Reflecting on Camp NaNo July 2019

July has been a challenging month for my writing goals. For Camp NaNo I decided to make a start on book 2, Diamond in the Sky but it has been full of distractions! I’m hoping August will be more productive for my writing.

Distraction 1: Course Work

I needed to finish my coursework for the Working Together Community Course. I must admit I had been putting off the assignments to work on my writing and as the deadline to submit approached I had to prioritise it and get it done. I have really enjoyed volunteering and everyone at the school has been lovely. On my last day, I got a card from the teachers and signed by all the children and chocolates.

Distraction 2: Blog

I didn’t make any progress on my Camp NaNo project until day 7 and I quickly realised that I needed to do some more planning. Not only that but my blog was also in need of some attention. I need to write up about all the fun I had at Felixstowe Book Festival. I then spent the next few evenings prepping some posts.

After a little plotting and scheduling, I was ready to write and decided to sign up to Mandi Lynn’s #10kWritingChallenge. I knew there was no chance I could write 10k in one day with my other commitments but I knew if I aimed high, I would achieve something great. I wrote 2,792 new words for Diamond in the Sky. I was back on track for my Camp NaNo goal.

Turns out Mandi Lynn didn’t make 10k either. She vlogged about her struggles and celebrated the words she did achieve. She encourages people to sign up to next months 10k challenge and win a pin.

Distraction 3: Important dates

The end of July and start of August have some important dates for me.

Husband distractions: It is my husband’s birthday month. I needed to sort out his gift and I wanted to take him out somewhere child free. I arranged for his sister to babysit. I also got Aria to print her feet in his card and Noah to write a personal message.

Valerie Patisserie

Also, last month, my hubby got a little neglected as the end of Jewel of the Sea got closer, so I promised to watch Stranger Things with him – which was awesome.

Noah distractions: My son was finishing his first year of school (Reception class).

I think it is nice for kids to make their teacher a card or gift so I had to come up with an idea and organise the craft.

We got to go to Noah’s first sports day. I also decided to arrange a night out with the playground mums and get the ball rolling on some summer play dates.

Aria’s distractions: Aria’s first birthday is at the start of August. I have been busy arranging her cake smash and splash and worked with the photographer to create a very personal experience (more coming soon).

I’ve also been planning her parties. Yes! That was ‘party’ as a plural. She is a very lucky girl.

Distraction 4: Pitching

SFFpip was this month. It was my first time taking part in this Twitter pitch event and I got a like by a publisher! Naturally, I have then had to research them to decided if the feeling is mutual.

If writing up about Felixstowe Book Festival was my distraction at the start of the month, then YALC was my distraction at the end. The closer the date got, the more excited I became. I went to bed early the night before and barely slept a wink. I can’t believe it, I pitched to two agents – one of them I have stalked on Twitter for years – and they both asked me to send them Jewel of the Sea – Aghhh!

Now, my distraction is trying to write the perfect query letter. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I’m pretty sure my letter stinks and is why I get rejected. I feel like an excited puppy chasing my own tail and equally terrified that when I bite, I am going to get hurt. I need to conquer my fear and be brave.

Conclusion

I was in two minds whether or not to do Camp NaNo as I knew I had a lot on already this month.

With a grand total of 9,886 words, I think it is pretty impressive what I achieved despite all the distractions. If I hadn’t given it a go, I may not have written anything this month.

I also feel the challenge has kept me in touch with my novel so when things calm down in a few weeks, I can dive straight back in.

How did your July writing goals go? Did you do Camp Nano?

If you liked this post, you may enjoy:

My plans for the third quarter

Felixstowe Book Festival – The Publishing Industry

#PitMad June 2019 Summary

YALC Prep

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A little post on how I am doing…

The past week or so I’ve been pretty low. Someone has been putting me down and that someone is… Me.

I don’t know if you experience it too but when I get down I can be very critical of myself. I am my own worst enemy.

I try super hard to not go there by looking for the positives in situations but after a few days where no matter how hard I tried little things went wrong, it got harder to find those silver linings. Those little things added up and before I knew it, I began to feel like an absolute failure.

Nothing major happened but the amalgamation of it got me down. In retrospect some of those things weren’t even worth getting worked up about.

