NaNoWriMo is over, and like thousands of other writers, I hit over 50,000 words in thirty days.

Sure a few things had to give. Blogging, for one, was chucked like an old pair of tennis shoes and left hanging on the telephone poll of “to-do-later.”

And though I’d love to say my house stayed in its usual perfect cleanliness, fiction is best left in stories. On that note, scratch “usual” from the record.

Nano was fun some days, downright torture some nights. Still, I made it through. Yes, some words were pulled out of the side of my head and are waiting to be edited right back to where they came from, but for the most part, I came out a better writer.

I scaled the wall of I’ve-got-nothing-left day after day, only to find on the other side of it pastures of imagination, possibilities, and progress. Being forced to keep going taught me that, with God’s help, I’m capable of much more than I give myself credit for.

I can do all things through Christ, and with Christ, I can do them well. Now I have half a novel that I wasn’t even sure I was going to write. And I love it.

Equipped with the “must do, can do, will do” determination adopted in NaNo, I’ll get this novel done, then edit it (and re-edit…and re-edit…and…), then we’ll see what God’s got next.

Your Turn: How are your end of the year goals coming?