Scribbling Saturday: NaNoWriMo: The End

Well, NaNoWriMo is over for another year. I took part for the first time, and I didn't win - or did I? The strict definition of winning is to write 50,000 words in a month, and get your word count validated on the web site. I managed 37,045 words, so I didn't win. But the benefits have been enormous, so I feel like a winner.

For one thing, I have never written that number of words in that short a time before - so that's a winner.

The story I wrote was another about my space ship the Kestrel. All previous stories have been around 25,000 words after a couple of drafts. This one was 37,045 after the initial write and a quick review - so that's a winner.

I write when the fancy takes me, sometimes not for days. I just wrote hundreds of words every day for 30 days - that's a winner.

The outline for my stories has been the overall plot and a few cardboard characters, which causes long pauses in writing while I decide each set of details as I come to them. This story was outlined in detail during the month before - so that's a winner.

And the biggest winner was my confidence. Even if my Kestrel stories are never good enough to publish, I have proved to myself that I can come up with ideas and I have the self discipline to work every day, which I am certain will carry over into other areas of my life.

So, all things considered. I'm a winner!