Camp NaNoWriMo

So, I had heard of Camp NaNoWriMo some months back when the initiators of the event posted it on www.nanowrimo.org. I was intrigued that they were finally doing something official for this time of year, as I had heard many groups of friends creating a summer event just between a small group of people or region.  But I was not sure I was going to do it.

Last year was the first year I won NaNoWriMo, and this summer was going to be hectic enough with trying to find a job (a to do still not accomplished), as well as the reading list my friends gave me. I could do it, after all, I write 2000 words a day any way, but recently my writing has not been focused. Today though, one of my friends on Facebook mentioned camp, and I asked, "What camp?" And she replied, "Camp NaNoWriMo!"

It took all of about two seconds for me to say, what the heck? Why not do this crazy adventure in July? Because I remembered a fine point of NaNoWriMo and their affiliates--no excuses. Excuses are the reasons why we don't get things done in life. The reason NaNoWriMo was created was because Chris Baty had heard every excuse in the book from himself and his friends, and decided to change what he was doing. In that, he simply started doing something. After all, one of the biggest excuse of not writing is not having the time. As my pastor once said, "If it's important, make time."

So for the next month, not only will I be making time, but I will be focusing on a singular plot. This means I should probably do more planning and finish the anon meme prompt I've been working on. It will mean a lot of focus and concentration, and not giving up (like a certain project...a certain many I should say). No word will be wasted, and goals accomplished.

My strategy will probably be something like  what I did for NaNoWriMo this past November, in that I made sure to have five thousand words in by the end of the first day (I may try to make it a straight shot from midnight on), and then write two-thousand words (well, I have to right now, but let's say I didn't).  Which really helps because it is a NaNo phenomena that something always happens in the second week going into the third to make you quit writing. I did not write almost anything for three or four days and then wrote paltry amounts everyday until I went home with my friend Emily for Thanksgiving. When she began to surpass my word count, I pretended we were racing. That night I wrote five thousand words, and in the next, seven thousand. It felt pretty amazing to have the major parts of my book done, and all I had to do was wrap it up.

I think one of the big things that helped me was the giant support group of people all around me, who were going through the same thing. Which may not help me this time (we'll have to see about Facebook, and I can drive myself to write-ins now...so it might be different).  But as a bonus, you guys get a preview for November.

I'll update the Smithy later this week or next week with my thoughts on world building.