Hitting my stride

I'm nearing 22,000 words now, and expect to pass 23,000 before going to bed tonight. Almost halfway there. I still have a ways to go, but I have a chance.

The story is finally starting to pull together. I bumbled around quite a bit, trying to locate the plot. The character I knew, but I had to find her reason for existence. I'm getting there.

Writing a book requires patience. Lot of it. It would be nice if we could just wish it into existence, but in truth it's a great deal of hard work. The rough draft. The revisions. Lots of them. Pulling the story together and finding the nuances to make it unique. Finally the book is published--and holding your own completed books in your hands ranks up there as one of the most satisfying experiences of life.

Of course, then there's the marketing. A book won't be much good if it isn't read. This is my weak point. There are many of us who would prefer to sit behind our laptops and never have to face real people. But, with few notable exceptions, successful writers cannot be hermits.

My NaNo story is far from publication, though I do think I will one day get it published. It is extremely rough. But it's there. It exists. And it's getting stronger, which is always a good sign.

Writing is not for the faint of heart. It takes determination and perseverance. A heavy dose of impracticality always helps, I think. I mean, how practical is it for a person to sit at a keyboard for hours on end and expect to produce something which will change the world.

I always hope I'm not just tilting at windmills.