I failed to get my blog post for yesterday ready in time, and I’ve been late with some of my Instagram pictures for this months photo challenge. I also changed my editing goal from three months to one month which caused the task to be too much and resulted in nothing getting edited.

Once I opened up to friends and family I realised I’m not alone. A friend invited me over for a cup of tea. My son’s teacher offered support and advice to help with some naughty behaviour. My husband has been acknowledging my achievements to get me to recognise what I have achieved. And, family has helped give me a break from my gorgeous little girl who is non-stop.

Here is the little lady, just turned 6 months and already coasting around the furniture!

Just because I’ve had a busy week, I don’t stop being a writer. I attended an online course and worked on improving my pitch. I did write two blog posts (plus this one) and today I edited a poem and seven chapters! And, I’ve caught up on Instagram.

What changed? I took some time to take care of myself and my wellbeing. As a result, I came back energised. I was able to tackle my problems and get motivated to write.

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NaNo Progress Diary (week one)

Thursday, 1st November 2018

6:45am

The little one had me up bright and early but thankfully has breast fed. I probably should have tried making a start on NaNo even if it was just writing on my phone, instead I played Dragon Mania. There is still plenty more time today after the school run and house work… We’ll see…

10:22pm

Day one and I typed 939 words (daily goal is 834 words). I didn’t get to work on my manuscript until the kids were in bed. Plus, the hubby was out tonight so it was first time since Aria was born that I’ve I done it without help.

As I never found time to prepare, I also crammed in some character development and outlined the first three chapters. I wish I had a full novel outline but something is better than nothing.

I’m pretty impressed with myself. Today has been a good day.

Friday, 2nd November 2018

11:00pm

My husband was put this evening so I bathed and got the little ones ready for bed before I could make a start on my writing at 9:30pm. I’m pleased with the progress I made as I beat my daily goal of 830, with 1,326 words.

I am really enjoying writing it and could keep going if I didn’t have responsibilities. I need my sleep so I can keep up with the little ones tomorrow so that’s me done for today but I’m looking forward to writing more tomorrow.

Saturday, 3rd November 2018

10:00pm

Today has been a busy day. We visited family in the morning. Then, in the afternoon I got Aria to sleep and was able to support Noah with his homework (researching India and the Festival of Light). Then we visited more family and returned home late.

Aria has only just gone to sleep and I can barely keep my eyes open. I’m frustrated I did not get to write today but we did a lot of family stuff today which is good for the soul.

Sunday, 4th November 2018

10:00pm

Today has been a great day. Not only did I get some time to write this afternoon but I also got to write more this evening. I managed to add 2,276 words to my manuscript.

Not only that, but we also watched the fireworks together as a family. It’s been a great day!

Monday, 5th November 2018

11:57am

I’ve had a busy morning with Aria. We went to a group and I got her weighed. She is now nodding off so I can get some lunch. I’m hoping to beat my word count from yesterday so if I get a chance to write before the school run, I will.

9:00pm

Famous last words… After, I typed the above, Aria woke up and went on a mad feeding frenzy where she kept emptying her bottles and crying for more. How could I say no when I’ve been desperate for her to get an appetite.

Now, she has finally fallen asleep, I can barely keep my eyes open. It’s an early night for me – sorry NaNo.

Tuesday, 6th November 2018

10:08pm

Today, has been nonstop but since my husband returned from work I have managed to have a bath and add 1,141 words to my project.

Wednesday, 7th November 2018 (My birthday)

1:00pm

It’s my birthday, although I’m not really celebrating it. This morning, I managed to hit my daily word count before lunch.

9:40pm

After my husband cooking me one of my favourite meals, eating cake and opening presents, we got the kids to bed and now I am back to writing and what a great way to end week one with 2,003 words.

Reflecting on week 1

7 days in and I’ve already written a total of 7,790 words.  I am really pleased with the start I have made towards my target of 25,000.  If I continue like this, I can easily achieve my goal.

In fact, I am only 3,876 words behind in achieving the NaNo goal of 50,000 words. To achieve that I need to write 1,759 words per day which I’ve proven I can do…

If you like this post, then you might like this one about the project I am working on for NaNoWriMo November 2018 or my NaNoWriMo diary post for Week Two.

 

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