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Quit or Keep Going?

That's Ms. Santa

What happens when you don’t finish something on time? Do you quit? Or do you keep on going?

If you’ve ever felt frustrated with a writing project, you know what I’m talking about. And if you’ve ever done NaNoWriMo—and didn’t get to 50,000 words by November 30th—you might have faced that very question.

I didn’t start writing until a week after NaNo started on November 1. I fussed and fumed over an outline and played around with a rough draft I started a few months ago, but I wasn’t jazzed.

Ten days before the deadline, the lightbulb went off. I had my story. Quit or keep going? 

Could I write 50,000 words in ten days? Technically, yes, but maybe I didn’t have to. Maybe I could write something short. What about 20,000 words?

I finally got in the thick of things with just five days to go. November 30th blew right by me (yeah, well), and I just kept going. So big deal.  I didn’t “win” NaNoWriMo. No problem. I’ll win on my own terms, I thought.

I didn’t finish until December 16, and I’ve spent the last week revising, editing, and proofreading almost 24/7 plus formatting and uploading to Amazon. Somewhere in there I created a cover just for something different to do.

And here’s the result: That’s Ms. Santa

It’s a light romantic comedy, perfect for holiday downtime. Or you could call it a holiday romance. It’s around 27,000 words (a two-hour read), fast paced, and funny.

If you’ve read my other fiction, you’ll notice a different writing “voice” compared to my usual. Lots of slang! Different from my usual blogging voice, too, with a few exceptions. It was fun writing it.

Here’s what one reader has to say (she couldn’t get her review up on Amazon for some reason):

A Great Read!
This book was a fun and lighthearted read. I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, the plot twists and the characters. Very well written. I highly recommend this and looking forward to reading her other books!    —Karen

Remember, if you don’t have a Kindle reader, you can install a free version of Kindle for your laptop, desktop, or smart phone from Amazon.

And I’d love it if you could leave a quick review. A few sentences is all it takes, and just be honest! Here’s help if you need it: How to Write an Online Book Review.

Here’s the link again:

That's Ms. Santa

The moral of the story: Don’t quit. If you didn’t finish NaNoWriMo or stalled out on some other writing project, keep going! You might be just as happy as I am with the result.

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1 comment… add one
  • Unless it is truly something you don’t want to do anymore, it is probably best to not quit something just because it is hard. Even if it takes a long time, it will feel good once you accomplish your goal. Thanks for sharing!
    Wayne W Walls recently posted…The Uncertain HourMy Profile

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