NaNo is AWESOME

So, wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started writing my NaNo story. I couldn't believe it when I wrote 20K in the first two days.

It definitely slowed down from there but I didn't stop writing all together because I knew more than anything that I wanted to finish NaNo and do it well, and as quickly as I could.

My story slowly started coming together and my characters became real to me. Especially when I found people that I could use for my main characters. Truthfully, I just found my main girl character yesterday, after watching Monte Carlo with Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy. Well, after watching it, I knew that Katie Cassidy was my main girl character in the story. Her name is Lainey, and they just reminded me so much of each other - in looks. For whatever reason, the picture won't move from the top center of this post, that's why it's there and not here.

I reached 50K on November 16th - the day after my 18th birthday, so it was an awesome birthday present. I couldn't believe when I actually reached my goal. It was kind-of bittersweet though, but NaNo has seriously helped me get myself to write, and now that I'm finished with it, I want to keep writing.

Today, November 19th, I finished my story. Well, sort-of. I have a lot of things to add and subtract but the basic story is written. And I'm really excited about it.

NaNo made me want to write all the time. I have a million other plot ideas written in a notebook that I'm excited to get started on. Not that I don't already have a ton of stories that are already started that need writing.

There is one that I'm working on right now that I can't wait to get more writing done in. It was probably my best written 20-pages-in-a-notebook-story, but after that far, I didn't know where to go with it. I may have to start over and figure out a better plot, but I can't wait to get started on it and actually follow through.

I've gotten to a point where I know that the first draft of a story doesn't have to be perfect. Because it's not going to be. The first draft has to be just that...the first draft. It can be written sloppily and even stupidly, and the second time around can we fixed. That's the point. And I can't wait to write some more.

Because writing is fun.

And I love it.

~ashley