Howdy Nano Campers,

Guess what? Just minutes ago, something great happened. I beat my Camp Nano goal for July 2019!

*Takes a bow* Thank you, thank you, you’re too kind!

Nah, but in all seriousness, Camp Nano was seriously a beast for me this time around. Let’s get into some brief details about my little journey and what’s ahead.

My Project

As you probably know, my Camp Nano goal this time around was for the sequel to my debut novella Reaper. I’ve been working on this project ever since the day my first book released, and it’s been a helluva lot of blood, sweat, and tears thus far.

My goal was originally to work 40 hours on both plotting out my second act as well as polishing the rough draft of the first act (8 chapters).

I started off really ambitious because I already put in between an hour to an hour and a half of work on my writing each day. But somehow, by the second week I was already falling behind. And the third. And the fourth.

I ended up defaulting to my original goal of 31 hours of work, mainly due to some physical stress symptoms I’ve been having this month, but I still completed both of my goals, and I’m super proud of myself!

Just minutes ago, this lovely message popped up.

I’ve only finished Camp Nano once before, and that was in April of 2017. Back then my goal was to write 10,000 words of a prequel for my unpublished urban fantasy series, and I was done over a week before the deadline.

However, this time around, I felt like having this daily writing goal set in stone via Camp Nano actually detracted from my experience. Somewhere along the line, it began to feel like a chore to force myself to sit down and write.

The funny thing is, I’m good at setting goals for myself. I have designated times of day that I use to write and read. But somehow, this time I felt somewhat annoyed by the pressure of logging in and trying to log and meet my goal when I have already been working towards it.

In the end, I’ve decided that I’m probably not going to do a Nano competition again, but that doesn’t mean I’m dogging Nano in any way, shape, or form.

Some of us are great at setting goals for ourselves and meeting them. Those types of people I believe don’t necessarily need the program.

I feel that Nano is a great challenge to sign up for if you’ve been in a writing funk or can’t seem to get yourself to finish what you started. It’s a seriously great opportunity, and I’m super grateful for the experience.

What’s ahead

Well, obviously I’m going to finish writing my book!

I did finish the plotting of my second act, so I know all the big plot points, but I still need to go back and flesh them out quite a bit more (I’m a plotter, so sue me!).

I also need to start thinking about my third and final act. I know the ending (I always do for some reason), but I need to get from point B to point C.

At this point, I can’t say how soon I’ll be able to publish my second book. Though I was originally hoping for an earlier release, I wasn’t being realistic. My best guesttimate is that I will publish either in October or November if I’m lucky, and I’m fine with that (and fine even if it takes longer. Releasing two titles in one year is a huge accomplishment, and its not always possible).

Writing takes time, and I’m not going to rush myself and risk sacrificing quality.

How about you?

How about you, fellow campers? Did you complete your Camp Nano goals? What are/were they? Did you enjoy your experience? Tell me everything!

Until next time, fellow writers and authors, and good luck with your projects!