Hello! This is my review of how Camp NaNoWriMo went for me during July 2022.
For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a summer session put on by an event called National Novel Writing Month. The goal for Camp NaNoWriMo is more flexible than the official goal of NaNoWriMo proper in November (where the goal is to write 50,000 words from 1 Nov to 30 Nov). For Camp NaNoWriMo, you can choose your own goal, and you can even change the goal base on the kind of progress you are making.
This session of Camp NaNoWriMo was… interesting. It kind of simultaneously went how I expected it to and not how I expected it to. I had some hopes for how far I would get with my current draft (Book 11 of my series), but I also knew that I would be on vacation for two weeks.
As such, I kind of went in with some high hopes and reasonable expectations (as contradictory as that might sound).
NaNoWriMo Stats for the Month
My standard goal for any NaNoWriMo event is 50,000 words over the course of the month. While I’ve managed to maintain that word count goal for NaNoWriMo proper (with an 11-year streak), my Camp NaNo sessions are significantly less consistent. This is convenient because I was on vacation for almost half of the month.
As the end of the month drew closer, I revised my goal. I started at 50,000 words, and then dropped to 10,000 words. Then I dropped to 5,000 words, which I was determined to reach in the last few days of the month.
I succeeded.
I even got all of the profile badges for updating everyday. The only badge I didn’t get was “Achieve Daily Par Every Day.” That was to be expected given that I had several days where I only wrote a few words.
I had gotten about half of my words before I went on vacation. During the time I was away, I did manage to get a few words down in between other events. It did take a little bit to get back into a routine. As such, most of the remaining words were written on the last day of the month, including wrapping up a chapter that had been rather difficult to write.
As I mentioned earlier, I did not reach the daily par for word count. Honestly, I expected that since I wasn’t bringing my computer with me when I left. Most of my days fell in the “100 words or less range,” with a decently strong push on the final day.
Using Camp NaNoWriMo to Make Progress on a Pair of Stories
In the weeks leading up to this Camp NaNoWriMo, I decided my writing for the month would actually be split between two writing projects. The first project was continuing the first draft of Book 11 for my current series, which I started halfway through April’s session of Camp NaNoWriMo. The second project was working on a collaborative piece with some of my fellow wrimos (aka- people participating in NaNoWriMo).
To be fair, the collaborative piece kind of turned into more of an anthology of short stories, such as they are. It was definitely a fun little side project, though, and it gave me an opportunity to delve into an aspect of my series I haven’t done much with. The side story also gave me the opportunity to indulge my inner Pantser (aka- One who “novels by the seat of their pants.”) For my main series, I definitely need a bit more structure to make sure it goes where I want it to.
My primary goal for the month was to maintain my streak of writing something in my current draft everyday, even if it was a few words. That streak has been in place since November 2021, and I definitely didn’t want to break it. Other than that, I wanted to get through the current chapter I had been writing. That chapter was being a bit difficult, but it is now drafted. I’ve since moved on to the following chapter.
The Experience of Writing Every Day (Even if only a little…)
One of the nice things I’ve noticed about writing at least a little bit every day (even as small as five words, at times), is that I have been able to keep the story fresh in my mind.
Previously, I would have times where I didn’t write for a day, which turned into two… That turned into a week, which turned into a month… The next thing I knew, several months would pass without me actually touching my manuscript. In that time, I would lose track of where I was in the story and where I was going. My focus on the story would be lost, and it would take a while to get it back.
Ideally, I would not only write everyday, but I would also take about 30 days to write a first draft. That hasn’t been happening lately for a couple of reasons. The closer I get to the end of the series, the stories are getting to the point where I can’t condense them into 50,000 words for the first draft (usually getting the beginning, middle, and end down while leaving certain areas kind of sparse). Additionally, the closer I get to the end of the series (only one book away now), the more moving parts I’m trying to place roughly where they need to be. Between those and assorted life stuff that occasionally comes up, it makes it difficult to get things moving smoothly. I am always trying to refine my process, though.
The Plan Now, Post-Camp NaNoWriMo
My plan for the time between Camp NaNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo proper (in November) is to continue working on Book 11 of my series. When I finish Book 11, I’ll move to Book 12 (the final book of my current series). I have a decent outline/timeline for Book 11, and I have a rough idea for how Book 12 will go. Prior to NaNoWriMo, I intend to outline/timeline Book 12.
Other than that, I intend to continue reading as much as I can, and I am also working on improving my digital art. So far, most of that involves painting and drawing. My recent goal has been attempting assorted challenges, either set by myself or other challenges that have been around.
NaNoWriMo is about a month-and-a-half from now. If anyone would like to add me as a writing buddy on the NaNo website, my username is fantasy_writer42, and you can find my profile here.
Thanks for reading!
~ Theresa
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