NaNoWriMo is done! I validated yesterday with 50,240 words–and still had enough work done on my final project that I didn’t embarrass myself in my Skype conference with my professor!

What I love about doing National Novel Writing Month is that it’s an exceptional writer’s boot camp, and utterly puts me to shame when I complain the rest of the year about “not having time” to spit out 500 words a day. I cranked out an average of 1674 words a day for a month, and did schoolwork, and job work, and  went to the gym, and took a long weekend trip with the fiance.

Granted, some things slip a little when words are such a focus. Andrew’s been cooking me dinner for much of the last month so I wouldn’t live on frozen pizza and Triscuits. My apartment is cluttered. Blogging, as you may have noticed, went completely out the window. My words aren’t of high enough quality to justify me trying to make a steady practice of 1,667. But it can be done, life and writing together, and I love that NaNo reminds me that I can make time for outstanding productivity in terms of output, and that my creative imagination will not poop out on me.

I also love that I’ve got about 10 new stories! Combined with the drafts I have written already, I’d say I have around 20 pieces to polish and prep for the MFA thesis next fall. Not too shabby!

Well, reasonably shabby at this point (I think only three or four have been through any kind of revision), but the real point is that for right now I’ve got the chance to dive into what I have and see what I can revise into something usable for a book, which is pretty cool. Plus, I am excited to get back to fiddling around on the blog after the month hiatus.

TGIO, in NaNo slang, means “Thank God it’s over,” by the way, which of course for any kind of serious writer is far from being the case. I’ve got my work cut out for me. But the tough slog of churning out rough material, plots and characters and settings, is over. The fun part, of reshaping these story lumps into something someone else can enjoy, is just about to begin.