NaNoWriMo - Winner! (And the book is done!)

I technically "won" NaNoWriMo on Nov 12 when I went past 50,000 words. But today was both the first day the validator was available, so I could upload my manuscript and have the words verified by the site for the win, and also the day I FINISHED THE NOVEL!

THE END. DONE.

whew.

I haven't read it yet. It came in at 88,651 words, which is a little over 253 paperback pages. On Dec 1, I will print it off and begin the first edit. I'll let you know how bad or good it is then... It's a crapshoot, you know!

But I am so proud of myself for getting it done; so thankful for my family for putting up with it; and especially grateful to my kids, who were my biggest cheerleaders. It was an amazing experience, and something I had no idea I could do. Even if it's bad, I wrote almost 90,000 words in 23 days (I took 2 days off, and 2 days I only wrote 1000 words). And that is freaking amazing!

Very happy with it, and loved the experience.