Camp NaNoWriMo 2021 Recap

Well, we survived Camp NaNoWriMo, voyagers. It held a lot of unexpected challenges for me (such as revising my word count goal multiple times), but I’m really happy with how it went, for the most part. I wrote a lot of words and got to venture into a brand new world for a while.

I haven’t decided on it for sure, but stay tuned because I may be writing a post about how to deal with feeling like a failure as a creative/writer and how that impacted my Camp NaNoWriMo experience. If that’s something you’d like to see, let me know in the comments at the end of the post.

Now, onto the good stuff…

Week One

Week one was pretty easy. I wrote a lot of words AND got to write in a local coffee shop for the first time since the pandemic. This was a week of getting to know my characters, which mainly just meant them being super angsty and deviating a little from my outline. But, sometimes that’s what happens, right?

I didn’t quite finish act one in the first week, but it was pretty close. At this point, I was just excited and happy to see this book coming together, even though it was literally so far from what I knew it could be (which I kept telling myself was a future, second draft problem).

Word count at the end of week one: 11,147.

Week Two

Week two was intense. I wrote some words, but it was the first time I started feeling a little burnout and writing fatigue. More so, I think this week was where I felt discouraged because this story wasn’t exactly how I’d envisioned it before I started writing.

It was also the first time that I took a couple of days off of writing. The burnout was real, so I stopped guilting myself and took a couple of days off to relax, recharge, and come back stronger than ever!

Word count at the end of week two: 18,658.

Week Three

I only wrote two days during week three. I felt really burned out and I had a lot of things going on in my personal life that week. I struggled with the thought of not reaching my word count goal for Camp NaNoWriMo, and then I saw a care package show up in my NaNo inbox. It was about readjusting your goal for the month. And it hit me hard.

Like, really hard.

I came to terms with the fact that 50k just wasn’t a realistic goal for me in July. So, I changed my goal a few times before I landed on 30k. I lowered it because I was tired of feeling like I wasn’t good enough or like I was a failure if I didn’t write every day. And the more days that I let pass without writing, the harder it became to start writing again.

So, basically week three was a week of realizing that I’m only human and learning how to listen to my body and my mind, and knowing that changing my goals isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually a good thing because it means that I’m learning how to listen to what I need, both physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Word count at the end of week three: 20,767.

Week Four

Week four was just some chill writing that got me over 27k. I’d been hoping to hit 30/35k, but when July 31st rolled around and I was still sitting at 25k, I just lowered my goal to 27k because I knew it was more manageable. So, I did adjust my goal a few times over the month, but IN THE END I WON CAMP NANOWRIMO.

Word count at the end of week four: 27,203.

The Stats

Words Written – 27,203 words (and I’m exhausted because this is actually the most words I’ve ever written in a month!).

Pages – 78 pages + a chapter heading on page 79.

Chapters – Eighteen (completed) chapters.

Days I Wrote – 21. I hadn’t planned for the days that I didn’t write, but I definitely know to do that next time!

Time Spent Writing – If my math is correct (which is questionable), I wrote for a total of 19.3 hours this month. I wish I had spent more time writing, but I’m still pretty proud of that because it’s an impressive number for this girl. *points at self*

Average Writing Speed – 23 words a minute. I don’t know what the average writing speed is for most people, but I’m pretty proud of myself for this one.

When I Wrote the Most – I wrote the most between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. This is pretty typical for me: I tend to either write during the day or in the evening, so I knew that it would be one of the two.

Where I Wrote the Most – I wrote the most at home, which really is a surprise to absolutely nobody because I’m the biggest homebody ever.

Average Daily Word Count – 877 words. I thought it might be a little higher, but since it’s likely factoring in all the days that I didn’t write, it’s lower.

Highest Word Count Day – 2,803 words. I still genuinely don’t know how I wrote almost 3k in one day.

Lowest Word Count Day – 0 words, as expected for the days when I DIDN’T WRITE.

Number of Times I Deviated from the Outline – At least twice, but probably more because the whole month is kind of a blur.

Average Mood while Writing – It says that I felt pretty good about my writing sessions, which is true. I only felt bad about my writing in retrospect or when I wasn’t writing.

Number of Times I Cried – I…actually didn’t cry at all over my book this month? Like, I thought I would, but I didn’t, so I’m a little sad about that. But maybe I just haven’t gotten to a part that’ll really hit me yet. So, stay tuned, I guess?

Books I Read – Crossed by Ally Condie, Reached by Ally Condie, How We Rise by Brooke Riley, Midnight Sun by Trish Cook, and I started reading By The Book by Amanda Sellet.

Movies / Documentaries I Watched – Vampire Academy, Independence Day, The Avengers, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Instant Family, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Session, Luca, Friends: The Reunion, Midnight Sun, A Quiet Place Part 2, and The Proposal.

TV Shows I Watched – ER, Beverly Hills: 90210, Make it or Break it, and Alias Grace.

Most Listened to Songs (that were specifically listened to when writing) – Dark Maze by IBE, Mirage by Elina, City of the Dead by Eurielle, Closing Doors by Harry Hudson and Astrid S, I’d Love to Change the World by Jetta and Matstubs, Hard to Kill by Beth Crowley, Until It Happens To You by Sasha Sloan, Another Round by Elina, and Dance in The Rain by Bolshiee.

Let’s Talk!

Did you participate in Camp NaNoWriMo? If you did, were you able to win? What did you spend the month writing or editing? Let’s talk about all the writerly things in the comments down below!