The End of Camp NaNo

I know Camp doesn't technically end until tomorrow, but that doesn't matter to me. I won today! I'm so ridiculously excited. My first NaNo! And I'm done with the book! This book that has been waiting around inside my mind for almost two years is finally down on paper!

I love this book so much. You probably already know that. It's just so different and unique. And my characters. I already knew I liked them. But with that climax. Wow. I love these characters SOOO much. They're just so real now. I know them so well, and yet they, particularly Luke, surprise me so much. I don't think I've shared pictures of my "casting" choices off my Pinterest board on here yet, so here they are.

Cassie Owen

Garen Owen

Luke Winston

(I tried to put them all next to each other, but they won't exactly fit. Anyway.)

They've been on such a journey. And so have I. They have caused me to think deeply about what Christianity is, from the perspective of someone who hasn't a clue. They caused me to see ordinary things for the first time. They caused me to wonder over the simple mysteries of Creation. They caused me to search what it means personally to stand up for one's faith and how hard it is to withstand emotional torture. And it isn't over yet.

Through NaNo, I learned that life is always crazy. I've been learning that slowly this whole year, but I think I finally get it. Life isn't really going to slow down. So what if I have to be busy every spare minute to get everything done? I can still make time for down time if I really want to. I wrote 28,771 words (somehow the NaNo validator came out as 28,773), helped to do A LOT of framing and drywall hanging in the basement, wrote a blog series, explored a crazy idea with some friends, wrote several reviews, kept up with violin...It was a crazy month. But it was worth it. Hopefully August won't be as crazy, but if it is, that's okay.

 

During NaNo, I wrote a total of 28,771 words. That's essentially writing Across the Stars in a month. And since I started NaNo with half the book written, the total wordcount comes to 60,296. My longest book by far. I...don't think I can think of any other kinds of stats like my friend did last year, but I can tell you my writing places.

 

My desk

My bed

The kitchen table

The front porch

A local radio station

My mom's car

Our minivan in the church parking lot

Church (it was before, I swear)

The library

I can't remember if I wrote at the dining room table and the back porch before or during NaNo

 

So, it's done. And this is probably one of the most rambly posts I've written. But if you've survived this long, you get to hear this: I have an important announcement regarding The Crossways coming next week! Stay tuned!