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NaNoWriMo 2014: Days 9-16

My NaNoWriMo attempt will not complete during the competition dates, but that doesn't mean I count it a failure. Most days I'm getting some words in, some days only a hundred or two and others a couple thousand. I keep at it, and I keep solving problems in my attempt to tell the story before me.

I won't win NaNoWriMo, but I will finish my novel. That's the thing I care about. NaNoWriMo is a great event and I hope to win one day, but right now what it represents for me is a springboard towards my dream of finishing and publishing a novel. I'm not going to let that same inspiration be a weight that drags me down, so not completing my 50,000 words before the end of this month isn't a failure. It is just the reality of finishing this novel.

The truth is, if I don't, it isn't about what I did or didn't do today. The larger factor is how rusty and out of touch I am with writing. It takes practice, like any skill, and I am woefully lacking in that practice. This novel, of course, is providing just that. And I'll continue to practice beyond the month of November. I'll practice by finishing this book no matter how long it takes. I'll practice by writing short stories that fit on a page when they strike me. I'll practice by telling stories that fall into a dozen or two pages when I need to tell them. I'll practice when revise my drafts and turn them into something better and learn from my mistakes.

I won't give up.
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