As many of you know, I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time this past November. It was hard, but such a worthwhile experience. I exceeded the 50,000 word goal and even completed the first draft of a brand new novel ALL IN ONE MONTH. Considering that the first novel I wrote took, uh, years, I was floored I was even capable of that, even if a lot of what I wrote needed to be reworked, revised, rewritten, or flat out deleted. But at only 51K, I knew my story was still a little underdeveloped and I would need to beef it up. I stepped away from my story in December but finally came back to it in January, though I didn’t add much until these past few weeks.
Now this is where I’m at:
It feels good to have 10,000 more words that my November goal, and to feel my story has some more of the development it needed. It still needs work, and I am very aware of this. I have decided to spend the rest of March writing and revising as much as I can stand, and deciding who the very first beta readers are going to be that I will send it to, the ones I trust will read through the crap and see the good stuff and tell me where to expound on the good and get rid of the bad.
Then for April I have decided I will reset my sights to something new…
Camp NaNoWriMo is run by the same folks who run the November event, but it’s done in either April or July, and you set your own word count goal ranging from 10,000 – 999,999 (for the record, pretty sure I’ll never be able to do the latter for one story! Especially in one month!). You can’t tell from my profile page here, but I have decided to set a goal of 20,000 words, which after what I did in November is extremely doable, but is also more than I generally do in a month. It averages to 5,000 words a week, which helps break it down into smaller, even more doable goals.
As you can see, the title is “TBD,” meaning I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. I do know it will be one of my older ideas that I’ve started but not gotten very far with, and I think I know which one I’m leaning towards, but I can also change my mind over the next few weeks.
After April, hopefully my 2-3 beta readers will have suggestions to help me dive back into revising Earthbound (my project from November), and I’ll probably rework that and go through more beta readers again before I get back to what I write in April. But after what NaNoWriMo did for me, I can’t ignore that setting these goals for myself and having the chance to mark these milestones really works for me, much more than when I’m just trying to write willy-nilly, and so I want to do it again to get the ball rolling on another story.
If you’re doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April, let me know! I was thinking about doing the cabin thing but want to request cabin mates I know!
I didn’t really know what Camp Nano was, so thank you for writing this post! I definitely want to sign up for it!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
You should, and then let me know what your username is! I literally just started hearing about it like two weeks ago!
Congrats!! I’m not a writer, but I think having a goal to strive for would definitely encourage me to write more than if I gave myself the freedom to write what I wanted, when I wanted. I just don’t have the discipline otherwise, haha
All the best with Camp NaNaWriMo!
Thanks, Kelly! It is hard to stay disciplined!
I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo in April! I’m still revising my NaNoWriMo story(very extensively. . . it’s making me crazy! I’m expanding the POV too, so there’s so much new stuff I’m adding in). And because I’m revising this story, I thought it would be fun to take a bit of a “break” in April & work on a YA time travel idea that’s been floating around in my head for months. My goal is 25K, so definitely less than the normal NaNo go, but 25K will still give a good chunk of the story(even though I suspect the novel might get quite long).
Making such big revision changes certainly can be intimidating, and sometimes a break to dive into a new story is just what you need! If you want to do the cabin mate thing let me know what your username on the site is.
Here’s my profile: http://campnanowrimo.org/campers/stormydawnc
I’m still exploring the whole cabin set up thing, but it sounds really interesting!
Good luck on Camp NaNoWriMo. I was glad to be a partner in the November push and watching your wordcount go up helped to keep me on pace so I thank you. I’m not doing the camp thing though as I have a few other projects in the works so plenty I’m writing now but I’ll keep an eye out for your successful progress.
Anthony
Thanks, Anthony! Good luck with all your writing as you continue to truck on.
I have decided to do Camp NaNoWriMo, and it is the first time I will have done anything like this. I am very excited about it! I hope that it will help to have a goal to reach towards, and hopefully it will help make good progress on the novel idea that is rolling around in my head. My username for it is tyork0923.
Tiffany
Beneath the Jacket Reviews
Yay, awesome! I think having a goal to strive for and people holding you accountable really helps a lot when you’re writing!
I totally forgot about camp! I’m definitely signing up this time. I won’t be able to do the 50K count, but I can at least set it for 10K and hope for the best 🙂
Go Kayla! Let me know your username if you want to do the cabin mate thing.
