NaNoWriMo Check In - It's Done!!

Final check in for NaNoWriMo 2024. And thank goodness, because I never want to see another word document in my life.

First, the important update: I finished!! I was up until midnight on November 30th to get those last few hundred words in, but it's finally done. 50k words in 30 days. Whoever came up with this challenge is a sadist or a masochist or both. I'm dead.

I have to admit, it did feel terrific to show up at our writing group's final farewell party with a completed goal. The group organizer handed out certificates of completion to the people who finished, and participation stickers to those who didn't. Most of the group made it, which was fun to see. Even those who didn't still turned in impressive word counts.

There was a bit of sadness for me as I was getting ready to leave the party. I'm not a very social person. In fact, my default mode is to stay home and work on my hobbies. I don't mind hanging out with friends or going out for the day, but it's not my preferred way of spending my time. But there was something really nice about spending the month with this writing group. There was something awesome about us all gathering together to cheer each other on and work towards a common goal. We could share our struggles, knowing that the other writers in the room fully understood what we were going through. It was a type of solidarity I don't think I've ever experienced before. I'm going to miss this group. Hopefully most of them will be back again next year, because I'd hate to never see them again.

Anyway, that's a wrap on NaNoWriMo 2024. Despite the "official" NaNo organization doing their best to sabotage the event, it was still massively fun and very rewarding. I'm happy I stuck with it to the end. Now I'm going to take a break from writing until after the New Year.

(Posting a final overview of my month from the TrackBear app. This was my first year using it to track my word count and I have to admit it was actually pretty good. Will probably use it again next year.)

(The blue line is the offical goal for each day and the red line is my actual word count each day.)