Meg Dowell Writes

Hey, guys! I have some news.

But first, just let me say that I now despise big dark and ugly clouds. They block the sun and prevent you from getting more of it. Isn’t that selfish? The pool was great…except for the minutes I spent shivering underneath my towel. At least my face didn’t get burned, which was a possibility since I left the house without putting sunscreen on it. So maybe I should be thankful.

Nah.

I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this news. I’ve been raving about this novel since mid-June, and have been blabbering about word count since July 1st. Well, today is the first of August. Kind of sad, since I start school on the 19th, which is really stupid. But anyway, JulNoWriMo ended at midnight this morning (since it’s not July anymore) and I’m proud to announce that I reached my goal of 61,000 words, at ll:26 p.m. last night.

Actually, I stopped at 61,001 words, because by then I was fighting to keep my eyes open, and I had to work twice as hard to write quality because, if you didn’t already know, my policy is quality, not quantity, even during Wrimos where it’s all about word count. But I do get to cross “attempt JulNoWriMo” off of my list of 100 things I want to do before I die, which is very exciting. I really don’t feel bad that I stopped one word over my goal. I’m pretty sure I would have fallen asleep at my computer if I would’ve kept going.

You’d think I’d be upset about this, but I’m not. You’d think being ranked #35 would upset me, after reading all my rants last month about wanting to be in the top ten. But those people literally have over 200,ooowords, and there’s no way I could have caught up with them. I’m not sure how they got their word count so high, but that’s not my issue to argue. I’m just happy I got to where I wanted to be this morning.

Special thanks to Evie-darling for staying up with me and quoting Finding Nemoto get me to kepp going (it makes sense, just trust me). I’m not sure I could’ve done it without you. I stopped writing the whole week you left me for your cottage in Wisconsin. But then again, I didn’t write all this week, either, when you were actually here. Anyway, I hope you’ve read Chapter 53. You’re still the first.

What’s really kind of annoying, in a way, is that I’m still not done writing Reminiscence. When I participated in my very first Wrimo last November, I had to fight to get my word count above the designated 50,000 on the day after Thanksgiving (which was actually Thanksgiving for my family, since some of us arrived at my aunt’s house Thursday night). That wasn’t a very appealing story, though; I’ll admit that much. I’m kind of resentful toward the people who’ve already read it. And the people who still want to read it. They’re bringing the pain and suffring upon themselves.

To give you a little background, it was my first speed-novel, and I had less experience and maturity then than I do now (it was a long time ago). It was “based” on a true story, on events that really happened to me and some of my friends. I put “based” in quotations because it was more than “based” on a true story. I changed all the names of my friends and left the story as-is. Pretty embarrassing, don’t you think?

I was young.

Remember yesterday, how I was talking about how much I despise the summaries publishers stick on the back of books to “draw readers in”? The thing with this book is, I really can’t tell you much about it, because even giving you the basic exposition would ruin the entire book. So I know you want a little hint as to what this novel is about, but I can’t give any to you. It kind of makes me wonder what they would put on the back if it ever got published. I wouldn’t let them ruin all the secrets I’ve stuffed in there; I just wouldn’t.

I’m happy to say that, somehow, pushing myself to write 2600 words in 2.5 hours has returned my motivation to write. That, and I’m not sure I want to leave my room just yet. Waking my brother up isn’t the smartest thing to do on a Saturday morning. Anyway, it’s already 8:03, and I’m determined to at least finish chapter 54 today. Good news for Evie, bad news for my Sims.

Have a great Saturday, and remember: fish are friends, not food.

Love&hugs, Meg♥