Sure! I think mine is Astrid Elaine 🙂
Congrats on all the progress you’ve made writing! Nano seems pretty scary to me, so it’s fantastic you made the 50K count! Good luck with Camp Nano Amy but I know you can do it! 🙂
Thanks, Charlene! NaNo was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done! Camp will be a little easier! 🙂
This camp souns fun! Congrats on completing your goal for NaNoWriMo! 😀 Its such a hugh achievement and I know you can revise and edit you draft! *sends motivation*
If you do need any help, reading or just to talk through the stress, you definitely have my support and I can help! (Does that sound creepy? XD)
Good luck on the Camp! ^_^
Thanks for the motivation! I always appreciate support! 🙂
I’m going to be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo as well (although I don’t think I will be doing so until July). Congrats on winning NaNo in November! It is very hard to write a novel in a month’s time.
Good luck! Will you be writing here about your progress?
Thank you! It was extremely hard; I couldn’t believe I managed to do it. I might be sharing my progress on here some, but we’ll just have to see. I did share an update or two during NaNo, but of course this is slightly less intensive.
Ooh, I didn’t know that there was a Camp NaNoWriMo in April! I’m going to seriously think about signing up because I had so much fun (and got so much done) for NaNoWriMo.
Happy writing! 🙂
Alice @ Alice in Readerland
Yes, I had just heard about it too! I think it’s a great idea! If you sign up and want to be cabin mates let me know your username!
I have never heard about Camp NaNoWriMo. I may want to do this if they are doing it in July!!
They are doing it in July, so definitely check it out!
Yay, I’m excited to hear about this!
I still can’t believe you did so much work in one little month! You’re a writing machine, Amy! I love that screenshot of your word count and “THE END.” 😉
I know there is a lot of work ahead of you this month to revise and edit SIXTY THOUSAND (!!) words! But you can totally do it. You got the main obstacle out of the way just getting your story down on paper, I think. I have no idea what it’s about, but I know it’s going to be fantastic when you’re done! 🙂
I didn’t realize NANOWRIMO did a boot camp in April as well. That should be great for keeping your writing skills flowing – especially with those smaller, more manageable goals. I can’t wait to hear more updates about your writing progress!
A writing machine! I was in November at least! Sometimes I feel much more lethargic! Bu thanks so much for the encouragement! It really does mean a lot! The blessing and curse of reading my own writing back is I can read it more quickly than unfamiliar material, but that means I’m also more likely to overlook stuff that I might need to pay attention to! Anyhow, yay for smaller goals! I’m excited for next month! 🙂
I’ve never done the camp before – I’ve been thinking about doing it this year because it’s been a long time since I’ve written anything new – I’ve been in serious revision mode for…well, it seems like forever. 😉
Congrats on finishing Nano in November, and good luck with your upcoming word goal!
I think it’s a great way to get motivated to write again! And thanks!
I just have to say, I really like that you share these kinds of goals and progress reports on your blog! I love being able to follow writers on their journey to publication, especially when it’s a friend of mine! I’m so excited for you being in the place you are right now, and I wish you the best of luck with your goals for making this novel the best it can be! 🙂
Thanks, Kelley! I don’t think I would be doing as well if I hadn’t gotten into blogging! The support of the community, as well as how much I’ve learned about the industry from following others’ blogs, have really helped me!
That’s great! I love seeing how supportive and encouraging and helpful the overall writing and bookish community is. (I mean, I know there are some bad apples in the bunch, but seriously, it’s SO much better than — for example – the gaming community, where everyone seems to be against one another for some reason!)
I’m still wondering if I should do NaNo, but I do know I plan on writing out these 90 prompts I found online. I don’t think I’m ready for a full-out book yet, because I’ll give up if I realize how bad my dialogue is and etc.
It’s hard to get past the mental block of writing through bad writing and assuring yourself it can be fixed later. But just writing at all, whether it’s something like NaNo or working through prompts or doing something else is an accomplishment in of itself!
I suppose. That’s why I actually signed up already! Do you know anyone else doing it? Let’s make a book blogger cabin.
If you scroll through the previous comments I got usernames from Stormy/Book Blog Bake, Kayla/1000 Lives, and Tiffany/Beneath the Dust Jacket.