I’m a NaNo Winner!
I hit my NaNoWriMo target last night – 50,000 words in 26 days. Yowza! And the nice folks on the NaNoWriMo site even sent me this nifty badge as proof. No, it isn’t a novel, as 50,000 words is about 30,000 too short. No, it isn’t a first draft – the whole thing is pretty unreadable, doesn’t really hang together, and needs to be rewritten. But what it is will help me to write the first draft – it’s 50,000 new words in a floor plan, with my first attempts to create scenes, explore the terrain, get the characters all talking. This draft helps me see the shape of the thing that will be the first draft – and maybe the second draft is the one that will be readable. A big thank you to NaNoWriMo for making November such fun – and a shout-out to the writers of Kent. We’re having a write-in tomorrow and even though I’ve finished my 50K, it doesn’t mean I’m done writing. Maybe I can hit 55K before the month is done!
Peggy Riley 
Congratulations! I don’t think I’ll make it this year – only 30,000 in, but I’ve still got four days, right? But you are right – now you have a framework on which to build. I won Nano two years ago, and that framework turned out to be the 90,000 word novel I first sold. So pat yourself on the back, feel proud of your accomplishment, and get back to that keyboard!
And congrats for 30K – as they say in the supermarket, every little helps! You can still do it! I really enjoyed my first NaNo – might become a new yearly ritual! Thanks for reading!
Well done! She’s not in the same league but after a few hiccoughs my Teen is back slightly ahead of target and hoping to finish tomorrow. Seeing her disappear to write every afternoon and all day weekends, I’ve realised how difficult getting those 50,000 words down on paper/screen is.