Writing Update #7 // Winning Camp NaNo & WIP Snippets

I did it, friends… Camp NaNo is over, and now it’s time to see the results!

I don’t know about you, but July was exhausting for me, mostly because of Camp NaNo. I’ve never written this much in my life. Is this what it’s like to be a full time writer? 🥺 It’s definitely so hard. I don’t think we give authors enough credit.

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The Current WIP

As mentioned in my last update, I’m working on a Fantasy WIP! This is still Draft 1, but I’m very close to starting Draft 2!

Throughout July, I joined Camp NaNoWriMo, which is a month-long personal challenge to complete a certain amount of words or minutes/hours towards your writing goals. You can create any amount to complete, in either words or amounts of time. (This is different from the November NaNoWriMo, which is also a month long but the goal is always 50,000 words.)

Personally, I wanted to complete 30,000 words in my WIP. I felt like this would be challenging enough, and it would definitely force me to get closer to finish my WIP once and for all! (I’ve been working on it since 2017 and it’s about time I finished it!)

If you want to find out more about my WIP, you can read my previous post or my introduction of the characters! (although that introduction is a bit outdated at this point! it’s still fun to read, though 😉 )

Winning Camp NaNoWriMo?

When I began Camp,  I was at 37,900 words in the first draft. As I said in my previous update after one week of Camp, I was on track to finish 30,000 words by the end of the month, and then… after that, I was never on track again. 😅

my daily word count was everywhere :’)

I fell behind because I was spending a lot of my time elsewhere! It was honestly a mixture of a lot of things, but I just kept telling myself I would eventually find time to do it. (which almost didn’t happen, lol)

At least I wrote a little bit every day! I think this is what kept me from completely failing. I tried to write at least 100 words a day, and on some days, I wrote what they suggested (1,000 words per day) or twice as much as I needed to (2,000 wpd).

At the very end of the month, it was my mom’s birthday, and I knew this was going to up the challenge! But thankfully, it didn’t set me back very much. (it’s not like we could go out and celebrate or anything!)

yes, i named my wip “ok THIS TIME i’m writing the dragon novel”… what about it.

On the last day, I don’t know where my energy came from, but I was determined to complete Camp NaNo. I had come way too far to give up right before the month was over.

And then… I did it, friends! I won Camp NaNo, with a few hours to spare! 🎉🎉 30,000 words in one month is, I believe, the most I’ve ever written in such a short amount of time! It was absolutely thrilling to input my last few words, and I’m so glad I never gave up!

Do I have any tips? Not really. Like I said, the best thing I did was write at least 100 or 200 words every day. This way, I didn’t spend too much time away from my writing.

I’ve written a bit since I finished Camp, and I’m proud to say that Draft 1 is almost done! 😊 Currently, my WIP has 66,800 words!* This is the longest draft I’ve ever written, and now… I’m just so excited to see what happens next.
*wait… that math doesn’t add up 😅 I definitely wrote 30,000 words for camp, but I think I also deleted some things that I had previously written, so that’s why it’s not higher than 67,000.

Even if this WIP doesn’t go anywhere, at least I did it. Writing a draft is hard, but if you’ve ever done it, you should be proud of yourself, too!

In honor of finishing Camp Nano, here are some lovely messy things from my Draft 1 that will certainly have to be edited. 😌 Please enjoy these terrible bits of writing from my brain! Sorry they’re a little burry, I couldn’t figure out how to make it any better! (Every time I put something in brackets, it’s either something I have to change later or a note to self.)

Is… is “snark” not even a word?

*two minutes later*: “snark” is actually in the dictionary, so I don’t know why microsoft word says it’s incorrect. 🙃

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On not knowing where to place a very important scene.

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Next scene. Still very confused.

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“insert number word here”

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*sigh* I really should have thought this through.

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I wrote [b!!] as a note to myself and now I have no idea what that was supposed to mean!

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“Sleep is for losers,” said the prince.

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Can’t you tell I’m so good with words? 🙃

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Ah yes, I am so eloquent and gentle when my favorite characters almost die. 😌

Are you writing a WIP? Tell me about it! 😊 I’d love to hear about anything you’re working on! Are you thinking about joining Camp Nano or NaNoWriMo next time? Have you ever done it before?

Chat with me about it!

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You can also be my friend on Goodreads!

Happy reading, everyone! Have a lovely day! Please stay safe and healthy!