Camp NaNoWriMo and Christian Camp & Conference Association

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Arts, book writing, Camp Conference, creative writing, memoirs, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, North American Christian & Camp Conference, November, San Diego, Writers Resources

Don’t fret if you did not finish the 50,000 word challenge in November.  You can join the camp and do it anytime!  “An Idyllic Writers’ Retreat Smack-Dab in the Middle of your Hectic Life,” is waiting for you at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/campnano

Pencils made from pine trees…

I did not rise to the “National Novel Writing Month” challenge because I already have too many words.   Devotion of thought is what I need for adjustments, alignments, and augmentations: “Thought + Time = AAA.”  Congratulations to my real life and cyber friends for heading in the write direction. Today begins 3 days of the North American Christian Camp Conference in San Diego where SIX autographed copies of Memory Lake will be given away, and promoted, hopefully for a bump in sales, so my publisher will be willing to give one copy to EVERY attendee next year for their 75th anniversary Conference!     This year’s theme is, “Only be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:18   Which is a great mantra for my NaNoWriMo friends in the next phase of their amazing accomplishment; EDITING.

National Novel Writing Month; “NaNoWriMo”

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Arts, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Novel, November, Word count, WordPress, Writer Resources

This month is National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo,” in which aspiring writers support one another through forums to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.  Many folks I know are rising to this challenge, seeking to jumpstart that novel, to coax it into the light of day.  I wish them infinite creativity and inspiration.

600,000 words and counting….

It’s tough being creative on demand and I greatly admire all who are taking this challenge, as well as my journalist friends who produce quality works consistently while meeting deadlines.  About twenty years ago I wrote a 10,000 word paper on pressure washing and pig farming to complete my MBA.  After that stretch of the imagination, my creative writing and professional life parted ways.  Writing became an escape from juggling work and raising kids.  If blogging had existed back then, I would have embraced it.  Instead, I wrote a sci-fi fantasy novel.  After ten years, I had over 600,000 words, a detailed outline, and no clear path to wrapping it up.  I set it aside after attending a camp reunion, which eventually became a multifaceted tale of true events; Memory Lake.  (Please note, early versions had over 180,00 words.  The end product has about 136,000 and 436 pages.) I have now gone back to these 600,000 words to try to make them work.  They stretch before me like a very long wall covered in sloppy plaster.  Inch by inch, I am smoothing the plaster, picking away unwanted clumps, adding new, sanding the seams, and blending a seamless surface.  This will take longer than a month.  But, that’s okay, because the satisfaction from one inch of smooth quality is worth it.

While smoothing, I’m thinking of my NaNoWriMo friends.  They too will face a pile of rough words.  I want to say, don’t lose heart, hang in there, because this is when the real fun begins.  It’s when your characters turn around and start talking to you.  It’s when the real writing begins.