Sunday 30 November 2003

Pic of the day: "The ones who declare themselves winners, win!" Picture from inspirational anime Bottle Fairy, episode 7.

And even though...

Yes, I lost NaNoWriMo. And by a wide margin: By the end of the month I had written less than 60% of the minimum length. Of course I blame it all on my Repetitive Strain Injury. But the truth is that I never finished anything even 10 years ago, when I hadn't heard of RSI. That said, I really enjoyed this story. Unlike last year, I managed to maintain a kind of balance between comedy and tragedy, between drama and banalities. There is even a rudimentary plot! True, it will not be publishable even when the missing chapters are filled in. But it will be closer than ever before. And most important, it has been great fun. Not just in a comedy sense of fun, but it has been a rewarding act of creativity. It has been too long since I have lost myself in the glow of creation. I had almost forgotten how it felt, the creator's joy, the deep sense of fulfillment of the spirit.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya.
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah...

Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah.

Oh, and I plan to continue writing in December. Don't give up quite yet.