Friday, October 15, 2010

NaNoWriMo 2009 By Shaddy





Yesterday I printed out the novel that I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year.  Why I never did that before is beyond me.  Looking at the thick stack of printed pages makes my book much more real to me.  Up until yesterday, it only existed within my laptop and I viewed it as a saved document in my word processing program.  Now I can pick it up and hold the 52,667 words on 166 pages.

12 comments:

Linda Yezak said...

Hope you do great with NaNo this year! I've never succeeded. I don't think I'll even have a chance to participate this year.

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I printed mine up in December, had it bound at Staples and marked it up. It wa a hot mess and I haven't touched it since March! :-) Here's to hoping that what I do this year is at least a little useful...

Kathan said...

Oops, I made my previous comment anonymous by accident - it's Kathan! :-D

Anonymous said...

Oh sweet!! There's something about having it in hand, flipping the pages and the black and white print isn't there? It must be a great feeling of accomplishment. This is great. And may I just say WOW! That's a lot of words my dear!! Way to go!!

Cheryl Peters said...

LINDA: Thank you. I have no great expectations so it should be a fun ride.

KATHAN: You had yours bound. There's an idea.

I'm honestly not hoping, praying or expecting anything as I participate in NNWM. I'll be writing and that in itself will be exhilarating.

SARIE: As usual, you understand my feelings exactly. I needed to see last year's effort in a concrete form before beginning another big project.

It is great for me. It makes a difference having my novel on the table beside me. I'm grasping more fully that I actually did write a book. (Isn't it sad though that once we accomplish something it doesn't seem that monumental anymore. I remember in BWW when we were assigned a 500-word piece. That seemed like a lot to write at the time!)

Walk said...

Here's hoping you words you've never thought went together, character's rich in personality, and the time for you to write.

Stephanie said...

Congratulations Cheryl! I didn't realize you wrote so much for that contest! I think you should definitely get it bound. You will always have it and it can't get erased on the computer. What a major accomplishment!

Linda McMann said...

What an accomplishment!! I'm so glad you printed it out and have it as a hard copy reminder. Who knows, maybe you will take your red pen to it and make it totally wonderful the second time around.

Cheryl Peters said...

WALK: What more could I ask for? Thanks so much.

STEPHANIE: I appreciate your kind words. NaNoWriMo actually isn't a contest. It's just an opportunity to write with the motivating factor of knowing that thousands of other writers are doing the same thing for the same 30 days.

You were always a good listener and very supportive of me and my writing when we worked together. That meant a lot to me and still does.

PARROT: I edited most, if not all, of it while it only existed on my laptop. I can't even remember exactly how I wrapped up my story. I'll have to read the last few pages one of these days. That explains how I went about writing my book. No plan whatsoever. It's a fantasy memoir (who ever heard of such a thing!) for the most part with a true to life ending. I don't think it's totally worthless but if I ever try to do anything with it I may find out differently. Perhaps keeping my book hidden within my laptop has been my way of not having to deal with it.
I'm rambling on like a drunken fool! (Sorry).

Jana said...

You are a Novelist! I think that's just crazy awesome!

Anonymous said...

Cool! I remember when I printed out my first novel draft. That moment when 84K words of ink and paper rested in my grip, was the moment that I knew I would never give up writing.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you're just now printing it out. Maybe the reason I never finished is that I would write a few pages, then print, then pat myself on the back, then write a little more (but not enough -- not nearly enough!). Good for you.