OK, well YEA for techno-phobic me. I finally figured out how to scramble my novel, and I sent off a 59,000-word text file to the robot-counters at NaNoWriMo, allowing me to download a neat little certificate. So this is what it’s all about.

So far, there are about 8000 people who have finished and submitted at least 50k words to enter the NaNoWriMo “winner’s circle.” I’m sure thousands more will be submitting by midnight. Then it’s a wrap for NaNoWriMo 2006.

I celebrated alone, rewarding myself with a Weight Watchers chocolate brownie — that thing was so small, I had to eat another one. So I might as well have eaten a Bona Fide Little Debbie. I guess it was worth 180 calories. At least it was chocolate!

Well, I’m done. Weird. It won’t be hanging over my head like it’s been all month. Now what?

I think I’m going to take a few days off, let it simmer on the back burner — then get back to it in December. Now that I know how the novel ends, I want to start over again, incorporating more foreshadowing. My main character knows more now than she did when I started a month ago, so she’ll be dropping hints throughout the narrative about what’s going to happen.

Also, in my word count, I included some of my journal entries, prayers, and emails that related to things going on in my life … all part of this manuscript in process … and so I’ve decided to incorporate these in my novel. Why not advance a scene through an email? Some novelists write their entire books as a series of emails. And prayers are important — they allow readers to see into a character’s heart. Likewise for journal entries or letters.

Have any of you finished NaNoWriMo? How do you feel now? What will you do with your novel? You’ve created something from nothing — that’s pretty exciting!

For me, I feel like this is not an ending, but a beginning. It got me thinking about what I really enjoy. Yet now I need some time away from my story so I can get to know my characters even better as I go about my normal daily routine. I’m still snatching things from life and tossing them into my manuscript — like a recipe that needs a dash more of this and that.

I have this new layer of writing, the novel layer, that’s different from my private journal, emails to friends and family, posts to online writing groups, comments on other people’s blogs, my blog posts here, and my non-fiction reviews and articles.

The novel layer: it’s a secret place I’ll retreat to in the months and years to come. So far, I like it there.