Hey, Mamas! nano_09_winner_120x240
Last week, Thanksgiving, a 7 1/2 hour car trip with kids, hubby, and dog, and NaNoWriMo going on almost did me in. However, I’m happy to report the following:

  1. We made it there and back again with little to no incidents
  2. Book signing, the morning after we arrived — probably NOT the best idea, but it was LOTS of fun.
  3. Thanksgiving, (my parents’ 45 wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving Day) was a resounding success!
  4. I JUST finished NaNoWriMO (National Novel Writing Month) – 50,230 words of a reasonably plotted novel – still about 30,000 from writing THE END…
  5. The car trip to Arizona and back to California was the easiest part

As I’m on a bit of a burnout, I’m going to keep this post short. National Novel Writing Month, as Helen said in her post a few weeks ago, is not for the weak minded, or weak spirited. I vaguely remembered to feed the kids and do some sort of meal planning for the week today. Ha ha. Seriously, my husband finally told me I needed to take a break, or marry the computer instead.

So, what am I doing now? Writing this quick note to my mama buddies while they’re immersed in dessert and watching Empire Strikes Back.

What can I tell you about my NaNoWriMo entry?

It was plotted. Planned. And my characters were developed before I started. The best part of that (Thanks to Jeannie’s WIP Notebook – Shameless Plug blissfully inserted here) was I knew who the main characters were. I understood where they were coming from. Why they succeeded, failed, and are on their way to redemption, hand in hand.

I have a subplot romance that is equally enticing to the main plot. I have a new shady character I hadn’t foreseen, and a wayward teenager interjecting herself in the middle of a well established four year high school romance that was destined for a high school sweetheart wedding. Now, we’ll see where that goes. There was a tornado I hadn’t planned, folks working together WAY earlier than I anticipated, but still–there is drama. There is climax, and soon, there will be an HEA for everyone involved. Well, except for the bad guys.

I’m not done, but I won anyway. Doesn’t that take the cake? Kind of like the end of each day of motherhood. We’re never done, but we meet little milestones. And each one is worthwhile, a new goal to be set.

Take care, and talk soon! Tell us about your Thanksgiving week, and all you have to be thankful for! I’m thankful for each and every one of you.

Best wishes for a safe week,

Ashley