I have completed NaNoWriMo.
At 50,663 words, it - that infamous novel that has diligently plagued me all throughout the long November month - sits without a name. I only recently realized this problem. Hm. Titles I contemplate are "Wilderwood King" or "Rebel's Cause."
Because I enjoy listing elements of stories, I shall do so now for mine. My tale contains/concerns:
- Knights
- Slavers
- Nuns
- A peasant uprising
- Wolves
- Quartz
- A steep cliff
- A bonfire
- Waterfall
- Blood. Lots of blood. My poor characters suffered much. >_>
I freely admit that it is a poor story. Perhaps some characters, scenes, or threads of plot will be salvageable, but on the whole I have little affection for it. Yet I am still content. I did not jump into NaNo with the intention of coming out with a worthy story; I wanted to do it for the sheer challenge and adventure; to be able to say that I have done it! Here in prosperous America, I do not have many chances for true adventures, but I try to take what I can get. :) NaNoWriMo was not terribly adventurous or thrilling, but it was a challenge, a task, a quest - one that I have successfully completed. I am content. I can now say that I have done NaNoWriMo; 50,000 words, 30 days.
Thanks to Millard for the many word wars and vigorous encouragements! I think I would have lost strength and motivation and tossed the whole project without his help. :) You can read Millard's ominous story of his dreadful experience with NaNoWriMo here.
Millard was ALSO the one who, upon the completion of my novel, convinced me to - against my better judgment - write "NaNoWriMo" on my socks with a Sharpie, as he himself did. And (heheh) I took a video of the event. If you're truly so bored that you'd care to see -
And, finally, I shall close with a quote from the book "No Plot, No Problem!" written by Chris Baty, the man who created NaNoWriMo (and consequentially became the man whose name is alternately cursed and blessed by aspiring authors more than any other appellation). The following narrates his method of celebrating a NaNoWriMo victory:
“I tend to celebrate crossing over with a meditative ceremony where I print the book out and neatly stack the pages on the floor. When everything has been properly laid out, I take a few steps back from the work, close my eyes, and offer up my thanks to the writing powers for another bountiful harvest. At which point, I get a running start and dive headlong into my wordpile, rolling around and snorting like a pig.
"And then I fall asleep for three days."
Over and out.
The triumphant,
-whisper
