Ian David Philpot
On the last day of NaNoWriMo 2009, Ian David Philpot looks on the positive side of things…even though he lost.
Today is November 30–the last day of this month–and I have officially lost NaNoWriMo. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I had been faring in the program that pushes writers to get out 50,000 words in the month of November. Unfortunately, I have only written a couple thousand words since then. Resting just below 20,000 words, I am an official loser.
I have no problem admitting my inability. Between helping out with Relief to working 20-35 hours a week and fighting through the toughest semester yet, I wasn’t able to meet my goal. And I’m fine with that, because National Novel Writing Month was a success. I wrote more for that story than I have ever written for any one piece before. I’ve also got a great start to a novel.
I also have a better understanding of how to direct my energies in my future. My dreams of being a professional writer have officially met with the struggles of time and the two clearly do not mix well. Reconciling them may take a lifetime, but if that’s what it takes, I will do it.
My new goal is to have my current novel finished and peer reviewed before summer of next year. That way I can start preparing for NaNoWriMo 2010 much sooner. My next novel is going to be about a celebrity who leaves a long trail of clues in his movies about how he is a member of a mysterious society that carries the secret of the still existing lineage from Pope Joan. The title: The DiCaprio Code (copyright Ian David Philpot 2009). Oh, and you better believe I’m going to be using Write a Book in 30 Days next year. I clearly can not do it on my own. 
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Ian David Philpot, a Relief intern, is studying English at Northern Illinois University and spent one year in Columbia College Chicago’s Fiction Writing program. He writes fiction and poetry and music. Ian prefers black to white, vanilla to chocolate, and only eats yellow cake.
