Thursday, November 27, 2014

NaNoWriMo 2014


They say I'm a winner.

The story is written, 50.000+ words. This year, I'll validate my novel (I'm very interested in some of the goodies available to winners only).

It was somewhat of a bitter sweet victory, I must admit.

I worked hard at the beginning (and good thing I did, otherwise I seriously doubt I'd have been able to complete this challenge). The third week was the most difficult; that's when life decided to take a few twists and turns, slowing me down.

This time, I had to use a voice recognition program due to a shoulder and wrist injury. Although it was definitely easier on my body, using this program changed the style of my narrative considerably. The story resembles an oral recount. Its pace is faster, the sentences are shorter and some program (I can't recall the name) tells me that its readability is 7.6/10 (is this good?). I definitely have a lot of work to do in the editing/revising process.

For me, the whole benefit of going bonkers throughout the month of November is that you can do it with thousands of people from around the globe. Yes, we could write and act like complete lunatics throughout the year as well, but there is nothing like sitting at a table with other writers and simply... write. Being there with others is paramount for the success of this endeavor.

I've hosted and taken part in several events, both on Twitter (Scrimmages) and in the virtual world of Second Life (write-ins). Some people write faster, others write slower. But being there is what really counts.

Badges, number of words, winning or losing, that seems a bit irrelevant, looking back. It's done. I'm not sure whether I'll do the NaNoWriMo again next year. We'll see.

To all the winners (and I don't mean only the ones who wrote 50k words; I mean everyone who did their best to write and reach their *own* goals), congratulations. You are truly winners for embarking in such a crazy adventure.

"I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die."
Isaac Asimov



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