Camp NaNoWriMo

So I’ve spent the last month writing, editing and trying to get two books (maybe three?) done at once. I’m pretty sure I’m burning myself out and it’s actually starting to seem like a bit of a struggle, but I did it for the soul reason that I’m actually doing something to change the rut I’ve been in. It’s made me not want to write a blog post (which means I’ve missed bits and pieces) but here I am, writing about not writing posts, what a conundrum.

So with Camp NaNo this month, I was confronted with the fact that the last one I did was cut short because of the death of my father, but I pushed past that and I got to my word limit, but I should have stopped there and not soldiered on and changed it, doubled it. What was I thinking? Start slow, Mandi, do it cautiously. What. The. Actual. Fuck? What do I know about starting slow? I’m almost an all of nothing girl, when it comes to writing, I’ve also decided that the last few weeks were optimum for throwing myself back into the gym and making the most of every day, which means connecting with loved ones, asking friends how they’re doing, and generally trying to deal with the shit I bottled up (not okay, guys, really).

So I decided to tackle my writing guide that it going to eventually be up here for you guys, it’s so rough, it’s messy but I think I love that. I love it so much that I’m probably going to finish it tomorrow and then let it stew and probably add more to it. I’m trying to figure out how to go about it, do I make it a self-help book? Or do I actually let loose and give you more? I’m not even sure, what would you guys want? I’m also up for opening up a conversation through my newsletters too.

The hardest thing is trying to make Camp NaNo feel like the real deal, but it’s actually hard for me. It’s so hard that I’m struggling to find my motivation. Like I said I’m all or nothing girl. I strive on being tortured in the first week to reach 50k and then write on. I’m done by the second week and the hardest part? Going through all of the stages in a matter of days, instead of weeks. Do you know how hard it is to go through the week 2 slump on like day 2? Or even day 3? It’s horrendous. Hating all of the words you’ve written in a matter of 48 hours. It’s tiring.

But the plus of this? I got sneak peeks into one of my friends writing. Do you know how exciting that is? So. Exciting. I can’t even begin to explain it. I’m such a fan girl and it’s like getting a fix. It’s beautiful.

Camp NaNoWriMo, for those that don’t know, is a mini version of NaNoWriMo – which happens in November, is all about choosing your own word limit and having a “cabin” of people to urge you on. Essentially it’s supposed to be a month long writer’s retreat without even leaving your house, pretty cool hey? This release they introduced private cabins, which gave you the option to pick and add the people you wanted to write with. It’s been interesting, I dragged Peta along for the ride and poked Ru, as well as Tom. He asked to bring people along, I was like hell yeah. I added Lynda too. It’s been enlightening, and fun to watch their word counts grow and grown, while mine sort of  became stagnant. But tomorrow is the last day, it’s going to be interesting.

I’m not rewriting like I was in April. I’m writing, it’s messy, unreadable muck that I can come back to and sort through. I’m doing fiction and non-fiction and I’m overdosing on words. On the beauty and the serenity they make me feel. I’ve got this. I can write 5k in a day. Easy. I can do it after a full day of work too. I know I can…

What’s something you’ve done and hit the ground running? Tell me about it.