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“It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupeny

You now have less than twenty-four hours to get your final word count in, and, yes, going through your manuscript and expand all contractions to their complete parts is a time-honored practice during this final day. Word of warning: I can tell you from experience that it won’t net you as many words as you hope it will.

Today’s the day. Let your mind go and try to write as fast as you can today. A lot of it may be crap, but when you go back and look later, don’t be surprised to find something completely unexpected that might not have otherwise emerged from your writing process.

There’s the true joy and victory of NaNoWriMo and why so many folks come back year after year. For thirty days, we exercise our creativity in community, sharing ups and downs, successes and failure. I see calls go out for character names, pieces of information that might be needed, technical advice when the computers start to get a little wonky, commiseration and support. It is creative action, and it is a joyous thing to behold.

As we reach the end of this year’s NaNoWriMo, let’s treasure not just victory, but the connections we have made with our fellow writers. This is all too often a solitary calling and we need people who understand what it is to have a storyline fall apart or the moment when you are absolutely convinced that every word you are writing is certified, 100% crap. To be a part of this community, even for a little while, is to have the joy of knowing we are not alone.

As we go forth for this last day of literary madness, let’s remember the good times and try to carry it forward with us as we continue to write. The journey isn’t over, friends. We’ve just come to end of this particular portion of the path.

Here’s to a good writing day and hoping that no matter what your word count is, what you’ve created this month has brought you joy.

Word Count Goal: 50,000

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