Ashton Daigle

Well folks, I did it.

I have completed the 2008 National Novel Writing Month 2008 Challenge. I wrote a 50,601-word novel, The Long Hunt, in a month; actually 18 days. But who’s counting?

Most of the time, it didn’t seem like work. And, most importantly, I’m pleased with the end result. I like the damned book. At the risk of sounding vain, it’s a very good book; much better than I ever dreamed or imagined it could be; especially considering time constraints.

When I first heard about Na No Wri Mo in late September, I was skeptical. The idea of turning out any sort of coherent novel in 30 days seemed unlikely, if not impossible.

I even doubted the 50,000 word limit, thinking to myself on more than one occasion, “50,000 words is a novella, not a novel.” But I was wrong. The Old Man and the Sea, one of Hemingway’s masterpieces, fell in at right under 38,000 words and it was considered a novel; sparse as it may be.

It was ultimately that work, Old Man and the Sea, that I had in mind when I began seriously toying with the idea of giving NaNo a shot.

Perhaps if I stuck to a very simple plot; like man catching a fish; or as in the case of The Long Hunt; man catching a wolf; and I didn’t introduce too many characters and sub-plots; maybe; just maybe I could pull it off.

Simplicity was going to be the key though.

I didn’t begin the contest from a position of strength. Over the course of the month of October, I tried my hand at writing another, separate novel; just to see where it would lead. Before I knew it, Halloween had arrived and my “test run” had only reached about 30,000 words.

I was bummed about not getting further along on the test book. I had company at my house on the first days of November, so I didn’t write. I was seriously beginning to wonder what the hell I’d gotten myself into on around November 5; when I realized my word count was barely even at 10,000.

I’m not sure exactly what happened between then and now. I won’t be so blasé as to say the book wrote itself. Because it didn’t; I did. There were days when the writing flowed - other days; not so much. But I kept moving, kept writing and kept my whining to a minimum. And in the end, it worked.

Next up, acknowledgements. This book, this accomplishment would not have been possible without the insight and unwavering support of more than a few people. If I forget anyone, I promise you it’s due to fatigue and carelessness; not ingratitude; but here goes.

First and foremost, I have to thank my wife Andrea, and my son, Alex. Without their patience (my wife has the patience of a saint), love and encouragement, I probably wouldn’t have even gotten involved with this contest in the first place. Their patience through the process was amazing too; especially around dinnertime. They’re amazing people and I love them with all my heart.

Secondly, thanks and gratitude are in order for the person who got me involved in this whole NaNo madness in the first place - my Plurk pal, NaNo Buddy and comrade-in-arms Perpstu. Perpstu was the one who brought NaNo to my attention; she also, along with my wife, played a significant role in talking me into participating.

We have bitched and moaned together when our stories hit walls; we’ve bounced character development and plot twists off each other; we’ve nudged each other gently, and sometimes not so gently when we needed to get our butts in gear. I probably wouldn’t have even started this project had not been for her; and I definitely wouldn’t have finished it without her support. Thanks chica. You rock.

Next up, I have to put a shout out to the rest of my crazy Plurk pals: Chic; Jeff Young; Sprezzatura; Lisa; Citizen Janey; Ruprecht; The Goof; sar1e; Keli; all of you. You’ve been cheerleaders, motivators and fans. You’ve inspired me, humored me and never took my self doubt or the word no for an answer. Thank you all.