Happy New Year!

I did terribly last year. Resolutions were a joke. Instead of writing and photographing more I did less. It was a rough year for many people I know, and I wasn't prepared for it. 2014 was so absolutely amazing that it would make sense that 2015 wouldn't be quite as good. I wasn't prepared for how very bad it would be at times though. 2015 was a rough year. We powered through, but not without bruises and scars. Not without tears and moments of "I simply can't do this anymore." We made it out on the other side together. Here's hoping that 2016 has more highs than lows, more friends than foes, and more laughter than tears. 

This is easily one of my favorite mottos when entering a new year. I've posted it in both 2014 and 2015. I'm making it a goal. The idea is that I will wrote something, even if it's only one sentence, every day in 2016. It might be as simple as "Wow. This day really sucked." or, on a more positive note, "This was one of the best days ever!", (let's hope for more of those than not, right?) but I will write something.

To up the challenge to myself to do more things I enjoy, I will also take a photograph of something, anything, every day in 2016. At least one. (Hopefully more.) I hope that, in making this a challenge for myself, I can start to find some of the joy in these things that I once did. 

Here's to making 2016 one helluva good book!

Our first family picture of 2016!

I'm A Winner!

That's right! I am winner! And I have the internet bling to prove it!

Not that I am trying to brag or anything, but I'm bragging. :) Two years in a row, and one day I might even get published! Just like last year, I'm not done, but I did it! (And I will finish it one day. Promise!) 50,000+ words in the month of November. (I'll be writing tomorrow too, because the challenge is to write every day of November, not just to 50,000 words.)

Yay!

Here We Go Again: NaNoWriMo 2013

Though I have known about NaNoWriMo for several years, last year was the first time that I participated in the writing challenge, a challenge to write every day during the month of November, totaling at least 50,000 words in those 30 days. Last year I "won" the challenge, writing 50,207 words towards my first complete novel. (I didn't finish it, and I still haven't finished it, but I plan to in the next few months. We'll see.)

Here we are, November 1st again, and I am still completely clueless as to what I want to write. I have a few ideas, but I am not sure which way I am going to go in, which is very different from last year, when I knew the story I wanted to tell. At least I knew how I wanted to start it, and it went beautifully. I truly love my story from last year. This year I am pretty close to a panic, but I am going to start and see where it takes me. 

Wish me luck! I need it!

I DID IT!

And it was hard! Some days I didn't meet my planned word count, some days I exceeded it, some days I had complete writers block and drove my husband crazy bemoaning my complete and total ignorance and inability to finish even this simple task. But here we are, the end of 30 long days, and I am an official NaNoWriMo Winner!

I even have proof!

See that? Only winners get that! Apparently I can even buy a shirt. I just might do that. You never know. 

I came in at 50,207 words. My novel isn't done yet. In fact, I am at a very detailed and exciting part of the story. I wrote 50,207 words in 30 days though, and I am pretty proud of that fact. It is raw, unedited, probably filled with misspellings and incorrect punctuation, but I have 50,207 words of a novel written. I did that! (A ton of other people did too, but I am tooting my own horn right now. Sorry.) 

It's a raw and imperfect little thing, my new novel, but I am proud of it. I might even finish it one day and let someone other than myself read it. Who knows? Right now I am just happy that I did it and completed this thing that I started out to do back on November 1st. 

I look forward to next year.

NaNoWriMo

Perhaps you have heard of this little thing called NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The idea is, in the month of November, to write a novel. Whatever comes to mind. Any subject matter is accepted just so long as you are writing. The goal is to write at least 50,000 words during the month of November. If you do that you are declared a NaNoWriMo winner. You don't really win anything outside of the satisfaction of having written a 50,000 word novel, but isn't that enough?

Both my cousin and my sister have participated in this in years past. I absolutely meant to do it last year, but between a new baby and health issues related to my gallbladder and pancreas, the month of November passed by without me having written a word. I was disappointed, but vowed that it wouldn't happen next year. Next year I would write something great!

And here we are! This year is upon me. In just a few minutes I will close my blog and start writing my NaNoWriMo novel. I have a vague idea of where I am going to start, no idea where I am going to finish, and a goal of at least 50,000 words. Let's see where this adventure takes me! Wish me luck. :)