As you probably know, this month is Camp NaNoWriMo. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was working on Once Upon this April, with plans to finish up the first draft.
If you didn't know, Once Upon is the fantasy novel I wrote the first 50k of last November. I hadn't TOUCHED it since November 21st, when I won NaNo and starting sleeping again. (lol I wish I was joking but NaNo '19 destroyed me) Today I thought I'd give you a little recap of my first ten days of
Camp NaNoWriMo!
I wasn't originally planning on doing one of these posts, so I don't have updates for each day past the word count. Go, un-preparedness. So... enjoy said daily word count.
Day One: 72 words
Day Two: 370 words
Day Three: 12 words
Day Four: 85 words
Day Five: 1244 words
Day Six: 1519 words
Day Seven: 1213 words
Day Eight: 14 words
Day Nine: 1676 words
Day Ten: 176 words
Total: 6351 words
And overall, the whole book is currently at 56,545 words.
It's obvious that some days I'm only writing so I can say I wrote that day. Not that that's a bad thing-- writing a few words means you wrote SOMETHING and that's better than nothing. (And that's how you make a habit!) But I've been putting off writing until the last minute and then realizing I don't have time to reach my ideal word count for the day. And that, my friends, is how you end up writing 12 words. xD
I've been a LITTLE disappointed with how the story is (or isn't) flowing. I expected to roll back into it pretty well, but there HAVE been a few times when I've just sat there staring at the screen for a good while. If you didn't know, more often than not I'm a hardcore pantser, and this go-round is no exception. We going into each writing session with less knowledge of what's going to happen than the neighbor's dog.
It's unpredictable but it makes for an entertaining time. xD
I DO realize that on those days when I wrote 1k+ words, said words flowed a little better. When I allow myself extra time, I can get deeper into the story and it'll tend to tell itself more easily, rather than me trying to force out words to meet a quota.
Also, remember how I said I hadn't touched my story since November? Yeah, it really showed when I started trying to write. xD I opened up my story, went to where I had left off, and immediately realized I was in big trouble.
Fortunately, I was able to stumble my way back to the present and get back into the mindset for the story. xD I had to skim back over what I'd written last year, which I definitely should have BEFORE April 1 (lol look at me always prepared), buuut I survived.
However, while I was SUPPOSED to hyper-focused on finishing Once Upon, the unthinkable happened: I started thinking about another story.
Yeah. I know.
See, when I finish the first draft of Once Upon, I was already planning to either go back and edit it, or edit Roots to Claim. And after I made those plans I started daydreaming about Roots to Claim, and realized how much I missed it and how it would definitely be the story I work on after Camp. And then I started thinking about its playlist. And then I started thinking about the characters and started getting emotional.
BASICALLY I JUST GOT MYSELF IN A BIG OL' MESS.
No, I'm not abandoning Once Upon. But I do feel like I'm cheating on it by lusting after another story. xD
So, yeah. That's a thing that's happening. I'm still enjoying working on Once Upon (have I mentioned before that I love Trentley and Jynnia with all my heart???), but, well, I'm kind of ridiculously excited about getting back to Roots to Claim when I'm done. but you didn't hear that from me please don't tell my wip
Aaand that's how the first third of my Camp NaNo has gone. xD In general, I feel it's going pretty well. BUT I also think I'm really going to have to kick it into high gear in order to finish this draft this month. Because I have my goal set at 20k for the month, my brain keeps telling me I just need to make that goal in order to win Camp. But I sort of just set that goal as a placeholder, when in reality my goal is to finish the story, and who knows who far past 20k that could take me? I really don't expect it to be very long (Roots to Claim came out around 80k, I believe), but we'll see.
So, if you need me I'll be wildly typing away trying to finish this story without tearing my hair out.
(Also, if you're interested in checking them out, here are this story's Pinterest and playlist!)
On a final note, I hope everyone has a lovely Easter! It's going to be quite different this year, and it's going to be WEIRD not being in church OR with my whole family this year. But in reality, Easter's not about dinner or family or even church, right? It's about Jesus, and HE hasn't changed a bit.
How has Camp been going for all you Wrimos? Anybody else struggle with thinking about your other stories instead of the one you're working on? And how will YOUR Easter be different this year?
YOU'RE DOING AWESOME, GIRL!!! And I can imagine it's been really hard settling back into a story after months away from it. YES. So definitely give yourself grace there. I am sure it will start flowing soon! And making a habit of writing every day, even if it's just 12 words, is a GREAT practice! That's awesome you're doing that. :D So excited to see Trentley and Jynnia's story come along. THE BABIES. <333
ReplyDeleteBut ooooh my goodness, I sympathize with you SO hard on another story tugging at you. That happens to me like...EVERY time I'm heavily working on a story. Seriously. It's just terrible! It DOES feel like you're cheating on one story while lusting over the other. Bwahaha! We writers have problems. XD But often it helps me push to the end of the story I'm working on, so then I can get to the story I'm "lusting" after. So it occasionally helps put me into gear to get the thing DONE. But yeah, it can be annoying too. XD
But ANYWAYS. I do hope the rest of Camp goes AMAZINGLY for you! Thank you so much for the update!
And HAPPY EASTER!!! It will definitely be a different Easter for sure, but I loved what you said! Jesus hasn't changed, and that's the most important thing. <3
THANK YOU! Yes, if nothing else writing just a few words every day helps you stay in the story, even if you don't make a ton of progress in a day.
DeleteIt's definitely true that wanting to work on another story can be motivating! I'm for sure loving on working on my current WIP, but knowing what's waiting for me after is nudging me along a bit. ;)
Thank you so much! And happy Easter to you, too! <3
You're doing so good! I tend to work on a least two books at once helps me not to get too stuck with either.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Oh, I can see how that would help! Not for me, though, I think I'd confuse myself hopelessly. xD
DeleteI've been struggling with my stories too.
ReplyDeleteHope you do well in camp NaNo. :)
astorydetective.blogpsot.com
Aw, that's a bummer. I'm sure it'll get easier soon!
DeleteThank you!
I know things have probably changed since this post but you’re doing great! Some days flow better for me than others too! My NaNo is going pretty well. I’m a little behind but I should catch up tonight or tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Good luck on the rest of your Camp! :D
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