NaNoWriMo Wrap Up

At 8:30pm last night I clicked over 50,000 words for the month of November. I've been working on a novel for National Novel Writing Month and it has been a rewarding experience. I've grown to like my characters, and I'm surprised when they take the plot in a direction I didn't imagine. I'm caught up in the story and I want to know what happens next. I suppose that's a good sign.

As of this morning I'm at 53,292 words as the story continues. I expect that I'll finish up somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words when it's all done. Then comes to process of editing. For some reason editing is never as much fun as the writing, but without editing the writing is nearly worthless. Think of it like a sculpture. The artist sees the shape in the roughly cut block of stone, but it's not until all of the details have been carved that everyone else can perceive what the sculptor saw all along. Editing makes it possible for the world to see what you see in your writing. Creative processes are not just about making something new, but making something new that is also refined. Ideas can't stand alone, they must be supported by diligent revision and editing.

What have you been creating? How will you refine it into something great?