Who Knew, Letter Home From Camp NaNoWriMo

I am somewhere out in the woods, no, this time it has nothing to do with the army, but Camp NaNoWriMo. This is the first time I find myself amongst the ranks of countless authors attempting to put 50,000 words to paper during the month of June.

I am seriously beginning to question the alignment of the planets or fate or something, because since I have embarked on this adventure, EVERYTHING is getting in the way of my writing. Coincidence? I don’t know…but wow. I have had people in my house every day for the past 11 days. I guess the Cosmos needed the first week of NaNo to prepare its assault on me.

So, what do I think of Camp NaNo so far?

The concept is cool and the theme is fun. It’s just too bad people didn’t get into it. We are 4 girls in my ‘cabin’. Two of them must have been carried off by bears in the night, because the last comment they made on our board was13 days ago. My other bunkmate pops in and out, so there is a little chitchat. The camp counsellors send us messages and stories weekly, but thankfully the fb NaNo page is a little more active and a group of writers have connected through it.

In reality, I find myself spending every second possible, mostly in the form of stolen moments, trying to write, but everything around seems to suffer. I have lost any shred of efficacy I once owned. Things slide –I rush in and right it, then skip back to my computer.  In truth, I feel out of whack and don’t like it too much.

To add insult to injury, people around me don’t seem to get it. I am told, “well you shouldn’t be writing that much,” or “you have to take care of your daughter or the house work,” (Uh yeah…that’s WHY I’m behind in my writing, because I’m trying to fit it in an already full schedule). Do I hear things like: “Hey, let me play with Zoey a while, you go ahead and write,” or, “I’ll cook supper tonight,”? Do I really need to answer?

I cannot ignore my 4 yr old and still have to cook and clean. Fortunately I’m off work for the summer, but marketing my book and keeping up with all my emails and related internet activities has taken a back seat.

The fun side is that I am actually writing something coherent. I have tossed my outline and am letting my characters lead the way. I have yet to see where they are going, but they do seem to be keeping busy.

At this point I cannot say whether I will do this again, but I hope to be able to. Maybe next time the campers will get into it, and even better, maybe next time my entourage will at least pretend to be supportive.

Write on :o)

Going for a canoe ride now…in hopes of finding a quiet place to write.