Frosty mornings have transitioned November to December. Every day of November I had one those of those nagging doubts. What have I forgotten to do? It was one of those, “it’s important…” forgettings that leaves you preoccupied with an indistinct worry. Was it an opportunity missed? Was someone waiting for me, only to find I never turned up? Did a key deadline spin away, never to be reached?

Then it hit me. A little tweet reminding me that I was nearly the end of the first week of NaNoWriMo. Ah! That’s it! For anyone who doesn’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.

Sitting behind this odd acronym is a not for profit organisation established in 1999 by a bunch of Californian writers who challenged themselves to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. Twenty years on, nearly half a million people from all around the world join the “NaNo” team, accepting the challenge to write an average of 1667 words every day, for thirty days…

For the last two years I too accepted the challenge and to my amazement managed to “win” in Nano language both years. So when October came around my thoughts lingered on my November challenge.

For me, NaNoWriMo is a wonderful means of getting a first draft down quickly. Not only that, but the support of this global writing community brings out the best of what the internet can and should be – supportive, encouraging and informative. It’s just a great way to begin writing a book.

But after two years of “winning” I now have two half finished novels begging to be edited. Did I really need another in my life?

The historical fiction novel idea pushed forward – write me! The new potential book, so early on a synopsis would fill a small post it note shouted – I’m exciting and new! You love new ideas, pick me! A series of short stories featuring our fabulous fell pony Candy neighed at me – I’m the one! Argh… What to choose?

Then I decided. With a heavy heart, I was going to give 2019 a miss. Every encouraging email from the NaNo team gave me pangs of regret. Each tweet with a link to an inspiring blog made me sigh.

I may not have “won” this year, but the novel I am working on has. Each day brings a new learning experience as I grabble with editing a novel for the first time.

My book shrank. NaNo may gift you 50,000 words by when the inner editor returns and many of those disappear. But now, my word count has soared to the sixty thousands. My characters are growing and my plot is deepening. Maybe I won after all.