I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. My little brother was in town and it was his first time in New York City. It was cold and rainy, but we were able to get to over 13 well known NYC sites in less than two days. Needless to say my body and brain were exhausted.

I am excited to announce that, despite my exhaustion, I did it. NiFiHeNoMo was a success! That's right, as of today the first draft of the novel is finished!

It's amazing to have the weight of not knowing if I could actually do it off of my shoulders. I never thought that writing the book would be easy, but I hadn't considered how difficult the days would be when the well was empty. It was definitely a test of perseverance and more times than not, discipline that I didn't know I had.

While I'm excited about finishing the first draft I have a lot of editing ahead of me which I'm really looking forward to. I am also looking forward to actually reading what I wrote. It turned out that I am more of an organic writer vs. being the type to outline, so the few times that I did go back to read pieces of what I wrote, it all seemed new to me.

I have to admit that my leanings toward organic writing was a surprise considering how organized I like to be in every other aspect of my life. It will be interesting to see what my editing style will be like. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Are you a planner or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants? Do you have different preferences when it comes to long term vs. short term projects? Life vs. creative endeavors? Let me know in the comments below.

Today I feel amazing!

In April I set a goal to complete an 80,000 word novel. On November 1st, I challenged myself to write 30,000 words in 30 days in order to reach that goal. Well here it is, November 25th and I've officially passed the 80,000!

I am excited and proud, but I still have work to do. That's right. The number is there, but I have another chapter and a half to write before I'm finished.

Now does this mean that I can't have a 'Woohoo Moment'? Heck no! I am woohoo-ing it up over here!

WOO HOO!

For months I have been daydreaming about finishing the first draft so that I can finally start editing. I have a feeling that editing is going to be fun, fun fun! I'm sure it sounds as though I'm being sarcastic, but I'm not at all. I really am looking forward to the process. It may just be the under utilized English major in me speaking, though. We'll see.

It's Thanksgiving week and we have family coming to town, but hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in an hour or two to work on the book. No one will notice if I disappear when the game is on, right?

Have you reached or almost reached a long term goal? How did you do it? Comment below and let me know.

[NiFiHeNoMo] Final Update

NiFiHeNoMo Update Number Two [AKA Woo Hoo!]