed because I wasn’t ready to write that novel. Now I am. So I’m trying to spend 30 minutes a day only on the manuscript.

    Are you going to do anything with those 50,000 words? I would think that they’re probably worth sending out to agents, right? Well, congrats again.

    Leah

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 00:07h, 07 January

    Leah, thanks for the words of support. No agent wants to see the mess I produced — yet. This month I’ll be reviewing the manuscript and deciding whether I devote more time to it or take the Nano logo and run.

    Good luck with your daily writing. It’s a challenge, but so worth it when you see the story begin to take shape.

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 00:07h, 07 January

    Leah, thanks for the words of support. No agent wants to see the mess I produced — yet. This month I’ll be reviewing the manuscript and deciding whether I devote more time to it or take the Nano logo and run.

    Good luck with your daily writing. It’s a challenge, but so worth it when you see the story begin to take shape.