Instead I may take hubby and myself out to dinner tonight.
I have successfully finished the NaNoWriMo Challenge and have written 50,137 words on my novel. I validated it today, which was almost as hard as writing it! You can see my little winner bar by clicking on the NaNoWriMo link on the left of my diary there and go to “Authors and Novels” and then type in Yetzirah in the username box and click “go”.
It should show you my brand new shinny purple Winner! bar.
I printed out the winner’s certificate, but could not post it here as it is not a jpg or gif. It’s an Adobe Acrobat file and won’t be changed!
I have about 3 or 4 more chapters to write to finish the story, and then piles of editing, but it is such a feeling of accomplishment! I have often wondered how novelists did what they did, and let me tell you, getting past the procrastination is 75% of the battle. There are all the little things you do instead of sitting down to write: cutting your fingernails, cleaning out the vegetable bin in the refrigerator, going through your winter clothes and washing them, reorganizing your tax files, de-fragmenting your hard drive, choosing the right font to type in, baking a cake, going for a walk, (to wake up your brain), taking a bath, (to warm up your brain), balancing your checkbook, (wait a minute, how did that get in here?), updating your address book, and cleaning out the junk drawer, all seem like worthwhile things to do instead of seating your fanny in front of the computer and tickling the keys.
And I have lost my romantic ideas of what a writer is. This has not disillusioned me, it has inspired me. This is the secret…..
Sit down, shut up, and write!
It’s a job, like any other. Be lazy, get nothing done. Kick self in pants, crank out a story. Simple.
Now whether or not it is a GOOD novel remains to be seen.
But there is a satisfyingly thick stack of papers in a big folder on my desk that makes me feel good just hefting it’s weight.
Well, enough of this. I think I have laundry to do. I don’t think there’s a clean bit of clothing in the house….. I’ve been WRITING you see !
Now where’s that masseuse? My shoulders are in a bunch again….
PS.. Sezrah, I can only hope to look like Einstein, the ultimate geek.
And to Billy T., Yes, I will miss knowing what my job of the day is.
But not the bunched up shoulders! I suppose I shouldn’t complain.
I’ll bet Mark Twain had to deal with writer’s cramp.