Happy Thanksgiving!

The November Novel Writing Month is almost over! Then what?

First of all, I'd like to take a moment and wish those of you in the United States a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a chance to slow down and take a moment to appreciate those around you and be thankful.

As I'm writing this, we're just back from a family outing on the ski trails here in Alaska. Although the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day, it is cold. The temperature hovered between 5 and 10F. The high winds expected later this evening picked up early, which made our outside adventure somewhat miserable at times. But, regardless, we had a chance to get out, enjoy the sunshine and do something together as a family. On Thanksgiving, that seems like just the right thing to do.

This year, incidentally, the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend happens to be during the last week of November. Many of you will spend the weekend with family and friends, watching football and shopping Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping deals. For those that are participating in the November Novel Writing Month challenge at OWL, these last few days may be more stressful than normal as you mix family commitments with the sprint to the end.

If you have already reached 50,000 words, go you! If you're still struggling to get to 10,000, I've been there, I know what it feels like. In fact, I've failed reaching 50,000 more times than I have succeeded. Regardless of where you are in your writing journey this month, be thankful for what you have accomplished.

Then What?

As November draws to a close, you may be asking yourself what to do next? If you reached 50,000 words, is that really the end of the story? Is there more to write? If you're struggling to get there, are you asking yourself whether it's worth continuing?

The answer regardless is: if there's more to write, keep writing!

On several occasions during prior NaNoWriMo's, I reached the end of November and I knew the story I had written wasn't done. There was more to it. In one case, I kept going into December and finished by Christmas, although at a more relaxed pace. Another time I was so burnt out from the writing that I just let the story sit until January and then I continued.

I say again, if the story isn't done, regardless of whether you'll hit 50,000 words this month, finish the story!

Obviously, the Online Writing Log can help you get there. There's a recurring Monthly Writing Challenge with a more manageable daily goal of 500 words. You can also set your own monthly goal to whatever you want it to be. If it's helpful, you can also add another goal for your project to track your overall progress more. Regardless of how you do it, you can continue writing and use OWL to help get you there.

Once again, for all of you regardless of where you are in your writing journey, Happy Thanksgiving and happy writing!