Bye, Bye Camp!

It's official. I've bailed out on Camp NaNoWriMo. I began to feel like it was really stretching my time and trying to usurp my priorities (such as keeping my house clean and spending time with my Tyler when he's home from work). Then, because of life and some morning sickness happening, I fell behind in daily word count goals. Tyler encouraged me to keep trying  even though I was several thousand words behind, so I did. Finally, though, after a particularly busy couple of days (and focusing more on keeping priorities straight), I reached a point where there would be no catching up unless I really did take myself deep into the woods. So I bailed. I also breathed a deep sigh of relief. It's good to realize that this is not the time in my life for seriously pressing deadlines; I can be more relaxed and do a better job at being a wife, a mother, and a homemaker--my main goals.

Now, before my family crashes my blog with whining, this does not mean I'm giving up on the story. They enjoyed it enough and said enough sweet things about it to make me think it may have some value, so it gets to live. It's just that I won't be finishing it in June, and--realistically--not this year.

Remember: one of my main goals is being a mother. I realize that, as this year progresses, motherhood is going to take up more and more of my time and focus. And I realize this is not going to lessen until I'm just about an empty-nester. And I'm good with that. I would rather raise some blessings than be able to continue churning out a book every year.

Does that mean I'm not going to churn out any books? Hardly. I'm still a writer. But I'm a mother and a realist and I know that my book production is going to slow waaay down. Like I said, I'm good with that!

All that being said, don't desert me now. Just because I've recognized my book completion rate will slow down doesn't mean I don't have some fun stuff in the works...

So secretive, I know. It's a habit of mine. Just ask my family.

Does Camp NaNoWriMo sound interesting to you? They're doing it again in August, so if you want to take on the challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days, check it out here: www.campnanowrimo.org. 

What Keeps Me Going

Family feedback from the daily installments of my Camp NaNoWriMo story...

Okay, the part about the pancakes is great! And the character development about a certain somebody crawling out from under a book table is great too...

More, please??

---

Oh, and pelting a brother with snow balls is pretty awesome. You also need to write that story "Dirty Dealings in Dugout", what a creative sounding town! What does Mr. McCabe need to see???! I can't stand the suspense. : ) I think that cliff-hangers run in our family.

---

Nasty cliffhanger, thank you very much! Whole family sitting around eating lunch, getting a read-aloud, and boom...dropped off a plot cliff!

---

Oh, you did it again. Now the story is exciting enough even for Aimee. Don't go anywhere tomorrow...stay home and write. K? Very intriguing!

A Note from Camp

A little excerpt from my Camp NaNoWriMo story.

WARNING: EXTREMELY ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES, FIRST DRAFT, WRITTEN QUICKLY, AND NOT REVISED

(Yes, another homeschool family story. Hey, you know what they say: "Write what you know"!)

    "Pile out!" said Dad. "It's time to get us a Christmas tree!"

    Pile out they did, much to the amusement of the couple who owned the tree farm. "Welcome back to the clown car," Mom whispered to Alex with a wink. He grinned. It was so good to have him back home. But he was a head taller than the other children; he stood out. Carrie thought, It's like now we're not just all The Miner Family, but more like The Miner Family Plus Alex Miner. He's not trying to be, but he is sort of separate somehow.     Life had no trouble being so wonderfully complex. Why was it so hard to create complexity in a story?

(c) by me. Who knows if it'll amount to much of anything, but I did write this. ;) And it is fun.

50,000 Words - 30 Days

Okay, so maybe I'm nuts.

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and I'm planning to write a 50,000-word novel over the month of June.

I was totally thrilled to discover Camp NaNoWriMo, the not-in-November version of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Since I'm due to have a newborn this November, I didn't think I would get a chance to try this crazy challenge, but Camp NaNo is exactly the same, only held in June and August. Profoundly delightful idea!

We'll see how it goes since I'm pregnant and still a bit green at times, but I am thrilled to begin this challenge tomorrow!

Is anyone else participating? See ya at camp!