This is my fourth year participating in National Novel Writing Month, in which one is challenged to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, and I actually completed it this year. Does that make me a novelist? Maybe. The book isn’t quite finished yet. Fifty thousand words wasn’t enough to tell the story I’m trying to tell. I’ve actually been working on writing this book for several years (I’m embarrassed to say exactly how long), but I’ll keep plugging away at it until it’s done.

They say that writing a book is the hardest thing you can do. At this point, I believe it. So many obstacles, so few rewards. But once you’ve created the characters and invested so much of yourself in them, you can’t just leave. You have to hang around long enough to find out what they are going to do. So, back to work. NaNoWriMo may be over for another year, but Chapter 56 beckons…