October was a wild ride, and this ending feels hard won. There was the loss of irowboat's cat Felix, the win of the NaNoWriMo post, the daily life in-betweens of it all, and working in the words wherever they fit. The anticipation of November has hung on us all heavily, and today it is here.
I spent Halloween dressed as a writer, with a patched-elbowed sweater, hair tied up messily, and the telltale squint of one who has been putting words in strings for hours. I held the bowl of candy for trick-or-treaters with whichever hand didn't have my coffee mug, and I believe I wished more kids a Merry Christmas than Happy Halloween.
In the bleary and achingly wee hours, I finished my tenth novel. 500,000 words. And celebrated with three hours of sleep; the deepest I have had in a long time.
And now it is time to start again. This time, the first of two novels for the month: one for NaNoWriMo, one to satisfy my goal for the year.
It is hard to believe that I have come nearly full circle now, that I am less than a month away from when I first got the idea for this project. It seems like only a few months ago that I sat here where I am now, and I looked up and proclaimed to my visiting friend, who sat writing beside me, that I wanted to write a novel a month for a year.
He, of course, told me it was a terrible idea. Maybe he forgot that I live to break rules and to chase down terrible ideas.
It was my 1-UP, a new life.
And my beginning happened then, in that instant. I have not been the same since. I wish I knew where it was all going to lead, what adventure I'm in the middle of finding.
But I'm still in the middle of my story. And if there is anything I have found out for sure, it is that we never know what story we are writing until we are at the end.
Only three more novels to go. Three novels, and one night writing dangerously, thanks to the amazing and heartwarming donations I received. I cannot thank you all enough.
Keep your eyes out for more NaNoWriMo tips. Coming to a blog near you.
Now, hand me some more coffee. I have a novel to start!
Photo credit: irowboat
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The official blog of Michelle Tuckett, word ninja. 
You need to put your October link in the bar on the top of the page. How are you going to fit more links until December…? You’re smart, you’ll figure it out, I suppose. 🙂
This is really something!