I
realized near the end of my novel that the big kicker at the end that would
allow the good guys to win was the power of words. It hit me like a ton of
bricks and I couldn't help but just sit there for a minute and smile. You
really shouldn't ever underestimate the power of words. Not only do they allow
us to express and share, but they allow us to create and mold, and in the case
of hundreds of writers this month, words allowed us to come together. Hundreds,
even thousands of us teamed up this month to tackle what many people, including
published authors with big names, would say was insane and even impossible.
Well I am here, and so are so many others, to say that we proved them wrong. To
people on the outside it may seem that I sit at home by myself all day with
nothing to do, but they couldn't be more wrong. I've never had so many friends
in my entire life, and none of us are really ever alone, because no matter
where we live, or what time it is, somebody else is online too. NaNoWriMo
brought us together, but it was our common goal and the luck that led us to the
NaNoWriMo group on Facebook that really knit us all together so tightly that I
doubt we will ever pull apart.
There
are only a matter of minutes now before midnight comes in my time zone and
NaNoWriMo 2012 is officially over. For many of my friends it has been over for
several hours and they are already bustling about in the sunshine, or taking
the chance to get some much needed sleep. I hope they are going for it. We all
deserve to sleep in. We more than deserve it! I also have other friends who will still have a few more hours to enjoy this blessed
month after it has officially ended for me. This month hasn't just been full of a bunch of furiously written words and ridiculously worn out cries of
"I don't think I can make it." It has been thirty solid days of
encouragement, hardships, heartache, loss, understanding, hope, longing, anger,
despair, love, learning, growing, becoming, creating, bonding, juggling,
laughing, crying, rejoicing, and so much more. I don't think I have ever been
happier with a month in my entire life. Not only did I accomplish something
that few think is possible, but in the process I made so many close and dear
friends who I believe will stay with me forever.
On this final day of NaNoWriMo there has been much celebrating, cheering, and
furious writing until the very end, as well as several people posting their
sentiments regarding the group of friends that we have formed. One post in
particular brought me so much joy that I wanted to share it with
you, courtesy of it's brilliant author, Serenity Wever:
"As
I sit here, celebrating my victory, I can't help but think... This is my third
year of participating in NaNoWriMo, but this is my first year to truly
experience it. I am mind blown and in awe. It was such an honor to be able to
write with all of you. I've had so much fun this November that it's absolutely
amazing. Every day after work I'd look forward to running home so I could
sprint and catch up on everyone elses progress. You were all the greatest
writing buddies I've ever had. We did something more than just write this
November, we created a community bond together by one common goal. For one
brief moment we were like Gods. We forged together with blood, sweat and tears
a universe of each our own.
"We, who are all from different backgrounds, made something beautiful...
We have done something that most people will only say they will do. We weren't
the "Oh! I want to write a book!" person. We DID. Whether or not you
finished, you accomplished more in one month than many have in their whole
lifetime! We've all suffered from malnutrition, writer's block, uncooperative muses,
dont-talk-to-me-im-writing syndrome, and temporarily have become hermits. But
we did it together! Everything from Random Starbucks Guy to Tameka flipping
tables to Eric Kovach the Untaggable (thankyouforlettingmeturnyouintoameme) who
suffered many painful deaths in the name of our art (Heather!)
"There
are so many more of you I want to give shout outs too, but my brain is so...
mushy right now! Kimiko the amazing, who was able to join
late and completely own this challenge! Great job! Sian who
was great at boosting everyone's morale! Brendan Sta and his creepy spiders! So
many more people, not enough memory space in brain or energy in fingers to
thank them all! ♥
"This
has been a great experience for me, and I will miss you all!
I
will be looking for all of you next NaNo!"
You
know what the greatest thing about all of this is? It doesn't end here. And
guess what else? It never will as long as there are two writers around to
support each other. Never underestimate the power of words. Never underestimate
the power of your words and what you can do with them. You can
change lives. You can change the world. And guess what friends? That's not just a possibility. We've already done it! We've done it together.
