The End For Real

I am proud, and a little bit teary-eyed, to announce that I have officially finished my NaNoWriMo novel for this year! I finished Through the Paper Wall yesterday around 4:30pm, and even though I have officially won NaNoWriMo five times now, this is the first time I have ever finished the story in November, so really, for the first time, I wrote a novel in a month! That's a pretty darn cool thing to say! The final word count ended up being 56,386 and I don't think I have ever been more proud because I really had to fight for this one.

So what's next? Well, today is the last day of NaNoWriMo, which many of us can barely believe. I'm really pretty darn sad about it actually because after this point a lot of people stop hanging around the Facebook group until next year and people lose momentum. I'm not throwing in the towel though! I am dedicating my day to cheering other people on! So far I have had quite the time comment-bombing ever thread and comment that I can find that either announces someone winning or someone furiously sprinting to the end. It is so much fun! I hope you'll join me in congratulating and encouraging everybody!

Today I also have another goal: start editing. I know that a lot of people say you should put your novel aside for a few weeks, and I normally would, but I need to start now. I can feel it. I need to start working while the entire story is still fresh in my mind. I think I'll be able to catch plot issues better that way.

So, while I am off editing away I have something exciting for you to stand around waiting for [insert sneaky smile and side glance here]. I have created my book cover for Through the Paper Wall and I couldn't be happier! It was completely designed by me with some helpful comments from a few fellow writers and I am so proud! I am just waiting to clear up the permissions, copyrights, etc. issues, so stay tuned! I'm really hoping that it all works out!

Moving my story from the "Works in Progress" to the "Editing Board" tab,

- Heidi Nicole BIrd