NaNoWriMo :: NaNoWriMo Blog

"What I had not known until late October was that the small story I had been planning out with charts and maps and sketches would actually turn into a full-fledged novel that would become my every breath..."

"I have been writing since I was 6 years old, when I sat down to write my very first 'novel'. It was called Magic Valley, and chronicled the adventures of a young girl named Alicia in a magical valley. I have had the writing bug since then.

I don’t remember exactly how I found out about NaNoWriMo. It seems like many, many years ago now. Everything is a bit blurry around the edges. I do remember, though, that when I set out to write, I had a very clear idea in mind. What I had not known until late October was that the small story I had been planning out with charts and maps and sketches would actually turn into a full-fledged novel that would become my every breath, continuing to this very moment.

I can remember the screaming pain in my wrists and fingers when I would go to school the next day after an evening of writing 30,000 or more words, and then having to sit down and write more. I remember the exhilaration, and how all I could talk about for weeks was my favorite characters from my very own novel.

My novel, called The Legend of Yoninad: A Fight for Freedom, has been on my mind ever since that November of 2006. Its story and characters seem to have changed a million times, but it still holds this classic mysticism in my heart. It is my brainchild, my baby. A huge breakthrough for me happened during that fateful NaNoWriMo. I had passed the 50,000 word mark, but I was still speeding on. Then, WriMoRadio told me something fascinating: if you sent in your last sentence, it may or may not be read on the radio by one of the staff. My excitement was not very large at the time, for I very rarely win anything. In all of my years of school and bingo, I have won two games – that’s pretty sad. Anyways, I sent in my latest sentence, just for fun, and forgot about it.

I let my excitement smolder in my gut for a few days, terrified of the outcome of me sending in my last sentence. And then, I heard it. I was listening intently, on the verge of tears because I was convinced I had not been picked – and, come on, I was pretty new to this whole writing thing; this was my baby I had tried pitching to a bunch of random people in a place I have never been! But there it was. My sentence.

I believe it was something along these lines:

'"I warned you," Agro growled, his red eyes flashing from the candles as he looked into the face of his long lost sister.'

Something like that.

I screamed, very loudly.

Since then, TLOY has grown in size and following. In February of this year an agent in Vancouver expressed interest in representing the story when the piece was polished and ready for publishing.

I am currently plagued by the re-write virus—it’s pretty wretched, but what can you do? It needs to be done, and currently my baby is too precious to share with anyone else to edit. However, I know that it will be done eventually; I have a rigorous writing schedule in place.

Writing means the world to me, it has kept me sane, alive (literally—it’s what eased my depression that caused me to be suicidal), and happy. And I have all of this, this beautiful 'child', this novel, this hope, available to me because of you, NaNoWriMo, and because of all of its members. I am not very active in the community of NaNo, but I know I will be in the future.

It’s pretty terrifying to sit down and try to write a book. But I am proof that it works—even for a small-town Canadian girl.

Is it just me, or does NaNo need a battle cry?

P.S. I support drinking orange juice instead of coffee to get through NaNo—it works!"

—J.M.M. Lewis

J.M.M. is a young writer living in Canada. Her favorite past-times include singing, writing, reading, drawing, and web-surfing. She has been fascinated with NaNoWriMo since 2006, the year in which she won the fantastic event. 2007 was a failure on her part, but strictly because she couldn't get over 2006's story. She plans to NaNo again in the future, and in the mean time she is attending school! Well... currently enjoying summer break, actually.

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