50,238 words!

Yes, that's right. I've successfully made National Novel Writing Month my...well, I've blown the 50,000 word goal out of the water by a massive 238 words.
And the best part, this story--which isn't much past the half way point of the end novel--is still chugging along. There's a phenomenon called the sagging middle that writers must battle. No, it's not the physical result of too much time sitting still and eating brain food. It's where you get past the start of the book and you know where you want to end, but in between you sort of wander...slowly.
I'm happy to say that this story is firm as Fabio's airbrushed abs. I'm still in it, still loving it, still finding new problems and complications and weather patterns to hurl mercilessly at the characters. (This is a good thing.)
So, since I have never written an acknowledgments page, and won't for some time yet, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank God, the original storyteller, for sharing with us the part of himself that is creative, for this story in particular, for the time to write it, and for understanding family and friends who listen patiently when I ramble and don't get mad when I peace out to go write. Also, I'm thankful for Susan May Warren and her mad skills, who taught me how to write a taught, six-pack story. Also, to my brainstorm friends, Andrea Nell and Julia Matuska who helped me conjure fresh and really intense challenges that my poor characters must face. I could also thank the characters themselves, I suppose, for being brave and bold and soldiering on through challenges that rock them to their cores. I could, but I won't, because that would be weird....ahem.