We made it out alive!

It’s the last day of July, which concludes my Camp NaNo journey. And for those of you who are wondering what I was writing, I’ve got a couple of details down there–just beyond my little daily updates 🙂

CATCH UP ON MY CAMP NANO JOURNEY:

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Day 25

Day 25 was a great day! I managed to keep the 3K-a-day streak going, so that was satisfying. Although I have an outline, writing 3,000 words a day can still be tricky, so I love it when the little scenes that I don’t expect find their way into my story.

Day 26

Andddd…then I fell into a slump. Oops. I hardly got anything done on this day, so that goes to show how easily streaks can be broken, I guess. Still, the nearing deadline only made me a lot more motivated to keep going. Because I want that to hit that sweet, sweet goal :’)

Day 27

Which is why I wrote 4,000 words to catch up, reaching a new record. Yeah, I know, I’m a slow writer. My previous best was 3,000 words. Writing is also mentally exhausting, so I was definitely tired by the end of that day.

Day 28

Perhaps this is what led to another slump. Although I was planning to catch up, I only ended up writing around 1K. I mean, what?? I should be catching up? Not slowing down? This only goes to show how unpredictable writing time can be. Not that I actually have a schedule *nervous laughter*

Day 29

Like I said before, deadlines are very good motivators. I caught up where I was supposed to be by slamming down a hard 6,000 words. This is my new record (rounded down, at least). So that made me very happy.

But also very tired.

Day 30

Maybe this is starting to be a pattern, but I only made a few hundred words on this day. See, I say a few hundred to sound good, but in reality it was probably only about 100-200. This is what happens when I tell myself to write a lot but don’t give myself an actual solid goal to hit for the day. Future me, learn from my mistakes, please.

Day 31 – LAST DAY

By this point I had 45K down and had to nail down an additional 5K. For some reason, it was so much easier to nail down 3K. Maybe it was all the practice I had this month, but it’s something I will definitely take away from Camp NaNo.

Okay, spoiler: I hit 50K. I did it. And let me tell you, hitting that Validate button and getting accepted is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. (Also I just like to look at winner’s merch? That’s motivation too, right?)

And what’s more: I’m still not finished with my book. I overplanned and I’m really only just over halfway, which is mildly terrifying. Um. I’ll move on to the next part.

OK, spill the beans. What was I actually writing about?

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Okay, even though I’ve been preparing myself all month to answer this question, I still don’t really know how to describe my work in progress accurately.

Its working title: Cosmo & Luna

In a sentence, it’s a young adult contemporary novel exploring self-acceptance, anxiety, and self-harm. Which sounds pretty cool in my opinion. Haha.

In a blurb:

Cosmo Avila only wants to be loved for who he is. Not pushed to be better, pushed to be stronger. All he wants to do is write music and be free from the confines and standards his family pushes on him.

Then he meets Luna, who has everything he wants and is everything he can never be. Luna, with her neverending optimism and passion for art.

Cosmo wants nothing but to take in Luna’s light, but first, he has to let go of everything that holds him back. Can he learn to find his voice and use it?

It might be the most cliché and terrible blurb I’ve ever written. But it works. It’s about as functional as a first draft (mine’s a hot mess in case you wanted to know).

Oh, yes. If you’re the type of person who likes looking at Pinterest boards, I did actually make one for Cosmo & Luna, so that’s a little something extra for you 😉

And finally: I want to thank you for coming along on this journey with me.

Thanks for reading through my little snippets, through the good days and the bad, through the tips and tag-alongs I had on my Camp NaNo posts. Thank you if you were one of those special people who cheered me on.

I have some pretty exciting stuff coming up this August (LIKE AN INTERVIEW ASDFGHJKL) so get ready for that!

All the best,