-
Heidi Nicole Bird
I
realized near the end of my novel that the big kicker at the end that would
allow the good guys to win was the power of words. It hit me like a ton of
bricks and I couldn't help but just sit there for a minute and smile. You
really shouldn't ever underestimate the power of words. Not only do they allow
us to express and share, but they allow us to create and mold, and in the case
of hundreds of writers this month, words allowed us to come together. Hundreds,
even thousands of us teamed up this month to tackle what many people, including
published authors with big names, would say was insane and even impossible.
Well I am here, and so are so many others, to say that we proved them wrong. To
people on the outside it may seem that I sit at home by myself all day with
nothing to do, but they couldn't be more wrong. I've never had so many friends
in my entire life, and none of us are really ever alone, because no matter
where we live, or what time it is, somebody else is online too. NaNoWriMo
brought us together, but it was our common goal and the luck that led us to the
NaNoWriMo group on Facebook that really knit us all together so tightly that I
doubt we will ever pull apart.
There
are only a matter of minutes now before midnight comes in my time zone and
NaNoWriMo 2012 is officially over. For many of my friends it has been over for
several hours and they are already bustling about in the sunshine, or taking
the chance to get some much needed sleep. I hope they are going for it. We all
deserve to sleep in. We more than deserve it! I also have other friends who will still have a few more hours to enjoy this blessed
month after it has officially ended for me. This month hasn't just been full of a bunch of furiously written words and ridiculously worn out cries of
"I don't think I can make it." It has been thirty solid days of
encouragement, hardships, heartache, loss, understanding, hope, longing, anger,
despair, love, learning, growing, becoming, creating, bonding, juggling,
laughing, crying, rejoicing, and so much more. I don't think I have ever been
happier with a month in my entire life. Not only did I accomplish something
that few think is possible, but in the process I made so many close and dear
friends who I believe will stay with me forever.
On this final day of NaNoWriMo there has been much celebrating, cheering, and furious writing until the very end, as well as several people posting their sentiments regarding the group of friends that we have formed. One post in particular brought me so much joy that I wanted to share it with you, courtesy of it's brilliant author, Serenity Wever:
"As
I sit here, celebrating my victory, I can't help but think... This is my third
year of participating in NaNoWriMo, but this is my first year to truly
experience it. I am mind blown and in awe. It was such an honor to be able to
write with all of you. I've had so much fun this November that it's absolutely
amazing. Every day after work I'd look forward to running home so I could
sprint and catch up on everyone elses progress. You were all the greatest
writing buddies I've ever had. We did something more than just write this
November, we created a community bond together by one common goal. For one
brief moment we were like Gods. We forged together with blood, sweat and tears
a universe of each our own.
"We, who are all from different backgrounds, made something beautiful... We have done something that most people will only say they will do. We weren't the "Oh! I want to write a book!" person. We DID. Whether or not you finished, you accomplished more in one month than many have in their whole lifetime! We've all suffered from malnutrition, writer's block, uncooperative muses, dont-talk-to-me-im-writing syndrome, and temporarily have become hermits. But we did it together! Everything from Random Starbucks Guy to Tameka flipping tables to Eric Kovach the Untaggable (thankyouforlettingmeturnyouintoameme) who suffered many painful deaths in the name of our art (Heather!)
"There
are so many more of you I want to give shout outs too, but my brain is so...
mushy right now! Kimiko the amazing, who was able to join
late and completely own this challenge! Great job! Sian who
was great at boosting everyone's morale! Brendan Sta and his creepy spiders! So
many more people, not enough memory space in brain or energy in fingers to
thank them all! ♥
"This
has been a great experience for me, and I will miss you all!
I
will be looking for all of you next NaNo!"
You
know what the greatest thing about all of this is? It doesn't end here. And
guess what else? It never will as long as there are two writers around to
support each other. Never underestimate the power of words. Never underestimate
the power of your words and what you can do with them. You can
change lives. You can change the world. And guess what friends? That's not just a possibility. We've already done it! We've done it together.
-
Heidi Nicole Bird
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