OwlManAtt’s Blog

So, readers, NaNo ‘05 is drawing to a close, with only three days left in the month. Site registrations have been shut down until October 1, 2006, when thousands of fresh noveling newbies will pour in, ready to go head to head with their wordcounts come Nov. 1.

Final wordcounts are pouring in, and the title ‘WINNER’ is now commonplace on the forums. The first-years ramble on excitedly at their achievements on the boards, while us hardended NaNo veterans simply roll our eyes and mumble “thank god that’s over, my idea sucked…maybe I’ll do better next year” to ourselves.

With over 2010 winners verrified (and THREE DAYS LEFT to validate!), just over half of a billion words written in total, and more money in the NaNoWriMo coffers than ever before, all of us authors are ready to jump off of a bridge.

So we wrote a book. Big deal. Can we do it again next year? And what’s between now and next year?

Editing this manuscript, for one. We have March for that. Then editing the second draft.

Then publishing…oh dear god. I think I’m going to go with self-publishing, just so I can show the damn thing off. My first book is not going to be bookstore-worthy, so I have no intention of actually mucking around with agents and publishers.

Yep. It’s Lulu for me.

I also need to comission a cover. Gah.

Then comes NaNoWriMo ‘06. I need to come up with an IDEA (a Mind War sequel is a possibility, but at the moment, I’m not particulalrly inclined to write it. I have a whole year to think of something better, though.), then CHARACTERS and a SETTING…and oh my god, writing another fucking book, except this time I want it to be 75,000 words…

I shall now pause to sigh deeply.

There. Why do I do this to myself every year?

But at least there’s the TGIO party in December.

Ladies and gents,

I am an official National Novel Writing Month WINNAR!

I wrote the final 3,000 words and set myself up for a sequel (meaning I don’t have to think next year) today.

My loyal readership, I present to you the first complete work of Nicholas ‘OwlManAtt’ Evans - Mind War

Now I just need to edit it and comission a cover…

I have something important to say to all of you tonight, something so profound that it will shake the very foundation of your souls. And no, I will not beat around the bush with it, or bore you with it. I will say it bluntly and in an exteremely immature fasion. All the same, it will shock, amaze, awe, and astound you, my faithful readers.

I. FUCKING. WIN.

It’s that simple. I fucking win. I have surpassed the fifty thousand word mark, and I will be forever immortalized as somebody who won NaNoWriMo by the internet archive sites, such as the Way Back machine and the Google Cache.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, normals and teeps: Mind War is at 50,020 words. And damnit, that feels good, especially after last year’s pitiful 28k-day-17 dropout. I now realize how close I was to finishing last year, but I let that slip away. And thank god I did not let it put me off trying NaNo again.

Now, the question that is on all of your minds (no, not ‘is this fucking loon on crack?’ you wiseass, the other question): Is Mind War over? Is it done? Can I print it knowing that Owl will not be adding anymore?

The answer to that is simple: No. It is not done. While I may have won the NaNo, I have yet to win the war. For this evening, yes, I have finished my work. But for the month? Nay! It is only day 13, and there is are still lives that must be taken, prophecies that must come to pass, and destinies amongst the stars to fufill.

But, ladies and gentlemen, I have won a tremendious victory this year. I now know that 50,000 words is an attainable goal in under three weeks.

And oh boy, I can’t wait until next year.

Mind War, at a victorious 50,020 words.

On the cusp of NaNoWriMo week three, I have broken in to the National Novelist Home strech - the last ten thousand words to 50k. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read the correctly; I am now at 40,150 words, having written 7,058 today to get there.

And it’s only Saturday.

Mind War at 40,150 words.

I’m running out of commentary.

This was the first political bit that I was pleased with at all. The rest of the motivational / bullshit speeches I’ve written were too short and sucked.

Mind War at 33,092 words.