create / writing

camp nanowrimo: not halfway there.

• by kerri

Okay yeah so remember how I had all those grand plans fifteen days ago? [Sixteen days ago if you’re really counting, because obviously I start writing all these blog posts at 11:45 pm on the day I meant to write them. Yup.]

Yeah, nope, not happening already. I’m realistic. (I wasn’t 16 days ago but whatever. Details.)

Nanowrimo? It started off strong. Like usual. Then I lost interest. Even though I liked my story. I think I lost interest anyways, maybe I just got distracted writing all the other things.

I changed my goal even earlier in the week at some point (I forgot to write that down, but maybe Sunday or something). And then I kind of plateaued…

nanowrimo

It looks like I’m way ahead of the curve for awhile, but that’s only cause I shifted my goal down. I was trying to do 2000 words a day instead of 1666 or whatever the regular goal is, to compensate for the 5 days I’ll be away this month. But yeah, nope…

I was pretty pleased when I hit the 10% marker on time, before I changed the goal number. That’s better than I’ve done previously, honestly.

So, lesson learned: the research is true—don’t try to do too many new things at once.

Especially when a lot of your work is writing already, maybe. 🙂

life / work / writing

write all the things april

• by kerri

Now that I’ve started using Bullet Journaling to try to organize my life (post on that to come), I seem to have begun tackling (or at least scheduling to tackle) a few big projects for April.

First, you’ll be seeing me more here. I’ve got a schedule (!) mapped out for the month, although this post is already not the post I said I’d write today (because, duh, it’s me). 

I’ve also decided to take another plunge into Camp Nanowrimo (aka National Novel Writing Month, aka trying to write a 50000 word novel in 30 days—like, nonsense, really!). I made it like 26% or something last time, so, I’m curious if I actually will succeed this time (this will be proof of the magic of the Bullet Journal). I’m trying a different story that will hopefully not get me as bogged down in researching very specific things (because I am great at that—distraction FTW). With a few travel days on the agenda for April as well, I’m trying to do 2000 words per day on that project… and that’s just one component of my writing life. I’m going to need to get this standing desk setup rolling, stat.

And, this is on top of a few other blog contract gigs, coaching, and my other regular life. It’s mildly ambitious, but hey, I’ve made a timetable (!) for my life (!) and it still has, theoretically, plenty of free time. And workouts scheduled. And… Oh, God, what am I doing here?

Oh well, let’s give it a shot.

It’s on, April.

https://i0.wp.com/farm2.staticflickr.com/1526/25568127973_637206557d.jpg?resize=375%2C500&ssl=1

PS. The snow has already melted twice, yet it’s supposed to snow again today. 

PPS. None of this is an April Fool’s.

PPPS. I love WestJet

life / writing

productivity, yoga pants, and camp nanowrimo

• by kerri

Good morning, April.

[That sounds like I’m writing to a person instead of a month.]

Somehow, this morning I was out of bed by 8:45—miraculous, really, as I shut down SleepCycle at 8:32. I proceeded to eat a chocolate chip cookie, and sit down and write 555 words. By 10:30 AM. While still wearing yoga pants. 

I’ve just smashed a theory here, people. My theory was “I can’t be productive if I’m wearing sweat pants.” (Unless per chance yoga pants are a magically productive form of sweat pants?).

Through university, I also had this thing in my head where I could not wear sweatpants to class unless obviously a) I was in the gym for class, b) I had a lab (which would have amounted to either a physical activity related lab OR anatomy lab. Anything goes in anatomy lab, really.) or, on very few occasions, c) I was sick (and by sick, I mean actually sick—like on prednisone sick, or I-went-to-class-the-day-after-emergency-surgery sick. Not “Real People Sick”). Sweat pants were also allowed in exams, of course.  Except the one time for my Sport Psychology exam (my last ever exam) where I wore my Boston Marathon jersey from Steve and tried to wear sweat pants but that was actually too comfortable, so I put jeans on before I even left the house. Can’t be too comfortable in an exam—the Boston jersey had just enough proper vibe for sport psych. (This was also the exam where I got a whole freaking classroom to myself because of accommodations, except unlike the usual testing rooms, it had windows. I’m sure I stared out them for a bit.)

Anyways, it’s Camp Nanowrimo time, and I am (as I was in November) trying to complete Nanowrimo. 10K words in 30 days. (Completing Nanowrimo is called winning. Except as I learned in sport psychology, and other classes, survey says kids say that having fun is more important than winning, so I plan to have fun?). Perhaps to add to the success is being in Camp Nanowrimo Cabin with 11 others attempting to write young adult books this month.

Maybe if I get ambitious (and keep up the momentum towards 1,667 words per day), I should Blog Every Day April along with NaNoWriMo. Too much? Probably. Though last night’s post did go up at 12 AM, so I’ve actually done two posts today.