Writing Update: Camp NaNoWriMo Begins

Vital Stats

Project: The Dragon Thief

Word Count: 42k

Motivation Level: High

Chocolate Supplies: All stocked up

Crazy Writer Status: Moderate

As most people have probably realised by now, the April session of Camp NaNoWriMo has begun. For me, this means that the editing of Snow on the backburner for a bit while I work on my Camp novel. I do plan to finish the edit, hopefully in between all the drafting I’m doing right now. And I did very nearly finish it last month. But alas, too slow, so I’m drafting a new book now because reasons (that is the only possible excuse for this terrible behaviour).

I don’t know about any of you other brave NaNo people, whatever session you like doing, but I always feel super motivated right at the beginning of the month. People everywhere are writing and getting excited about it, Twitter is full of helpful word wars, the book is new and fresh and exciting, and writer’s block, exhaustion, and sheer laziness haven’t set in yet. This is definitely the best end of the month to be writing in.

It also helps that The Dragon Thief is, by this point, quite an easy book to write. I’ve actually drafted it twice in the past, but I could never quite nail the plot. So every time I’ve had to completely scrap what I’ve written and start all again. But the characters and basic plot idea has always intrigued me and kept me coming back to try again. There’s something about a thief with a dragon for a friend trying to earn her redemption that really intrigues me.

Despite not really planning the book much (everything feels a bit slap dash about this month), I think I finally nailed the basic plot, which is super exciting. It makes sense at last. The characters feel right. There is snarky banter and action and a few scenes that are sweet and cuddly, and right now it feels like everything is falling into place. Admittedly, that feeling is most likely going to disappear once I get round to editing the book, but right now it’s nice to be able to feel like this book is finally going somewhere.

And, because I’m feeling rather good about this book right now, I thought I’d share an excerpt with you all:

That was her biggest fear. Not facing the council. Not her phobia of water and drowning, terrible as it was. Not even the murderous street gang baying for her blood. No, it was the fear of failure, of going back to that little cell, four steps long, two steps across, back to the unvarying routine, the surly guards, the two scant meals a day, the hours of boredom counting the bricks in the walls and ceilings. She feared going back to a cage she might never escape from. The very thought of failure terrified her.

So that’s where I’m at right now, in the warm fuzzy honeymoon stage with the book, and I’m attempting to get ahead on the word count before life gets busy again, or I lose motivation, or the week 2 blues set in (they’re a real thing, I swear). If you’re participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, how are you getting on? And even if you’re not, where are you up to with your project? Running along nicely? Stuck in a rut? Drafting? Editing?

Also, you may have notices that I’m trialling a slightly different format with this writing update by adding the vital stats at the top of the page so it’s easy to tell what I’m working on, where I’m at, and how much chocolate I’m consuming (answer: never enough). What do you think? Like it? Dislike it? Prefer it at the bottom of the post? Like to know different things about what I’m doing? Don’t want it at all? Let me know your thoughts!