Time for Camping!

It's July, that means it's a good time to go camping, right? And I am doing exactly that! Although I may do some real camping near the end of the month, what I'm talking about in this blog post his Camp NaNoWriMo. If you're not familiar with it, it is similar to the main NaNoWriMo event in November but with more flexibility. You can choose your own target word count, and you are not expected to be working on a new novel. It's a good way to work with other writers and get caught up on an existing project or start a new one.

One feature that encourages working with other writers is that you can join a cabin, which is basically a team of up to 12 writers who can support each other, keep each other accountable, and just chat about writing and life as a writer. Read more if you would like to know how I am using Camp NaNoWriMo this year.

This is my first time to take on Camp NaNoWriMo. My life tends to be very busy during July and I have hesitated to try it in the past. This year, I decided to give it a try because my productivity in writing has been slumping and I wanted a way to turn it around. I have also started too many projects this year without finishing them, so I thought that the added flexibility of this event would allow me to focus on finishing existing projects. Even though I could have chosen a different goal, I went ahead and used what I was familiar with and am trying to reach 50,000 words this month.

It has gone fairly well so far. I have not managed to keep up with the par line, but I have finished one project and am nearing the end of another. Once I finished that, I have several other projects I could choose from but I will probably work on the third and final novel in the Dan Starney series. In addition to completing the project I am currently working on, finishing that novel would put me in a much better place in terms of my publishing goals. Using this approach to my goal, I can still feel successful even if I don't reach 50K before July 31. I'm also using this opportunity to improve my dictation skills, so that's another gain that gives me a sense of success regardless of my total word count.

If you want to keep an eye on my progress, my username for this is the same as for the main NaNoWriMo event, i.e., RattlesnakeStu. Otherwise, wish me luck!

Photo credit: morgueFile user davidpwhelan.