Done

November is done, and so is NaNoWriMo. What a month. I was quite
confident that I was going to write 50k this year, and despite some
setbacks, and writer's block, I actually succeeded. It was really
crazy that last little bit after I crossed 45k. That last 5k was like
a 'writer's high' you could say, because I didn't think that the story
was coming to an end, in fact it was only the beginning. I had just
gotten into the characters, and the original story line was still
there, but it had spawned into something else entirely. Characters
that I had never thought of popped up and guided the story in a way I
never considered. And the fact that Caitlin was able to write with me
this year was fabulous. Rini had her way of helping us too, but most
of the writing we did when she was asleep. Yes, I had a LOT of late
nights. And I had quite a few naps when I got home bone tired from
work!

The funny thing is that when I was heading off to work on Monday, 1
Dec 2008, the first official day after NaNoWriMo 2008, I was feeling a
little down because it was over for another year. Then 'Good
Riddance' by Green Day started playing on the radio. It was the first
time in recent memory that I cried when I heard a song on the radio.
Everyone usually gushes at the chorus, "It's something unpredictable/
but in the end it's right/ I hope you had the time of your life," but
for me, one of the versus struck a chord. "Another turning point, a
fork stuck in the road/ Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where
to go/ So make the best of this test and don't ask why/ It's not a
question, but a lesson learned in time."

Writing and parenting seem to have one thing in common. The only way
you can truly learn how to do it, is to do it. There is no equal
substitute for experience, and that's something I learned from doing
NaNoWriMo. Last year, I enjoyed writing, although I really had no
idea what I was writing, and I really mangled my original idea like I
couldn't believe. The story that I've read I have not been able to
read over again, at least not in one sitting. I've heard some parts
here and there, but that's the long and short of it. The story itself
is ridiculous, and not very coherent.

I'm not going to send my 2008 work off to a publisher right away, but
at least it's something that I'm a bit more proud of. I may revisit
it later, and try to finish it up. Until that time, I'm going to get
ready for the Christmas Party on Friday. Caitlin and I are going to
be singing "Once in Royal David's City" and we've been asked if we
could perform another song. I just now got the idea of a 12 days of
Christmas song, somehow tied into parenting. I'll have to mention it
to Caitlin and see if she'll help me with the writing.

Or maybe I'll do it tomorrow once I've had some sleep!