It's Official

I'm a winner.

In a week of conversations which have had me a mix of happy, mad, hopeful, and upon occassion looking at the person across from me thinking "are you serious? You cannot POSSIBLY be serious? Are you an idiot?"

I have big work ahead of me this week. Work that has been a long time coming if only (if only, if only she says) we can remove some of the testosterone from the mix.

So this evening, after dragging home from a long day at work, I suddenly realized that it was "proof day."

Today is the first day that NaNoWriMo writers were able to upload their manuscripts for "word count validation" and, therefore, the first day that those of us crossing the crazy finish line that is novella writing on speed could actually call ourselves winners.

AND

TA DA!!!!



[This is the badge Chris told me to post. Have I ever mentioned that he's Norwegian?]

But I actually had options. Here's the other one:




What do you think?

NL

Oh My God, I've Done It!

It's official. I ended my 50,000 word writing spree for my "novella" at about 9 pm this evening - and having written my concluding chapter am sporting 51,145 words in all.

I will upload it on the 25th, which is the soonest possible time, and then I will breathe a little easier knowing that I've dotted the last I and crossed the last T.

Yesterday, knowing that I was in the 10,000 word homestretch and still had a full weekend at my disposal, I went out to the NaNoWriMo site and ordered my official T-shirt and two coffee mugs. One mug I will keep for myself and one mug I will give to Chris, who has been about as patient as a NaNoWriMo widower can possibly be and therefore deserves something of his own. It has a Norwegian Viking Helmet on the logo and that alone appeals to my Viking descendent of a man.

He has finished reading the novel and a copy has been sent off to Bink for her reading pleasure. I'm not sure I can edit it at this point, the rush to the home stretch being what it was, and I'm not sure how wide an attributed audience net I really want to cast if I decide to ask someone else to edit it for me.

But I am finished and I am finished 7 days ahead of schedule. So frankly, I'm pretty darned pleased with myself.

NL