2011 no more.

So the year is running out fast and in danger of sounding too much like a bad Christmas song, what have you done?
2011 was year I:
- Got married twice to the most wonderful man I could have ever found (yes, yes I know it is cheesy but it has to be included)
- Started on a long and dangerous route to becoming a vegetarian that has meant many failed meals, but also some new classics.
- Got my Masters degree (yay) and went directly to being unemployed (boo)
- Finished NaNoWriMo!
- Gave up on my first book ever because I am unsure if even rewrites can save it.

But most of all this was the year where I found some sort of standing in the world. Now that the year is almost over I can view my facebook friendlist with a good conscious. I might have lost some people along the way to become who I am today, but I am also embarking on wonderful relationships with new people in a creative space where I feel like an equal. I know I can contribute with vital skills in the writing community and that they give me so much in return. Without them there would probably never had been a Maz or a green cow, no space travelling aliens would have been conceived on my behalf or a story of parallel universes colliding.
2012 is waiting for me with more weightloss, more work, more fun and more love in my life than ever before and that is not a bad thing right?

NaNoDoNo!

I did it.
I am a winner.
50433 words are now floating around on my computer. (plus various other places, because lets face it, you don't want to lose that precious work do you?)
Did I finish my book? No not even close. But this has pushed me in the right direction. I now know that it is possible to write a small novel in a month and this is a very encouraging thought. Maybe this will never become my best work, but at least it is written. I can keep working on it and yes, this is with the acceptance that it might still be shit after revising it over and over.
http://www.salon.com/2010/11/02/nanowrimo/singleton/#comments Is an old article (2010) which pretty much sums up what most people that I have shared my NaNo project with and who I do not count as close personal friends have pretty much been saying for the last month. Her manner might be brute, but in essence she has a point, although a very snotty one. Few of the NaNoWriMers will ever finish, let alone ever publish their stuff. It is kind of a chicken and egg discussion. Is NaNo good for starting these creative processes that will in time make you a great writer? Probably. Will we be using these methods of stress for the rest of the year, probably not. Doesn't mean that all 300 k people do not have a valid reason to try this out. Only by trying will we learn as they say.
Here is a last few wise words from my side on this project and then I will stay silent on the subject until I start spamming you with quotes etc from my book. If you are considering getting on the bandwagon for next year, here are some tips:
- You are the one writing it! It will happen in your own time, so do yourself a favour; use the community for encourgement, inspiration etc. but don't ever measure yourself up against others. People have different ways of working, NaNo is not a method that works for everyone. So stop beating yourself up when half of your writing buddies are done mid-november.
- Turn off facebook, twitter, google + and all those things while you write. Don't offer yourself the chance of distraction.
- Remember that it is only 1000-3000 words a day. There is a life outside of NaNo and it is quite possible to maintain this life while writing your grand masterpiece. Most authors can manage tours and writing at the same time, so don't let your child/pet/alien friend suffer during november. It is a sad month for them too, they don't have NaNo to brighten their day, they have you.
- Consider at the latest in october what kind of author you are. If you are the kind who needs character lists, maps, a plot structure and so on before you can start writing, then make sure you have it before november starts. There is no point in wasting the first couple of actual writing days by writing lists.

I could probably say a lot more, but I will forever rest my peace. See you next year fellow WriMos!