surviving, and living

Over a month ago, I decided to attempt NaNoWriMo, even though I've never written a novel in my life. Fiction is not my forte, I'd decided. But guess what, folks? 25,020 words later, I'm well on my way to writing a fantasy novel.

Not only did I reach my personal goal of 25,000 words, but I wrote every single day for 30 days. And at the end of it all, I have something I'm proud of, something I feel is worth continuing. So even though NaNoWriMo is officially over for 2015, and many of my fellow writers are moving on to the dreaded editing stage (is it weird that I look forward to that?), I'm going to keep on writing.

My goal moving forward is a little less ambitious, though: to write at least once per week. Although I don't regret the tiniest bit having done NaNoWriMo, I did often feel like I was missing out on other things throughout the month. I did next to no knitting, and there's still an unfinished puzzle collecting dust on the kitchen table. And my husband might be feeling a tad neglected... (He's been super supportive through this whole ridiculous adventure, making supper and giving me uninterrupted time to write every evening and even encouraging me to go sit down at my computer.)

I want to finish this book, but I also want to leave time for life to happen. I want to meditate on devotions every morning (especially during this season of Advent), read, do yoga, travel, continue teaching myself to knit, bake, visit with family, hang out with friends, finally get that darn puzzle finished... There are so many things to fill the hours of our days, and I can't settle for just one!

I want to live.