Camp NaNoWriMo – Week One, Slow Start

Okay, writers! Camp NaNoWriMo – or as I like to think of it, NaNoWriMo Light – is a week in, and so far I have yet to impress myself. The “Stats” page keeps telling me “At this rate you will finish on August 17,” which is not exactly encouraging.

I have written 20 out of the 100 pages that is my goal. That’s not exactly a huge dent. And I could start to pile on with excuses here; work was really hectic; I’ve been sick this week; I’m cat sitting and there’s been some adjusting, blah blah blah blah blah. All those things may be true, but they are also irrelevant.

If I truly wanted to and made myself, I could sit down and do those 3-4 pages every day. It’s a matter of focusing and prioritizing, and in my heart I’m great at that but in practice, not so much. In real life, when faced with a decision between writing or watching Netflix while doing writing-related things on the side, I often veer towards the latter. I’m always doing something writing related, but fat lot of good that does when I keep avoiding the actual writing part of the job.

It’s not that I’m any less passionate about Spiralling. Quite the contrary. Part of the whole reason for this re-write is because I figured out so many important things – not just plot points, but for example that the most important thing to me is the developmental journey of my characters and how the things that happen impact them. Sure, what happens is important and I care about that a lot, but it was nice to figure out where the heart of the story is.

Then if I’m so geared up about Spiralling, what’s the problem? Why aren’t I pumping out 4 fresh pages a day without breaking a sweat?

Because, as I think was established in this great little blog post over at Blissful Scribbles  this week about that fun NaNo-Wall we all eventually hit (that post and all the comments kept me going this week, even if I didn’t produce much!) WRITING IS HARD. Even when it is worth it – and it is worth it – writing is hard.

Sometimes it takes energy out of you, sometimes it fills you with so much energy it’s as if the words fall right out of your fingertips. But which of those two do you think is most common? Life isn’t kind enough to make it the second. And it’s when you’re stuck in the first one that you need to keep pushing. Sure, I’m about twelve pages behind where I should be right now, but you know what? I actually have done something every single day, even if it’s barely a page. That’s called pushing forward, even when it’s hard and slow. As long as you keep moving, you haven’t given up. I haven’t given up.

In an ideal world, the second this post is up I would get to work closing the gap between where I am and where I should be, but I’m supposed to be at Writer’s Group and since it’s been one of those weeks I obviously overslept. So doing this post from “home” (cat-sitting place) and will head over to Locus Workspace after. It will delay me, but at least I’ll still have the three hours after lunch to get some work done, and hopefully something will come of that. I refuse to give up!

How is everyone else doing? Any Campers feeling good about their progress? Or disappointed that you haven’t gotten into the rhythm yet? Any advice you want to share with the rest of us poor souls? 🙂

Personally my favorite thing about the Camp is the community. At NaNoWriMo last year I didn’t really interact with anyone because… Well, I don’t interact with people, even online. But this year I am making an effort, and it’s proving worth it. It’s just wonderful to know that you’re not alone, and I love the sense of everyone working together towards something even if we are working apart. I think this is a great prelude to November! And I sincere believe that together we can do this!

Happy productivity to everyone, no matter what you’re working on. I am so proud of you for putting yourself out there and making an effort! You only fail if you don’t try!

Rain S.