A True Winner

I have been very fortunate to win a few contests in my life. Most of the time, though, I lose out. I never play the lottery. I know better. I rarely enter sweepstakes. Have you ever known someone who's actually won?

But tonight, I "won" NaNoWriMo. I conquered that 50,000 word mountain in 29 days, and it feels great! I'm honored and excited to be counted among those who have actually finished this goal. I have several friends who have done so, and I say, "Hats off to you!"

I think a contest like this is awesome. You have to actually do the work to win. And it pays off! I may not have a publishable manuscript at this time, but I have a solid foundation. I know the direction of the story and places I can tweak to make stronger. And because of this, I win.

I recently read a blog post by someone who said they hated NaNoWriMo because it made writers feel inadequate when they don't accomplish the goal. I understand that, to be sure. I had a year or two where my inspiration took a nose dive and I was left with 20,000 words of junk. But when you can press on and make it across that finish line, it's such a rush!

To those of you out there who tried, but didn't make it to 50,000, let me just say this - don't feel inadequate. You're awesome! It just wasn't your year. Life has this crazy idea that it trumps writing, and it's okay to pay more attention to life. But please, please keep writing! The world needs your stories! Your voice!

To those of you who are rejoicing with me tonight...or will be tomorrow, congratulations! You've done it! Now, take some time off. Let your manuscript rest for a few days. Maybe even a couple of weeks. When you're up for revising, go back with fresh eyes. It's a lot more fun that way!

It's almost sad to see NaNoWriMo come to a close. But only 11 months to go before we get to do it all again! And contest season is coming up  - Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is just around the corner! And of course, there's always queries...

Best wishes!!

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