I Didn't Win NaNoWriMo and That's OK--Really!

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Nope, didn't win. And I'm just fine with that, especially as my true goal this year was to write. Now if I had reached my goal of 50K, that would have been wonderful too, but more than anything I just wanted to get back into a daily writing schedule. 

I may not have been a winner this year (and huge congratulations to all of you who did win), but neither do I feel that I came home empty-handed. Not only did I have the fun of once again being part of an international month-long community of writers, but I also feel as if I won an entire basketful of door prizes, starting with:

• A cast of interesting characters and a strong story outline for a YA mystery set in a remote mountain boarding school. Prior to sitting down and writing the words "Chapter One" I had no idea these people were even in my head!
• I learned I still could do it. After what has been nearly a year of condo renovations, and then all of the discombobulation of selling my home and moving into said condo, I wondered if I would ever be able to write again. Fortunately the answer is "Yes, of course I can!" making me feel a lot more confident about heading into 2019.
• I discovered some new places to write, my favorites being the downtown Albuquerque library and the Albuquerque museum. Very inspiring.
• I returned to writing by hand and absolutely loved going "old school."
• I discovered a fun set of exercises I used as writing prompts that I can use with my writer's group.
• After each writing session, I went back to my also-neglected drawing and painting. Sketching out my NaNoWriMo settings helped re-orient me back into my creativity on many levels.
• I bought some lovely new writing tools: a new notebook from Spain decorated with flower-laden llamas, and several varieties of smooth-writing pens such as Marvy's  Le Pen, and Pentel Energel (both in violet ink, of course!).
•  I found I could most easily write in 300-word sprints, something I can continue to fit in anywhere, anytime, any place e.g., at my desk eating lunch, before work, waiting for my laundry to dry.

Best of all, I'm now recharged to return to my revisions on my novel, Ghazal, which was the whole point of joining the challenge in the first place. My NaNoWriMo story will have to go onto a back-burner for a while, and that's another thing that's okay with me. Before you know it, July's Camp NaNoWriMo will be here and I'll have a head-start on characters, plot, and setting. See you there! 

Tip of the Day: National Novel Writing Month doesn't end in November. No matter what time of year it is, you can always visit Nanowrimo.org to explore a wealth of tips, advice, inspiration, and motivational prompts.