Category Archives: Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNo is about to begin

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2014-Participant-Twitter-Header-2Camp NaNoWriMo opens up in about 12 hours and I’ll admit to feeling some apprehension. I’m not going to pretend that apprehension is a bad thing. No, I believe it will be a good motivator to prove to myself that I can still do some significant writing. I really hate to fail.

I started participating back in November of 2011 and I killed it. I’ve participated every year since then, and I’ve won every time, if for no other reason than to say I did. I haven’t been as fortunate with Camp NaNo. I’ve tried only a couple of times, failing miserably with my goals. This time around, I have set a modest goal of ten-thousand words. That’s doable, right?

I think it is. If I can’t even do that, how can I claim to be a writer? I know I can do 50-60K in a month, so I’m certain I’ll surpass my goal. I’m not planning on writing a novel, but we will see as we go along. I’m looking at a short story about a woman whose cheating husband is facing death, and her prospects for true love after two decades of neglect.

I have things to say about fidelity and faithlessness, of betrayals and pain, but mostly of reconciling one’s self with the past. I hope to talk about forgiving the unfaithful partner as well as forgiving yourself.

It’s probably too ambitious for a short story, but I’m not dead set on keeping it so short. It’ll be as long as it needs to be to fulfill my objective, thought I don’t see it going past 25K. Again, we will see how it goes.\

That’s enough out of me for now. I’ll let you know how it goes. For those of you who are joining me, good luck! See you on the other side!

 

Camp Nano – 2 days until it begins

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I didn’t mean to do it, but I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo. Great plan! I don’t have a computer yet, so let’s sign up to write something. Brilliant! Fantastic! What the hell am I thinking!!!!!

Okay, it’s not really that bad. My goal is a very modest 10K words, a short story that has been brewing in my mind for several months. I want to write it down and get it out of my head. Really, it’s a simple exercise to get my brain focused on writing again. I’ve let my dream fall to the wayside this year. Shame on me.

I need a writing goal to motivate me again, something before the main event in November. I haven’t mentioned it in a long time, but I would like to be back in the DFW area by the time November hits. That’s been my goal every year since I came back to my hometown almost 2 years ago. I’ve accomplished a life goal in earing my degree, and I’m about done on my most recent personal goal. I think it’s time to look towards the future and make plans to get on with my life.

Which is a scary thing, if you ask me. Things in my life aren’t great, but they are stable. I desire a stable life, but not like this. I want more out of my life, and the only way to earn it is to upset my stability for the hope of something better. It’ll be a calculated risk, but one we all have to do on occasion to grow and to progress in life.

My truck is almost done. It’s insured now, and I lack a few minor repairs before I take it to get inspected. I should start working on my resume and begin to actively look for jobs again. I had considered going back to school to get my teaching certificate, but the longer I thought about it, the more I became convinced teaching  would be a mistake, at least for me.

So I’m a man with a degree and not much else, trying to find his way through life. Looking at my successes and my failures, the business world is not a good fit for me, but I have to ask, what is? Is writing my future? I’m not convinced I really have a talent for writing.

Nevertheless, my short-term goal is to write a short story next month, and to polish my resume. By the end of the year, I want to have a real job, my own place where I can live, and write, in peace. I don’t know what will happen, but I think it’s time to get my life back on track.

I guess only time will tell…