My Writing Ramblings: Reflections on National Novel Writing Month 2015

Wow. We’ve reached December. My countdown to Christmas has begun. My Christmas Card list has been made (and they sit on the side waiting to be done.) I have my beautiful Christmas tree up (nothing like a real one) and I can legitimately sing Christmas songs without getting funny looks from people (well, kind of. My singing is terrible.)

This time of the year also means that National Novel Writing Month is once again over for another year. I always have a mixture of emotion when I finish NaNoWriMo. On the one hand, I am relived and pleased that it is done. 1,667 words a day is a lot to commit to and it is easier said than done to reach on a daily basis when all you want to do is curl up and sleep or have family commitments or in my case, a holiday. On the other hand though, I am sad it is over. By now, I am in the bubble of the NaNoWriMo thing. I have got into the swing of my story. It is around now that I am past the moments where I have found it hard going and the threat of my laptop meeting my wall have been temporarily suspended.

It is now that I realise how much I do enjoy doing it and I remember why I put myself through the ups and downs of National Novel Writing Month every year. I love the process of being drawn into the story and the lives of my characters. It is also so satisfying to reach that 50,000 goal and knowing that I’ve managed to complete what is an enormous undertaking.

It can be so easy to get caught up in just getting to that word goal that it can be so easily forgotten that it’s an amazing achievement to reach it or start in the first place. It should be celebrated in a big way. Your way of celebrating could be a glass of wine, a lovely bar of your favourite chocolate or a big well deserved soak in a bubble bath but it is important that we do mark it with something.

If anyone has even tried taking part in this huge writing challenge (even if you didn’t finish,) then we should all be proud of ourselves. Many people talk about starting a book. We did. That is amazing. Now, the next challenge is finishing.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.