Camp NaNoWriMo that is. In an attempt to get myself going again I’ve joined Camp NaNoWriMo with the target of writing 25,000 words during July.
Before I could begin I had to remind myself what I’ve written so far so the first days of July I’ve used to read through my manuscript so far, make slight amendments, and get up to date. Today was the first day that I could have been said to add a substantial number of words to it. Eight hundred and fifteen to be precise. So it’s start.
And if I could work out how to do it I’d show you a pretty little graph that records my progress and, helpfully, tells me when I’ll meet my target. (October 31st 2022 since you ask.)
Since beginning so well earlier in the year I’ve lost my motivation, my belief, and my courage, so each time I’ve had an opportunity when I could be writing I’ve procrastinated but recently the need to be writing fiction again has grown stronger. I don’t think it ever goes away completely but sometimes it can get lost in life.
Each month I write a column for a local magazine and for a year now I’ve been writing and recording a weekly talk for a Christian radio station, again local although it can be listened to anywhere in the world. Both of these are free gigs of course! But I do it because I want to share my belief in the love God has for us. But they take up time.
Many people, some most unexpected, have told me they enjoy my magazine articles. Only today one lady told me what a great sense of humour I have. These sort of comments thrill me and make happy to continue. Sadly the same can’t be said for my radio audience. I have no idea how many people listen and whether they benefit from it. That makes it more of a chore. I will keep going for a while longer and make a decision at some point whether to continue.
But it feels good to be back to writing fiction. I saw on someone’s Twitter feed a link to a free mini-course on The War of Art, in which the author, Steven Pressfield, discusses the common enemy to all artists. Unsurprisingly it’s resistance.
The more important a project is to the evolution—the healthy evolution of your soul—the more Resistance you will feel to starting. Let’s say it’s a novel that you have in mind. The more important that novel is for you going forward as an evolved human being to realize yourself, the more Resistance you will feel for it.
Steven Pressfield
I’m about to listen to part 3 of the course. I’ll tell you what answers he comes up with for combatting Resistance.
That’s an interesting insight by Steven Pressfield! Good luck with Camp NaNoWriMo!