I won NaNoWriMo!
It's true...
I won NaNoWriMo today!
My middle grade novel, THE GIFT GIVER, sits at 53k words this afternoon.
After a month of hard work - outlining, writing furiously, and sleepless nights - I finally made it.
The novel still has a long way to go in terms of editing, proofreading, and more editing, but I hope I can start querying it to agents by the end of the year/early 2019.
I'm very happy with my progress, especially since I started four days late. If you work hard, you can achieve anything! Never forget that.
I thought I'd include the synopsis again, just as a reminder:
"Everyone in the small town of Springfield, Michigan knows Leroy Schmidt as the kind old man down the road. For the past fifteen years, he's been handing out gifts to the entire town - gifts he makes in his small workshop.
While some residents think he's odd, twelve-year-old Sarah Dixon is his biggest fan. At the annual cookout, Leroy hands Sarah a music box before he disappears into the night. The entire town searches for him, but he's vanished without a trace - until Sarah realizes that the gifts are clues left behind by Leroy.
If Sarah can find all of his gifts and unlock their secrets, they just might lead her to Leroy before something terrible happens."
It was my first middle grade novel, and it made me realize how much I LOVE writing for kids. I foresee many middle grade novels in my future, and ideas are already swirling around in my head. It was my first mystery novel too, which I also enjoyed!
On another note...
This book was really emotional for me to write. I ended up shedding a few tears at the end.
It has a strong theme of grief, which I can relate to after losing my cat of 13 years in 2017. I still miss him, and I don't think I'll ever heal - but writing THE GIFT GIVER was pretty therapeutic. It helped me understand and come to terms with my loss.
Out of all of the books I've written, this one comes from a very personal, deep place. There's a wound in me that is still raw and open, but writing this book helped to air it out a little.
Anyway, I hope everyone else had a successful NaNoWriMo. I can't wait to share my new story with everyone in the future!
Sincerely,
Dana
I won NaNoWriMo today!
My middle grade novel, THE GIFT GIVER, sits at 53k words this afternoon.
After a month of hard work - outlining, writing furiously, and sleepless nights - I finally made it.
The novel still has a long way to go in terms of editing, proofreading, and more editing, but I hope I can start querying it to agents by the end of the year/early 2019.
I'm very happy with my progress, especially since I started four days late. If you work hard, you can achieve anything! Never forget that.
I thought I'd include the synopsis again, just as a reminder:
"Everyone in the small town of Springfield, Michigan knows Leroy Schmidt as the kind old man down the road. For the past fifteen years, he's been handing out gifts to the entire town - gifts he makes in his small workshop.
While some residents think he's odd, twelve-year-old Sarah Dixon is his biggest fan. At the annual cookout, Leroy hands Sarah a music box before he disappears into the night. The entire town searches for him, but he's vanished without a trace - until Sarah realizes that the gifts are clues left behind by Leroy.
If Sarah can find all of his gifts and unlock their secrets, they just might lead her to Leroy before something terrible happens."
It was my first middle grade novel, and it made me realize how much I LOVE writing for kids. I foresee many middle grade novels in my future, and ideas are already swirling around in my head. It was my first mystery novel too, which I also enjoyed!
On another note...
This book was really emotional for me to write. I ended up shedding a few tears at the end.
It has a strong theme of grief, which I can relate to after losing my cat of 13 years in 2017. I still miss him, and I don't think I'll ever heal - but writing THE GIFT GIVER was pretty therapeutic. It helped me understand and come to terms with my loss.
Out of all of the books I've written, this one comes from a very personal, deep place. There's a wound in me that is still raw and open, but writing this book helped to air it out a little.
Anyway, I hope everyone else had a successful NaNoWriMo. I can't wait to share my new story with everyone in the future!
Sincerely,
Dana
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