NaNoWriMo update – week 4

Week 4 people!  And only 3 more days to go with the month-long challenge I’ve committed myself to. NaNoWriMo is something you can love, hate or be indifferent to, but to take part and succeed is a feeling hard to compete with.

I haven’t reached the finish line yet…I’m still short of my 50,000 goal, but I’m close.

I’ll admit I expected to be closer to my word count by today, but the past few days were tough for me and made it hard for me to stay completely focused on writing. Thanksgiving was an obvious day of retreat from the computer – to spend time in the kitchen preparing a big meal before spending the rest of the day with family.

But it was the two days after Thanksgiving that were rough for me.  For those who follow me, you must know I’m an animal lover. My pets are like kids to me. And my furry kids, especially my cats, live a very long time so that when I finally have to say goodbye, it seems even that much harder.

I’ve had four cats that have reached the ages of 18 to 20 years old. One of them I had since he was born when I was just a kid, so he passed away when I was in my early 30’s, but the other three cats I’ve had since my mid-to-late 20’s. Two of them were males; one was with us until a few years ago, the other until last year, and the last of the three, Misty and the only female, was 19 ½ years old. We had to say goodbye to her yesterday. It was difficult for me, but when a cat lives that long, you know they’ve had a good long life.

So I was a bit distracted and didn’t stick with my writing the way I had hoped for most of the weekend but I did a great job making up for it today, adding over 6,700 words just today! Based on my word count, I need just over 2,200 words per day to complete my goal. 

I can see the finish line.

The challenge is almost complete – I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to treat myself once I reach my goal and earn my certificate of completion, but I have a few days to think about it.

For anyone else competing in the challenge, I hope it’s been fun, or even if it’s been a real challenge, I hope it’s taught you something about yourself.  

I know it’s taught me something…never stop believing in yourself and what you can accomplish!