How did you do this July 2014 Camp NaNoWriMo?


Well, it’s almost a month since July Camp NaNoWriMo ended and I've meant to give a quick update…


[2014 Camp NaNoWriMo]Well, it’s almost a month since July Camp NaNoWriMo ended and I've meant to give a quick update. First, I did hit my 50K goal for the month, winning my second Camp. Nice! Second, I finished the book this time last month and haven’t touched it since, though I still think about the story almost everyday. I’m taking that as a positive as I look to start work on my 1st revision.

I’m giving it a month before I dig back in and do some polishing. There are a lot of grammar errors, time continuity issues, and at least one perspective problem. Although I haven’t done much with the story, I did spend the time combing the two sessions into a single book. Together, I’m at around 102K words which is about 268 pages printed according to Scrivener. That feels like a decent size, but I expect that will change a few more times as I revise it.

Since I bothered to combine the sessions, I also decide to build an EPUB version of the book. I did this partly to make sure I had a copy of it before I started to edit it. It isn’t entirely necessary since I’m using snapshots in Scrivener to track my changes. But, and more importantly, it gives me a copy I can read and share. My daughter said she would read it and I’d love to get her impression. Even if the book isn’t perfect yet, I’m curious what she things of it and I can use some feedback before I start to edit it. As my first novel attempt, and a rough draft, I’m a bit skittish to share more widely at this time; however, I really need to if I want to make it better.

I wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed the writing experience. Although I won’t feel done until I've revised and published it, the challenge has been worth it so far. My goal was to improve my writing. Even if it isn’t a run away best seller, it will be a success for me. And yes, I could just publish it as is on Amazon but that doesn’t count. If I’m going to do this, I need to do it right.

Right now, my next deadline is to get the 1st revision done by the end of the year. With November’s NaNoWriMo looming, I really need to spend the next two months revising and editing to make that deadline. If all goes well, I’m looking at my novel being up for sale sometime in 2015.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, I’m also starting to plan for it. Although Camp has been fun and very motivational, I really want to compete in the November challenge. I’m trying to decide if it will be a spin-off story or something entirely new. I have a few ideas in mind already and I still time to decide. Until then, it’s almost time to get back to my first story.



Comments on this article:

No comments so far.

Write a comment:

Type The Letters You See.
[captcha image][captcha image][captcha image][captcha image][captcha image][captcha image]
not case sensitive