Moving Right Along

Yesterday, I crossed the 50,000 word mark, making me an official NaNoWriMo winner. I was happy to beat my record and finish in 11 days this time, compared to 18 and 13 in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Now to finish the book and hit my personal goal of 150,000 for the month.

I have to say, that side of me that's too competitive for my own good was a lifesaver this time: I really, really wanted to put Guilt by Association on temporary hold, but my competitive side was gnashing its teeth and demanding I finish what I'd started. Any other month, I might have pushed it aside and jumped into another project, but no, damn it, this is NaNo. This is nose to the grindstone, take no prisoners, no excuses, NaNoFuckingWriMo.

So, after gutting the plot (again) and promising myself I'd get at least another 5,000 on the page before I let myself give up, the story started working out. Now, as I creep up on the 60K mark, I foresee some massive edits in my future, but the story has not kicked my ass after all. I will defeat this contrary little bastard one way or another.

Yet another reason, my loyal blog minions, why I think NaNo is a good thing. For some of us, competitiveness has been known to be a stronger driving force than sticktoitiveness, and in this case, it meant the difference between continuing and throwing up the white flag.

So, long story short, indulging in that competitive side isn't always a bad thing.

And Shannon Leto is always a good thing.