What happened to the month of November?

I’ve neglected my blog and many of those I follow.  My emails are piling up and my husband has picked up many of the household chores while NaNoWriMo has been consuming much of my time.  November:  Writing, Thanksgiving, Writing.  Well, you get the picture.

My novel, Letters of a Lifetime,

Letters in a Trunk
courtesy: Columbian.com

has taken many unexpected twists and turns.  What started off as an idea for Anne finding secret-revealing letters in her recently deceased mother’s trunk has turned into so much more.  An out-of-town hospitalization, detective work involving Ming’s Chinese restaurant and a senior center, a road trip to an as-yet unnamed city, and several shocking self-discoveries have popped up of their own accord.  I believe this book has a life of its own and I’m just along for the ride!

Tomorrow is the deadline for our 30-day, 50,000 word challenge.  My word count reveals a respectable 41,490 as of this morning.   I’ve consistently been behind in my goal of 2,000 words per day, but I’m confident I can make up the difference today and tomorrow (8,510 to go).   I’m hosting a write-in at my house for a few other local NaNo writers (WriMos) tonight.  These write-ins have been a great motivator for me.  I ran solo races my previous two years and never attended any write-ins or rallies of any sort.  This year I decided to socialize a bit more, and it’s been marvelous!  Although I don’t attend them all, there are write-ins going on every day of the week!

NaNo Kickoff Nov 1 2012
As you can see, this day there was more socializing than writing!

At our halfway point, we had an entire conference room above a quaint, historical hotel/restaurant until 10PM.  About a dozen of us had dinner together, waged Word Wars, played silly word games and yes, we even got some serious writing in.  I’d been avoiding group writing events partially because I was intimidated, but also because I thought the distractions would slow me down.  Hmmm, this turned out to be quite the opposite!  The encouragement of having other writers was invaluable.  They spoke my language and understood my plot struggles and brain freezes.  They weren’t afraid to say “I’m stuck!  Someone help me!”  I’m learning so much more about being vulnerable and accepted.  These WriMos have taken me under their wing and I realize my novel is secondary to what they are teaching me.

Friends
courtesy: rishikajain.com

What a great reminder of the power of camaraderie and fellowship.  With risk of vulnerability comes the potential for healing and acceptance.  While Anne is experiencing her own twists and turns in the novel, this was an unexpected twist NaNo has given me.

What about you?  What unexpected twists have you had in life?