Writer's Life: Camp Nano April 2019 & Author Journal

 Here we are in April and I've taken on three, yes, three, writing challenges. But I'll talk more about them in different posts later on. For this one, I'd like to focus on Camp Nano.

Camp Nano - April 2019

At first, I said I wouldn't participate since Camp Nano can be overwhelming if you don't set reachable goals. But I knew in advance what I needed to do this month and what it would take for me to reach that goal. From that perspective, it just made since to use Camp Nano to continue working on my revisions and use the page count option. I set my goal at 325 pages and we'll see how it goes from there. So far, so good, by the way! I am keeping up with my goal and a little ahead. Yea!

There's another good thing about participating in Camp Nano. As I finish the current revision of each chapter, I'll be uploading it to Wattpad. Maybe I'll get some useful feedback on this novel. I try to give feedback to others. Hopefully, they will return the favor, at least for a few chapters. Want to check it out? Click the link below.

4/8/2019 - I need a vacation! And it looks like it's time. So in lieu of challenge posts, today's post is all fun stuff. The place we're going doesn't have internet access, or it will be very limited. I'm not going to worry about it, though. Everyone needs a break sometimes. So here are some funnies from the interwebz...

 I thought I'd share memes that would illustrate my lack of internet on this upcoming trip. I'll catch you up on my challenge progress on Friday. By next Monday, I'll be totally caught up. I hope you enjoy them!

4/12/2019 -  I'm playing catch-up, as I mentioned earlier, so Monday's post will be a bit on the large side. I want to share this collage with you from the excursion which marked 25 wonderful years with my husband. The weather was terrible for walking or hiking, but the display of lightning was pretty amazing. 

We also enjoyed our visit to Poverty Point World Heritage Site. The rain and old injuries kept us from walking the whole trail but we were able to complete the driving tour. There was no way the rain was going to keep me from going to the top of the largest mound, though. The day we left, we finally got to see the sun. We also stopped in at Bayou Brew House, a sweet little coffee shop in Monroe, LA. I'm so glad we took this trip and visited the places we did! It's amazing what you can find in your own 'backyard.' :) This was a great way to stay inspired in my writing and also take a moment or two to relax, refresh, and renew my body, mind, and spirit.

Just an FYI, I never smile this broadly for photos. I don't like to do that. So when I forgot to turn off the timer on my camera...for the third time, we got a serious case of the giggles in the top photo. In the bottom photo, I'd just taken a selfie where I was frowning in concentration and b/c of the bright sunshine. I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

My husband and I tossed around the idea of collaborating on a few travel articles. He's great with photos but doesn't much like writing. I offered to write up articles to go with our travel photos and suggested they might be a nice addition to his blog. Stay tuned for updates on that. :D

4/19/2019 - April has been such a crazy month and I'm not sure whether I'm coming or going. Always expect the unexpected, folks...check out this funny video about the unexpected things of life.

4/22/2019 -  One thing I've been forced to do more often is go live during these challenges. <sigh> I don't like going live. I don't feel comfortable at all on film. What I do like is working with the editing features on my S10+. They did not pay me to say that, btw...I just enjoy editing films and photos alike. The creative process is great fun. Anyway, I hope you'll get a chance to see the video on IG. If not, keep following for updates on when those videos might be uploaded to YouTube. I intend to upload all my IG Lives to YouTube. I just don't know when my internet signal will be strong enough that it doesn't take all night and then fail anyway. sigh

4/26/2019 - A lot of challenges hit me this week, not all of them to do with writing. But I've persevered. Sometimes you just have to keep going no matter what's coming against you. For instance, as I type this, I'm super groggy. Just didn't sleep well last night so I'm fighting through it to keep up with my Camp Nano goal. We're nearing the end of April and I'm so close to meeting my goal I can taste it!

 I originally had no plans to join in Camp Nano until the summer session came around. But my current WIP has thrown me for a loop. The only way around that is to keep working on it with edits and revisions. Since Camp Nano goals are more versatile, it's great for editing. I decided since I was going to be working on my manuscript anyway, to go ahead and join in. Here's where I sit this morning, having not yet worked on my manuscript. My goal is 325 pages and I think I'm doing pretty well considering the couple of days I had to take a break. I'm determined to see this through.

 I'm excited to say I've had the chance to read a great book from a fellow indie author and I enjoyed it immensely. I won the first book in an IG giveaway but I went ahead and bought book two because I can't wait to see what happens next in the story. 

4/29/2019 - I would love -- truly I'm craving -- some feedback on this monster (OLUS). It's in dire need of revision and while I'm certain of several places to start my story and I know where I'd like it to end, that work could go so much more smoothly with a little feedback from beta readers. You can comment here, or on Wattpad where you can actually read more of the story in its current revision. (I think I'm on the fourth one now.)

Thanks so much for spending a little of your life journey with me. See you next time!