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Day 19: 25,750 ways to describe Matthew Kneis perfect jawliness (and I'm DONE!)

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"It is my pleasure to inform you that you have officially kicked ass this month. No matter how many words you have written, you have done an amazing thing. Through distractions and demands and family obligations, you forged ahead. Your willingness to go out on a creative limb, to stand up and reach for an impossible goal, is an inspiring example to all of us ... Most of you - like me - probably do not write fiction. Fiction is something other people write. But this month, you dared to say, "Screw that. It's my turn." You stepped up to the plate. And there is nothing more admirable in this whole damn world than someone willing to set for themselves the fearsome task of trying something big."  - Chris Baty   I did it! This year's NaNoWriMo has been delightful. Unconstrained by the usual word count, I wrote when I wanted, what I wanted and as much or little as I wanted. I had so much fun doing it. I now move from fellow writer to cheerleader.  I hope you enjoy ...
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Day 18: 22,203 prizes for the Return to Office 5km "Marathon"

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I took yesterday off since I was exhausted and sore from my real life hill repeats run in the awful heat and humidity. Sadly, Jake Kneiss did not show up. Back at writing today. Can't share anything that I wrote, since I'm in the final phase and it's all spoilers, so I'm sharing a gem from much earlier. It is the from the first Mandatory Lunch run - and they are discussing prizes for the Return to Office 5km 'Marathon'. Enjoy! Blessedly interrupting my humiliation, Chuck starts yelling again into the megaphone. Clearly, he has forgotten that the entire purpose of the megaphone is to raise the volume of your voice for you such that you do not have to yell. “I’m delighted to announce the prize pack for the winner of the Inaugural Bank of Nova Scotia Return to Office 5 km ‘Marathon’!” Chuck shouts. “Huddle around everyone. The prize pack includes: a burned CD labelled ‘Summer Jams 2002’, an unopened and unexpired pack of Gushers, a partially empty Lisa Frank sticke...
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Day 16: 20,592 words and I am in the home stretch

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I am in the very final stages of my novel. Only 4,400 or so words before my word count goal, and I think I'll be done in the next few days. I have the rest of the plot mapped out, and I'm going to try not to give too much away in the next few excerpts. It has been fun writing this year, with lower word count requirements, I'm finding more joy in writing and am less tired/burned out. I'm finding it hilarious how many parallels between our novels and our real lives are manifesting. We are in the liminal phase of Week 3 of EsNoWriMo. The 'betwixt and between' reality and imagination. Our communitas is strong. It would be nice if I could manifest Jake Kneiss joining me on my Hill Repeat run tomorrow. That would be much more pleasant than what has been "manifested" from my novel so far: an embarrassing gaff requiring an eyewash station, a flock of geese making me wish I had a sweat-wicking running cape, an actual dissertation about 'becoming marathon...
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