NaNoWriMo

Today I'm going to talk about my experience with NaNoWriMo. I've read blogs where its been talked up and down by writers. It seems writers either love it or hate it. I can't speak for others but to me it has been a wonderful experience. It's like running a race only it's a mental race not a physical one and you cross the finish line when you hit 50,000. I finished my story with just over 51,000 words. I have loved every minute that I was able to eek out on my story. It is a scenario that rough drafted in my mind many years ago and now I have had the reckless abandon to write it. When my brain sketched it out eight years ago it was about a young woman whose psyche made her run from a horrible murder scene. She continues to see a young woman, a shadow of herself. Twists and turns unfold and force her into the realization that she is straight jacketed in a rubber room; hence the title eye of the storm. The storm is brewing inside her as her subconscious wills it forward. When I began writing that was the intention but it has become so much more and no she is not in a rubber room in fact she is quite sane. 

Is my story perfect, definitely not. I finished my novel about a week ago and haven't looked at it since with the exception of NaNoWriMo's Night of Writing Dangerously where a bunch of local NaNo participants met and we wrote and talked and wrote some more. That night I managed to edit through my first chapter. I have decided to let it ferment for a few months before I go back to it. For over three weeks I carried my flash drive everywhere and plugged it in and typed every opportunity I received and I'm not ready yet to read or edit it.

This is my first year and from the beginning I wondered what are the prizes and how is it decided who wins. I found out today when I validated my final word count. I received a cool winner's certificate and an awesome winner's T-shirt which I purchased. So no fantastic amazing prizes but sponsor prizes will be given away beginning in December. In retrospect my winner's prize is the joy within myself that I completed my story willing myself to keep writing. I added more descriptions, details and dialog than I may have without the 50,000 word count hanging over my head.

Eye of the storm has become more than a one time story. It's something that I will build on next November. I already have the sequel cooking in my brain. It won't be about Eilida instead it will be about Evan; from his point of view. I have twelve months, notice I wrote out twelve I can thank Nano for that, to research. So is Evan a deranged killer because of the horrific scene he witnessed as a child or is he a victim of a deranged killer? Time will tell and Eye of the storm will divulge no secrets. At least not the story that I have been publishing through smashwords.com unless you are that clever and you may be but it is impossible for anyone else than me to know because I haven't decided yet.By the time I publish the Eye of the storm, edited and ready for print I will have decided and an excerpt will go into the end leading to the sequel but you'll have to read them both to know. 

I am pleased that my unedited recklessly written story has had so many hits. I can't wait myself to actually read it and begin the editing process. 

Whether you like NaNoWriMo or not it's been more than a wonderful experience to me. I could advise other authors on the pleasure of simply writing but we all have our own style and OCD when it comes to the process. To all writers everywhere keep on writing. I'm out.