“I did it! I registered for camp!” I said with enthusiasm. My husband looked up a little startled.

I laughed. “You haven’t heard that in a while have you?”

“Nooo” Cautious he drags out the word.

Oh Yeah, I haven’t registered anyone for “camp” since the boys were cub scouts. I explained this was for me. “It’s Camp NaNoWriMo for writers.”

He asked, “Where are you was going?”

I told him. “Nowhere, I’ll be at home.” At his furrowed brow I continued, “It’s a virtual camp.”

Of course the next question was a suspicious, “When?”

I explained it is during the entire month of April.

“Kind of like the November thing?”

“Yeah but different. Rather than writing an entire book I pick my project. It can be any writing project. I have a word goal. I’m thinking 500 words per day, that’ll be 15,000 words.”

“Okay” he says again “So do you have a cabin?” he jokes.

“Actually yes” I chuckle as he looks at me like I sprouted wings or something. It’s a virtual cabin with up to twenty other writers. I have to pick what type cabin mates I want to bunk with.”

He just shrugs and goes back to what he was absorbed in on his computer a few minutes before. I turn back to my computer and finish filling in my ideal cabin. Writers in my age group and genre (I haven’t actually met any baby boomer writers in the thriller/suspense genre).

The writers I’ve met so far are from younger generations. They write Fantasy, Sci-Fi and/or Young Adult books. They don’t have to worry about competition from this old boomer. Fer sure! (Old 80s slang slippage there).

I think it would be great to get some feedback on my writing from my genre and generation. Hmm, something going on with the letter “G” today…Anyways, this went down a couple of weeks ago. I signed up and forgot all about it with vacation days and my dad’s stuff. I realized today. Camp starts on Sunday. Yes that’s right! Easter Sunday! April Fool’s Day! April One…I’m not packed and ready ACK! (as Lucy would say in the Comics!)

I haven’t even been on the website since signing up. Other than my laptop, flash drive, and back-up drive…I’m not sure what I need or I’m doing. It’s kind of like camp when I was a kid. As usual I’m plunging in like the awkward duck and I’ll figure it out as I go. Splash! I’m holding my breath, as I think about how to best use my time in Camp.

Here’s my original idea: Make a goal of 500 words a day. Spend those words on the book I started in November, “Disrupted.” If you recall, I challenged myself to write 500 words per day in the month of March. That was any words. My blog, any of my books, pitch, synopses, premises, etc. you get the idea.

Well I haven’t done so well. Twenty-eight days times 500 words equals 14,000 words. As of yesterday I have 8,478 words in March. Spreadsheets are wonderful things, aren’t they? {Dripping in sarcasm} It’s nothing to sneeze at but I’d hoped to do better.

Here’s the thing. My book is in pieces. Literally it is in pieces. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s all in the same word file. All 58,286 words of the story is there. It’s just disjointed. The book jumps from one big event to another with little downtime for our heroes to enjoy themselves. The transitions need to be written and the dialogue finessed. That is my goal for Camp NaNoWriMo. To make this collection of events into a story that will connect with the readers.

I hope I can do this in 15,000 words or more. Once the events are connected I will have a first draft novel. Then, I the writer can begin my rewrites. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have something worth sharing with the world at large. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it!

Are you along for the ride? Stick to your story! Have some fun with it too!

Milly