Noveling Through November

Another NaNoWriMo has come and gone and to my complete astonishment, I don’t have a 50,000 word novel. For those of you who don’t have much of a sarcasm radar, that was it.

National Novel Writing Month is an event held every November by the Office of Letters and Light.  Their office “organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential.” It’s a great organization and a fun program. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. If you finish, you get the satisfaction of having 50,000 words of a novel, plus one copy of your novel provided by OLL.

I tried for the 3^rd year in a row and was unsuccessful at reaching my goal. I had all the “tools for success” this year. I wasn’t going to stop in the middle and start over. I plotted out most of my story, I flushed out my characters, and I even had a “writing station.”

It was all for naught (must be read as dramatically as possible to get the full effect). Well, not completely. I did get quite a bit of work done on a new novel. 11,044 words of a novel to be precise. The story is called Longings of an Evil Character. Here’s an excerpt if you’re interested.

"I know it's you," Finn said.

"And I know it's you," Del said, smirking.

"Stop playing games," he growled.

"I love a good game, though," she said.

"Take off the mask," he said in a surprisingly even tone.

"If you already know who I am than why do I need to take off my mask?" the queen asked.

"Stop this," he said and reached for her mask. His hand went right through her face as they both knew it would. He growled and festooned heads turned towards them from all over the room. The music stopped and the king stood up.

"What's the meaning of this?" the monarch said from his place on the dais.

"Nothing, My Lord," Del yelled across the room. She put on her biggest smile. The disarming one that got him every time. It helped that she put some sorcery behind it.

"You're brother and I were just arguing over whether my dress was brown or cinnamon. My apologies for disrupting the party. Please, continue with the dancing!" she curtsied to the king who sat, appeased, and the music started up again.

"You can't do that in public!" she hissed at Finn when they began dancing again.

"Then don't taunt me in public," he snarled.

"It's not my fault I know how to push your buttons," she simpered.

"It is your fault, however, when you choose to push them," he said. He gripped her waist a little tighter.

"Finn," she said, "your brother is watching us."

"If I had such a conniving little wife, I'd keep a constant eye on her as well," he said. After all this time, he shouldn't be able to send a tingle all the way to her toes or make her heart flutter at the thought of the two of them married but he still did. He had left her, she reminded herself. He was the enemy.

"Del," he said and it brought her back to herself.

"Do not address me so informally, your grace," she said, back ramrod straight all of a sudden and he let go of her. He stepped back and looked at her.

"I thought I had you back for a moment," he said.

"It's not my fault you lost me in the first place," she shot back.

"I meant the real you," he said.  

I agree with my uncle, however, when he says what really matters is what happens after November. The goal is to get started in November, but keep writing. Not just write once a year and, win or lose, wait to write something else next November. I was better about that this year and I started several different stories before November even hit. I just need to make myself sit down and finish a few!