Camp – Day 28

Tags

Camp April 2014, Easter, statistics, work

As of right now, these are my stats.

They’re mildly unhealthy, but at least they look better than the overall cabin stats.  This shows exactly how casually I took Camp NaNo whilst I was still working, before Easter.  Cue the holidays, and up goes the word count.

Not looking towards the 1491 per day to finish on time.

Camp – Day 25

Tags

Camp April 2014, publish, target, Wolverhampton Guild, word count

I have a confession – I lowered my word count target yesterday.

It felt like both my original target of 30,000 and my secondary target of 25,000 were both unachievable, so it has been lowered again to 20,000.  Now I feel as if the whole thing is not an uphill struggle, and I may possibly be able to do it.  If I do the same again for the second Camp in July, then the book may be finished in time.

Please note – my target date for publishing is October 31st.  Hallowe’en.

It will happen.  20k this month, a few more thousand inbetween and at least 20k in July, plus editing should produce a sufficient book.

And today, I hit 13,999.

That’s only 6001 to go, with five whole days of writing left.  And it’s still only six o’clock, so who knows.  After I leave the Guild write – in, I may write another thousand at home.

Yeah.  Wishful thinking.

Camp – Day 23

Tags

cabin, Camp April 2014, concentration, lazy, NaNoWriMo, target, word count

Let us think about a question I asked in my Camp NaNoWriMo cabin last night;

Why is Camp NaNoWriMo so hard?

It shouldn’t be.  NaNoWriMo, the November, all in, massive target one is 50k in 30 days.  I initially aimed for 30k this month, then lowered it to 20k.  I’m currently floundering near the 11,500 mark with eight days left including today.

I have the next two or three thousand words planned out too, which I did on the trains to and from Shrewsbury on Easter Monday.  That was a good use of an hour and forty minutes.

And, despite this planning, i’m finding it EXCRUCIATINGLY arseful to get the words out onto a computer screen.  I could go and work on my other ideas, but I don’t want to.  I’ve already had beta readers look over chapter one, and now they want to see the rest.  Working on the other idea would also involve some degree of research which would ultimately take me away from writing.  I know the point of NaNo is to write, and not think, but I can’t just make up major plot points based on real life possibilities on inaccurate data.  It’s not me.

So, why is Camp so much harder?  Is it the lack of incentives?  Is it the seemingly ‘easy’ target after doing NaNo in November?  Is it because I know I have a second Camp further on in the year?  Is it all those days I missed, figuring i’d just catch up later?

Or, am I just a really lazy writer?

Camp – Day 16

Tags

Birmingham Group, Camp April 2014, word count

Today, one of the MLs (Municipal Liaison – people in charge!) of the Birmingham NaNo group and I had planned to meet up for a casual write and get – out – the – house session.  A coffee and impromptu McDonalds later, I had gotten 500 words written.  It wasn’t bad going for less than two hours work, I suppose.  I’ve picked it up again now, but I don’t expect to go over 7000 words before midnight.

I’m on Facebook at the same time.

George

Camp – Day 14

Tags

Camp April 2014, word count

 

Hmmm.

Camp – Day 13

Tags

Birmingham Group, Camp April 2014, dianetics, Scientology, Wolverhampton Guild

It is day 13 of Camp NaNo.  I’ve not blogged for a bit, it is the start of the Easter holidays in the UK, and approaching the halfway point for Camp.

I originally intended to write 30,000 words for Camp, as that was a thousand a day which seemed like a pretty neat number.  A few days ago though, I lowered that to 25,000.  If I get ahead of myself, i’ll raise it again, but as it stands, I am here with an open file containing around 3170 words.  I should be nearer the 10k, 11k mark by now.  The write – in in Birmingham was okay, I did write about 500 words, but that was over a seven or so hour period.

I had to run out for food and take a dianetics test.  I’m not a Scientologist, I just wanted to see if I could wangle a free Hubbard book.  It didn’t work though.  I worked out how to fix the stress test too, so it was all a bit funny.

Friday was the write – in for Wolverhampton Writers’ Guild, the group that was set up during NaNo 2013 that I organised with a few other people.  There were only two of us this week, the other person being the ML of Birmingham, Susan, so we got some good work done.  I started the day with 1344 words and ended it with 2555, which was a massive confidence boost.  If I could keep that going, I would hit target before the end of April.

I have decided to write the new idea I had, the Stephen King type novel will have to wait.  Again.

Camp NaNo – Preparation

Tags

Camp April 2014, concentration, Wolverhampton Guild

So i’m sitting here, with the Guild, trying to write some stuff up for Camp NaNo.  It starts in a few days, and I am woefully underprepared.  I have very few notes, a clear, but rough, idea plan of what the main story is and i’m still making notes.  But, I just can’t concentrate.

Even writing this is is difficult.  Today is not a good day for concentrating!  I’ve spent over an hour writing this, and it’s not going well…

So i’ll see you later, I suppose.

Book Two Is No Longer Book Two

Tags

Camp April 2014, NaNoWriMo, research, University

So, i’ve been doing some research for a book.  But not the book two I was planning to write.

After getting a thousand or so words down for book two, I read an article, and started another story.  I am also around a thousand words into this one.  I suppose my original idea will have to go on the backburner again.  by the time I get to write it, it’s going to be my last ever book…

I haven’t much more to tell you.  I’ve been swamped with study, attempting to play catchup with textbook work and essays before Camp NaNo starts in April.  I don’t know if it’ll happen how I want, but it’s worth a go!

During Camp NaNo I expect to write a thousand words a day, so roughly 30,000 by the end.  A little more achievable than the NaNoWriMo target.

Book Number Two

When I was writing Section Three, I got lost with the story.  It went through a number of changes, and I lost interest for a few days.  Needing to keep up word count for NaNoWriMo, I started work on other projects.  One of these is going to become book two.

I have the opening.  1000 words or so.  I have a bit of an idea.  I’ve also had a chat with a friend and come up with some other scraps that could be worked up into whole ideas.  But i’m struggling.  See, I had this idea, but I was put off it somewhat when I was told it was a Stephen King novel.  When I looked it up, long after NaNoWriMo, I found it wasn’t the same at all.  Now, i’m trying to run with it, but I don’t know what direction to go.  It could go mystery, or supernatural, or anything really.  It’s just finding what i’m comfortable with writing, how long I want it to be, and what word count I plan to hit during Camp NaNo!

I need to be more structured.  I have a head swimming with ideas, but it’s just not working out right at the moment…

And, I have a lot of legal study to do too…

The Hardback Copies, And Other Stuff

Tags

book, delivery, hardback, post, Royal Mail, University

Since pressing the buttons on everything for publication, i’ve focused a little more on my University study.  Not much more, but I did some bursts of textbook work and got my first essay in.  During that time, I ordered two hardback copies – one for myself, and one for a friend, for her birthday.

It never arrived on time for her birthday.

Her birthday meal was Saturday.  I took her a paperback copy, and told her that even though the book had been posted days before, it was coming from France.  So, here’s the other copy and a pair of tights.

I am that poor.

Her copy arrived at her house yesterday.  My copy didn’t.  This morning, I got this –

This is commonplace in my area.  The postman is very lazy, he would rather hop over our garden walls than walk the path too!  This is also not the first time I have received a ‘Sorry’ card that instructs me to wait TWENTY FOUR HOURS before collecting.  By which time, they will attempt a redelivery and give me another card (because, why would he knock the door tomorrow when he didn’t today?).

My friends have seen my hard copies before I have.  No fair.

Also, I got my first five star rating on Amazon 😀