I Survived Camp Nanowrimo!

Camp Nano, July 2015

Yay me! My draft is a shambles and I still have to write several key scenes, as well as make connections between many others so my novel flows like a novel should. But still. I am proud of my story, rough patches and all. More than that, I am proud of myself for digging in and writing, even on the days when words trickled out of the keyboard like teachers walking into a staff development session when they'd rather be doing ANYTHING else. Root canal, anyone? 

Because that is my biggest roadblock to publishing one of my projects. I get all excited about an idea and start. I am a world-class starter. Seriously, I could start shit all day. Then, as the initial inspiration dries up, the blank pages loom like the White Cliffs of Dover. I get scared of never writing another decent word, or worse, of finishing something and having to show it to a reader. Imagining anyone reading the drivel I write is its own special kind of horror.

So, making it to the end of the month with a daily writing habit that I actually look forward to is a tremendous step forward. 

When I participated in Nanowrimo for the first time in 2008, it was a much smaller affair, and it only happened in November. In some ways, it feels more diluted with the multiple writing events every year. Writing 50,000 words in a month is certainly possible, but I find that trying to do that EVERY month while maintaining a more than full time, very stressful job and a family is more than I can handle. 

I won on word count that first year, although I was only about a third of the way through my story at the end of the month. I have worked on that initial manuscript, off and on, ever since. Every time I pick it up, I fix a few more things and then continue writing. The first 50 pages or so are starting to read the way I want them to, but the manuscript gets progressively rougher as it goes on. I have also started several other projects that I treat in the same way. I find that I hate my writing much less if I leave the words alone for a few months or more. Eventually, I would like to try to get something published. 

My goal from here is to maintain a daily writing habit and to keep moving closer to a finished project.

26 Books Reading Challenge

While browsing Pinterest this morning in order to avoid working on my current writing project, I found this reading challenge. I'm already doing a couple, but this one looks fun and doable (even for people who aren't in the habit of reading the way I am).

I'll be keeping track in the comments. Feel free to join in!