Hello Writer Bees!
The last few months have been stressful for me. Between office work overload, family stuff and trying to juggle everything, I felt completely burnt out. Think I was letting my feelings and stress build up to an overwhelming size. I needed to take a pause. Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went away for the weekend, for a well needed, long overdue, mental health break. Just to get away from all that stress weighing on my chest. We had a wonderful time despite the cold upstate New York weather. Now I feel way more relaxed, refreshed, and ready to embark on a new adventure: Camp NaNoWriMo.
Over the years, I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month but never Camp NaNoWriMo. This should be interesting. Every week, I’ll share an update on my progress. Stay tuned for that.
Here are some of my writing goals for Camp NaNoWriMo.
Mostly Editing
For those new to my blog, my current WIP is a murder mystery set in 1920’s Coney Island. After rewriting and retweaking for forever, it’s looking like a real final draft. Honestly speaking, this is my first time editing a large work of fiction. Editing is almost more difficult than writing, especially when it’s your own work. Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me, that’s probably why editing is taking longer than it should. During Camp NaNoWriMo, I’d like to spend the month fixing up final touches and ironing out details. Polish this WIP until it shines.
Final Read Through
At the end of Camp NaNo, I want to read through the WIP, from start to finish. That’s my end goal. I’ve been considering printing out the whole thing, so I can scribble down notes, if needed. And to physically just hold my work in my hands. If it’s ready for a final read through, I’d like to try an experience my story as a reader, not as the author. Which sounds impossible. Sometimes, it’s hard to shut off my writer brain when I’m reading for leisure. Anyone else?
Brainstorm Post Ideas for May of Mystery
This is like my side quest for Camp NaNoWriMo. Every year, I dedicate the entire month of May to detective fiction. I call it May of Mystery. All posts will be mystery themed, including the writing prompts. I’d like to brainstorm posts ideas for all the detective lovers out there. If you have any ideas for posts, let me know if the comments. Is there anything you want to know more about writing mysteries? I’m open to suggestions.
Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo? What are you currently working on? Talk to me in the comments!
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Lady Jabberwocky 
It isn’t for everyone, but I got a huge amount of value reading my stories out loud on stream (both my own and for open mic events). I never had a huge audience, but being able to go back to the recording and hear where the issues were made a big difference to me.
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Very good advice. Thank you! 😀
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Until reading this I never knew Camp NaNoWriMo was a thing! I knew about the big one in November. Thank you for sharing. Looks like I know what I am going to attempt in July. 😁 Wishing you luck on your WIP edits!
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Well if that gets you excited, there’s another Camp in July. Also, if you want some variety, can I interest you in 31 days, 31 stories? It happens in January and August specifically (but fits for any 31-day month) – where you write a short story each day during the month.
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Best of luck with your new project! Sounds exciting! I understand. I’m in a continuous NaNoWriMo myself with both Helkey and my various D&D projects. Setting ambitious goals often helps. As for mystery, I have very little experience with it directly. However, I do enjoy writing tales that build up to a big reveal later on. IME, it helps to lightly sprinkle in foreshadowing to prep the reader’s expectation even as I weave a bit of mild misdirection into the plot line. I have to remind myself not to overdo either. Mystery heavily relies on both surprise and logical progress. Structure seems really important too. You got this!
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1920’s Coney Island…this sounds very cool. I cannot wait to see it’s progression into print.
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