Tag: Camp NaNoWriMo 2018

Five Things I Learned From Camp NaNo 2018

Posted August 1, 2018 in My Stories, Writing // 11 Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve done it. On Sunday, July 29th I validated my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. Even my word processor – Dabble – was excited for me. I got confetti fireworks and everything. As I’m writing this post on the 29th – mere seconds after validating – it feels… wrong. I hate looking at this beautiful, delightful winner’s screen and feeling like I cheated. Because, in a way, I have. For me, part of what makes NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo is finishing the novel. And I haven’t. I’m nowhere near. This is one of the reasons why I tend to drift towards Camp […]

July Wrap Up

Posted July 30, 2018 in Checking In // 28 Comments

I know I usually say “wow that month went by so fast”, but seriously, y’all, July? July was a long long month. I struggled to balance reading with writing with blogging with life with health stuff and sunshine and just everything and I am ready for autumn. This is how you know I’m a New Englander – I’m ready for fall now. Yes? Yes. July wasn’t so bad – just busy! I don’t like to be busy – I love me some weekends to sit at home and relish in doing nothing. It’s the best. August is gonna be busy too, […]

Camp NaNoWriMo Week 4 – Sidetracked

Posted July 27, 2018 in Writing // 6 Comments

As soon as validation begins during NaNoWriMo, I get nervous. Historically, I am finished by now. When you are American and do NaNoWriMo in November, there is the challenge of Thanksgiving to consider. It’s difficult to write once the end of November rears its head, because there’s a lot of family stuff all of a sudden, and writing is difficult. July is different, though. July has no end-of-the-month distractions. Except. Except I’m not done. This morning I wrote this: Dude, what the heck? Who is Lei? Why is Arin not with the others? Why am I only in chapter twelve?! […]

Camp NaNo Check In – Travel & Journeying (Week 3)

Posted July 21, 2018 in Writing // 2 Comments

I really enjoy reading and writing western European-style fantasy, and because my characters tend to go adventuring, there’s a lot of walking involved. This is one of the most common complaints I hear in fantasy – modern readers don’t want to read about the journey, they want to read about what happens when they get there. This week, my writing has been all about writing my way down the road. It’s challenging, because unless there are mini bosses and adventures along the way, this gets a bit tedious. Not just for the reader, but for the writer (me!) as well. As […]

Camp NaNo – Check In!

Posted July 13, 2018 in Writing // 6 Comments

Oh boy. The month is half over and my novel is not. I run into this every time I do NaNoWriMo. Normally, I rush the ending to get it in there. It’s easy for me to write quantity, but I struggle with quality and direction, especially in a first draft. Lately, I’ve been finding myself thinking about my elevator pitch and how enjoyable or unique this story would be and I am trying not to think about those things. Those are the voices that keep me from moving past a first draft. Seriously, though. My book is about four mismatched characters […]