And so we come to the first week of December. The turkey has all been cooked and eaten. The Christmas decorations are beginning to find their way out of the basement and up around the house. And this writer has again completed a NaNoWriMo challenge.
50,000 words. Actually, 51,000 and change. No, there are no rewards for finishing within the 30 days. No one gets a prize if they post their story first or have the most words. Instead, those of us who complete the challenge have the satisfaction of setting a goal and seeing it through. I don’t know about you, but in our fast paced world it’s nice to have that pleasure for even a little while.
I find it especially fulfilling around this time of year when the advertisers all seem to scream, “You can only be content if you buy my soap, or my soda, or this car!” I can hold my home printed NaNoWriMo certificate high and shout back “Hah! I don’t need any of your trifles because I AM content. I’m happy because I’ve done what I set out to do. I may not have climbed Mt. Everest (although it felt like that on some days) or played in the Super Bowl but this victory is mine and it tastes almost as sweet.