Finally…”The End”
Tonight I wrote the two best words a novelist can ever write…The End!
I started working on the first draft of my first novel back in 2020, only revising the first few pages every few months when I got around to it. In spirit, I was fully committed to writing. But in reality, life constantly took precedence over my “little hobby.” I was getting nowhere with putting that great story I have to tell on paper - until now.
Disclaimer: Links provided in this post are strictly related to my own personal experiences. No compensation or other sponsorship is provided to me as part of this personal reflection.
This year I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) during the month of November. It was the best experience I’ve ever had as a writer. I felt motivated by a goal (writing 50k words in 30 days) and inspired to be part of a community of global writers all sharing my goal - writing the first draft of a novel in 30 days. There was so much love and so many resources made available throughout the month supporting and encouraging writers - both new and old. My favorite moments were when it was about half-way through the month and I found myself fading fast - unsure if I’d ever achieve my goal. I looked online and saw articles, tweets, and blogs from other writers that let me know I was not alone in my writers slump. In fact, I was at a point that was a familiar place for so many writers on this journey. It was helpful to have a full community supporting me and others around the world get over our collective middle of the month “writer’s block.”
Participating in NaNoWriMo was not something I jumped into headfirst. I had a writing partner who guided me to resources to help me prepare. Here’s a quick recap of my three part journey.
October - Known as Preptober. For 30 days I had a calendar of scheduled activities with a scripted gameplan to help me plan my first novel. This was great because I was able to finally think through the plot of the novel; refine my characters; and identify the themes that would make for a compelling story. For two years, I had drifted. Just winging along and making up the story as I went. I left Preptober exhausted, wishing I had more time to prepare, but determined to charge ahead. I had a clear understanding of the beginning, middle and end of my novel. I had researched and understood my characters - what motivated them, what made them “human” - faults and all. It was a great exercise that I will do again for all my novels and novellas. What I came to appreciate from this experience is that writing is a messy art, refined over time, but you must first get the thoughts on paper. For me planning was a key to writing a successful first draft!
November - The only thing I could think of in November was how to write 50k words in about 20 days. There was planned business travel, unplanned sick family members, and an insane work schedule. Yet, I managed to write EVERY SINGLE DAY and I was amazed at how well I did. When I hit those 50k words with one day to spare, I was so proud of myself. Here’s a clip of the glorious moment when I held a print of my first draft manuscript in my hands. I can’t relay in words how wonderful this moment felt. It was amazing. A life-long dream had come to fruition.
December - I had my first draft - almost! I had a beginning, most of the middle and needed to write out the words of the story to bring the ending to life. I had plenty of notes on what should happen - but I didn’t have the ending. So I set a separate stretch goal for myself to write an additional 30k words (yeah, I’m an overachiever). Setting that crazy goal helped me grow. I realized and learned a valuable lesson for the future. I can’t come off an intense month of writing like I did in November and expect to write 30k more words. So, ultimately I set a goal to take my first draft of a little over 50k words to about 60k words in December. It was just enough. With an additional 10k words or so, I took my meandering middle to a strong ending. And 21 days after NaNoWriMo ended, I wrote the two most beautiful words in the English language for my first novel draft - THE END.
Final Analysis - I have a long, long way to go before my first novel is ready for beta readers, much less publishing. Fortunately for me, I’m still very much involved with NaNoWriMo and I will continue my journey in January and February using the guidelines of “Now What?”.
Now What? - Today, I read the “Now What?” Workbook and realized I need to take a break from my novel! So I will spend the next 30 days honing my skills (writing blogs, using writing prompts for creative writing, studying grammar and revision techniques). I’ll pick back up with the revision of my first novel on January 18, 2023. My goal is to write a second draft of my novel from scratch (as suggested). Sure, I’m not sold on this idea but you know what? I’m learning a new skill, a new craft. I’m gonna put my heart and soul into it just like I did Preptober and NaNoWriMo 2022. For the next few months, I’m also going to let those who know lead me, teach me, and help me perfect my craft. I will eventually get my first novel published. It’s going to take me a bit more time than I expected. But it will be worth it!
This is indeed a glorious journey.
Many wishes of glad tidings and blessings to you all in the new year,
Enchantee
