2 Down, 1800 Words To Go -- Plus a Pep Talk

As of last night, I have been the winner of my English NaNoWriMo novel, Memory.
So I have finished Memory and Mil Voces, leaving me with just Le Mouton to finish. I'm looking forward to finishing it. (Notice how confident I'm being? Notice? Notice? I have 1800 words to go. Uhuh...I did 1700 today plus I had to type up another 500...so that should mean less work tomorrow and Sunday, right? Oh yeah, but I have some homework to do. Oh well. I can finish that.)

And now for the pep talk, because I was inspired by the 25 or so that participants have gotten this November.

This is the 10th anniversary of NaNoWrimo, and Sunday will be the 10th anniversary of the Last Day of NaNoWriMo.
This was my 3rd NaNo, which, in comparison to some people, makes me fairly inexperienced.

But really, after 3 NaNos, I must know something, right? Maybe. At the very least, I know what I have learned.

1. I can write with or without an outline. I can write with or without any idea of where I am going. Thank goodness.
2. I can write good stories. And I can write bad stories. And I can write good parts in bad stories and bad parts in good stories.
3. Don't edit right after writing.
4. Don't edit while writing.
5. If you can't remember a character's name, give him/her another one. Let it be George, if you must.
6. The past participle of the verb dire is dit.
7. The past participle of the verb metrre is mis.
8. A series of short stories may be easier to write than a complete novel, but easier does not increase your chances of finishing.
9. November does not always cooperate. But then, sometimes it does.
10. Winning and finishing are both nice. Doing both is better, though doing both in November is not necessary.
11. Whether your word count bar shows it or not, in some ways everyone wins NaNo.
12. That means that in some ways, everyone loses too.
13. But despite all that, there is still an unlimited supply of virtual cookies available.