GARLANDS AND GOODIES

Prompt 2: Plot twist of 2025

The Wild Arcs of April :

It's been a worthwhile time spent on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2025. While time was not entirely in my favour after April 9, I had to suspend the event due to unforeseen, unavoidable and unfortunate circumstances when my dear father exited the earthly realm on the 10th. I picked it up from where I left off after April 27 th.

Having lost a crucial chunk of time didn't deter me much and I did write just for the love of it.

During these 26 days of writing-- spanning the alphabetical order from A-Z, it was an enriching experience with my theme of Wellness/Lifestyle/Philosophy and Self care with every title picked from a foreign language.

From ANAM CARA to ZÕV AMDRAL, I wrote a whopping 30,356 words on my blog!

In view of the blogging team's theme of gratitude for 2025, I'm brimming with joy to see the unexpected readership count on each piece.

With everyone's unwavering support and especially for the mini series of the two adorable cats Muay Thai and Fluffnut from the letters G-M, I limped through the event.

Writing about the felines was what kept me going until I found some calm and stability when the going got rough and rugged.

While the tough in me kept going, 2025 was a year I wish could rewind and rewrite if I had the power to.

But in sole acceptance of how things have turned out to be, this virtual trophy is a salve on the enduring and surfacing through the depths of dim waters for a gulp of fresh air and warm sunshine.

The Plum Rewards of Novel Writing November NaNoWriMo:

19 Days and 30 K words! Sailed through the choppy waters of a pre- decided target on a limb. I relive the rip-roaring moment every single day hence. Did I really...? But then, of course I did!

I had grossly underestimated myself over a seemingly impossible larger than life NaNoWriMo when I had dived headlong into it without a charting course.

Registering myself as a Pantser, I wandered aimlessly through the plot, but not quite! The deep dark woods of words without a prior outline led me to discover untrodden, pristine paths and that was the beauty of the unfurling of the script!

All said and done, I'm one of the unsung heroes of NaNoWriMo 2025 and yet it's a flex! And with a flourish I accept my laurels in the quiet of my own writing bubble celebrating with my accountability buddies.

I did it! This day goes down in my history 💜 What a high 🥂🍾🏆

****

Now that wasn't so intimidating as I thought it would be now, was it! When I crossed the 30K word count target on Day 19, my novel was incomplete by far...a very, very far stretch.

Six more chapters of approx 1,670 words--sometimes more a day and I reached my highest summit with total word count of 41,485 words on Day 25 sealing a deserving finality to all the characters! Some with Just Desserts too 😉

You know what was the most exhilarating bit? To type "The End" !

Phew ! What a joyous journey that was that wore me wafer thin on days, yet I committed to it like none other. Polished three-quarters of the way, the story still holds a wide scope to make it concise and tautly knotted up in a neat bow. Well, but that's for another day when I revisit it.

Thank you Nano2 for helping me discover my strengths with your pep talks which in turn boosted my resilience to keep at it. SUAW Wrimos for giving me fantastic writing groups and accountability buddies. What else can I say except that it truly was a memorable November of 2025!

Cover Image Courtesy:Pinterest

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ANAM CARA

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Sangeetha Kamath

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