On Getting My Groove Back

In a desperate attempt to finish my novel, I've signed up for "Camp NaNoWriMo" It's basically NaNoWriMo Lite. You're sorted into "cabins" which is a team of fellow writers that are supposed to keep each other motivated. You can choose your cabin-mates, or be randomly assigned. I chose the latter.

As you probably are aware, this past November was an epic fail for me in terms of writing. During last year's NaNoWriMo I wrote 7500 words and pretty much gave up after a week. My average was 250 words per day. Ugh.

Even those 7500 words were a struggle. I just couldn't face my own work anymore.

It all started right after NaNoWriMo 2011; my second year and first win. I was SO proud that I had managed to write just over 50k words in 30 days. Not just that but those 50k words bought me tantalizingly close to the end of the novel itself. I was a chapter away from the climax of the story, and after that, only the denouement remained.

But then, tragedy struck. Just over a month after I had finished my 50k words, the USB on which I saved my NaNoWriMo work decided to commit suidide. Usually, I back my writing up, but for ease of transport and writing in different places, I carried all that work on a USB.

So yeah. I lost just over 50,000 words that I had JUST written.

All the stuff I had written before NaNoWriMo 2011 was safe, but that 50k was over half of the whole novel....

And then I lost my will to write. I didn't help that for the majority of 2012, I was a listless puddle of depression/dysthemia.

Every time I sat down to work on it in the following months were haunted by the ghost of writing past. Every word I wrote, I couldn't help but think "I've already written this..." I thought that NaNoWriMo 2012 would give me the kick in the pants that I needed to get back into the swing of writing. Boy, was I wrong. I didn't feel any different, except that there was added pressure of getting another 50k done in 30 days.

I gave up within a week.

But 2013 is a new year! I'm feeling good, I'm starting to creep back into social life, and I don't feel so much like a sad puddle anymore. And magically, the makers of NaNoWriMo announced their upcoming "Camp NaNoWriMo" it's a less competitive project where you can choose your own wordcount goal. AND they have cool motivational store items that regular NaNo doesn't have.

Funnily enough, that's what convinced me to sign up: the motivational stuff you can buy. You must understand that I spent most of the childhood in Brownies/Girl Guides, so when I saw that you can buy Camp NaNoWriMo merit badges, I knew that I had finally found my motivation.

I love camping. And I loved Girl Guides. So the idea of having writing-themed merit badges just tickles my fancy in a way that simple trudging to a 50k wordcount goal never could. The badges include: NaNo Socializing, Word-Count Padding, Procrastination, Caffeine Abuse, Secret Noveling, Creative Nonfiction, Rally Day, the Eureka Moment, Random Ending, and Victory. The package of badges includes instructions on how to "earn" them. For example, "Rally Day" is earned by having a 5000 word day OR overcoming a 10k word deficit. That's what incited me to sign up for the event and order the badges. I also ordered the Camp NaNoWriMo care package: a wooden cigar box that includes, among other things, a notepad, pen made of a twig, Camp NaNoWriMo badge, and keychain.

I have even hatched a plan to try to further motivate me for this lighter, more fun version of the November event: I'm going to set up my tent in my hobby room and use that as my writing nook.

So my online cabin has been assigned, my goal set at 30k words, badges and care package ordered, and writing nook erected. April 1st is the start date.

It seems like a lot of kerfuffle just to work on (and maybe even finish) a pet-project novel that I started when I was 16 that will probably never be published...but I've become rather attached to this little story, and I'd like to see it finished. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life mourning the loss of that 50k words and have it roadblock me from ever completing it.

So here goes nothing. Feel free to give me a shout-out of encouragement over the month of April. I know I'll need it!