Is It July Already?

During nano I always find that time moves rather strangely for me. 

First the month starts slowly.  The first and second seem to have all the time in the world as I race ahead of the game, eager to shape the chart that I want to see at the end of the month.  I'm always surprised at how slow the month is going, because if the entire month goes by that slow, then I'll never have to worry about finishing my story.

In the middle of the month, just like the rest of the nano people, I lose my momentum, and the hours drag.  I see the time there, and I just know that if I could actually write something that didn't sound like it was coming out of the mouth of a two year old, I could get so much done.  Instead I just sit there, forcing out the worst words I'm sure I've ever written, and hope for it to be over.

The end of the month goes by so quickly that I'm never quite sure what happened.  In November this resulted in me having a crisis.  I had ten days left, and one more novel to write.  Despite the fact that I had done that very thing twice in the month already, I freaked out and decided that it was too much.  I couldn't do it.  Then I type furiously and hit my goal before that final buzzer sounds (or the time flips over to midnight of the first) and I get to relax.

One the first of the month, it always hits me.  Nano is over, and I now have so many more words.  I'm always a little amazed to see that stack of papers that prove I wrote a novel (or three) in a month.

In the first Camp Nano, I barely hit the 50k mark.  Even though that was really all I was aiming for, I was a little disappointed with myself.  I know I can do so much more, and I had to write furiously to even hit that goal.  Rather than feeling like I normally do with nano, I instead felt like I could have done better, and headed into another round instantly, determined to not lose sight of my goal.

In August I did even worse.  I believe I topped out at 17k, then gave up (both on the story and on the month of Camp Nano.)  Time slipped by slowly, taunting me with my inability to finish the novel, and I eventually decided that maybe Camp Nano just wasn't for me.  Maybe I just worked better in November, and why was I even trying to write in the summer.  I never intended to join Camp this year.  I was going to spend the time editing and querying, then plan for November.

It was a friend of mine that changed my mind.  She's pregnant and going to have three little ones at home this November, so she decided to do the camps instead of Nano, because she just won't have time.  Originally I still said no, but then I changed my mind (I've never been one to turn down a challenge.)  So I launched into June determined to write 75k and finish the novel I started in April and never finished.

Much to my surprise, I felt June starting to move into the same routine November does.  With the quick beginning, struggling middle and panicky end.  I didn't write furiously for the last week, though.  Technical issues aided me in deciding that I'd written enough and I was far too busy over the last week to attempt another 50k.

However, today I can't help but sit here and think about the fact that I wrote 125k last month.  I had been afraid I wouldn't finish the 50k, and then I went and wrote another 75 on top of it.  I started a novel I hadn't even known was going to exist, and I can't wait to finish it in August.  Camp Nano took me by surprise this year.  I certainly didn't write as much as I normally do in November, but considering how much I struggled last year, my final word count impressed me.

Today is the day to stop and take a breath.  Look around and realize that we only have a month to get our lives back in order before another round of Camp Nano starts.  In only 30 days it will be time to dive into new worlds, introduce ourselves to new characters, and prove to the world, once again, that we are writers!