NaNoWriMo 2013 Winner: Nike – Greek-Winged Goddess of Victory

Hi Everyone,

I am excited to announce that on the 24th of November 2013 I completed NaNoWriMo with my Third Novel. I’m still writing it, knowing it will be double in length, but I am overjoyed that I actually completed NaNoWriMo. I stuck to what I was doing, writing every day, and even though it was hard, I knew it had to be done. Writing 1,667 words everyday is two pages of writing, depending on the line spacing you use. Two pages is not hard, but constantly writing, non-stop, can drive you crazy. Somehow I got it done and I am really proud of myself. Last time I ever wrote like this was when I wrote my First Novel/Novella in 2008 for the Somerset National Novella Writing Competition, knowing that I would not win, but was happy to write my story down. It was 25,000 words long, and I knew my novella was actually going to turn into a novel.

I am very pleased that I have done NaNoWriMo as it has given me the strength to persevere with my novel writing, forcing me to keep going, and having a writing life that is structured by social media to push me to the deadline. An article about this can be read in my previous post.

Lastly, I have mentioned Nike – the Greek-Winged goddess of Victory. She was a symbol to the Ancient Greeks about victory in battles and peaceful competition. The battle I faced was writing 50,000 words in 30 days – I was victorious in completing this in 24 days. This statue, I bought for my Dad while in Greece this year on my holiday. It is a replica of the Nike marble sculpture built during the Hellenistic Period, that was found at Samothraki / Samothrace in Greece. I purchased the statue at Athens’ flea market of Monastiraki. The lady had wrapped the statue up twice in bubble wrap, and during my Four Day Classical and Meteora Tour, the bus driver accidentally threw the bag that had our delicate souvenirs, into the bus, breaking both wings of my Nike. We glued her wings back to her at home, where she now stands on a pedestal. So even though she might be the Winged Goddess of Victory, even her wings break at some point in time, but always remember, the victory that you want in life, will prevail if you take agency. I will also mention, that at the beginning of this year I began writing another short story, which I thought would be better off written as a novella or perhaps even, a novel. It is based in Samothraki, so to have this statue means a lot to me, and perhaps next year, for my next NaNoWriMo, I will write this story to get the first draft written down. Another Victory to add to the collection, because novels and short stories are writers’ victories. Nike would be happy to crown any victor of NaNoWriMo with a wreath or sash.

Anyway, till next time,
Claire