The End of NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo 2015 is over.

That doesn't seem possible. November flew by, as it seems I'm always saying time does.

In the beginning, NaNoWriMo seemed terribly frightening. 50,000 words sounded like so much, and it really is. I had never written a novel containing 50,000 words in my life, much less than in one month. And to challenge myself to write 1,667 each day was terrifying. What if I couldn't do it? Truthfully, there were days when I didn't meet the goal. I hate to admit it, but the day after Thanksgiving I didn't write at all. But I made up for it on other days and in the end wound up with 50,060 words mere hours before the deadline.

I have to tell you, it was worth it. I felt so good when I validated my novel on www.nanowrimo.org Monday night and saw the congratulatory video and winner certificate. It was so exciting and that feeling of accomplishment is just wonderful.

I felt quite close to tears Monday evening as I was typing the last few passages. It was sad to think of the challenge that has been so good for me was coming to a close and I didn't want to quit working on this novel. I love it. It's my favorite novel I've written thus far. But there is no way I'm going to give up on this book. I love it too much to let it collect dust. I can't wait to see where it goes.

Really, I feel like God has been with me. Sometimes it seems really subtle, but somehow I know He's been somewhere in every step of this process. I asked Him to help me meet this goal and obviously He did. It's so wonderful to consider that.

And it really is great to know that I have family and friends that believed I could do this. I know there are some out there who really couldn't care less, but there are far many more that do and I am choosing to focus on those people. Thank you all for your kindness. You'll never know just how much it means to me.

Here's to completing the NaNoWriMo challenge. It's been great fun.

-Miranda Atchley