Reflections on Camp

Camp is not going as planned.

It was hard to get into the rhythm of work again, and things that had worked perfectly in autumn didn’t seem to want to work.

After much self-reflection, I have figured out where I went wrong.

I spent a whole month preparing to do Nano, practising different writing routines, world-building, and doing character work. The course I was taking also had a social element that I was able to carry into November when I was able to meet up with local Edinburgh writers also attempting Nano.

Between the fact that I had spent a whole month getting into the headspace to write and the fact that I had people both digitally and in person who were asking how I was doing and keeping me motivated, it would have been more shocking if I had failed.

I also forced myself to go for a walk regardless of the weather every day. This cleared my head and allowed me to get down to writing the second I sat at my desk. There were far fewer distractions on the days I went for a walk.

This month I have allowed myself to skip the walk due to the weather and then have had to spend an hour or two trying to get myself to focus on my writing.

I’m still on track to “win”, but it’s been a slog.

So I like the idea of doing the two “camps” throughout the year, but next year I am going to try to mimic the full Nanowrimo as much as possible by creating little fake “Preptober”s in the months before camp. I am also going to try to get into Reddit live write-ins and even see if I can find writing buddies to help hold myself accountable and bring a social aspect to the writing challenge.

This autumn, when Nano rolls around again, I’m going to see if I can recreate that magic formula I found last year. If I can, then I am going to bring the walking and the weekly goal treats for camp as well.

Hopefully, by reflecting on why this month has been so much harder, I can refine my process and make sure I can crush my goals in the future.