The Camp NaNoWrimo Trap
Let’s being with | Opening Day
Opening day… sort of has a nice ring to it, eh?
What comes to mind when you hear those words “Opening Day?”
For me, I’m reminded of heading off to the races at Del Mar, or what’s that other one?
Oh geez… why can’t I think of the other big horse racing venue.
*it’s LITERALLY bigger than the Del Mar one…
I know. Whatever. It doesn’t matter.
Where’s my big, beautiful easter chapeau? I think I’m gon need it!
*no you don’t.
Of course, I will!
*you need a spring hat, for writing? at your desk?
*You are NOT going to the races.
Okay. Forget it. Let’s move on:
CAMP NANOWRIMO IS HERE!
Are you ready? Are you participating? How’s it going?
After a few failed NaNos on my “not-so-permanent” NaNoWriMo record (haha) …of course, I’m kidding.
Not about the failed nanos… but the permanency part.
Anyway, I decided I needed to tailor this year’s camp experience, to my needs, for my writing journey.
And, because Camp Nanowrimo, is just the time and place to do it?
Well? I’m doin it! We’re going to approach this month’s writing goals with songwriting in mind. That’s right. Instead of writing a book this month. I’ll be writing a new music album.
*Say what?!
Oh yes… it’s so long overdue.
LONG OVERDUE.
It’s something I’ve been wanting to do again for some time…
I took quite a hiatus from music because well? The industry is just – ughhhhhh.
I could really go into what twisted, and cray cray things I’ve been through, and seen, in the music industry; but, it scare you away & out the lack of authenticity these “famous” artists want you to believe they have, too.
Not all peeps are bad though; but, I will say, its just too difficult to try and navigate the industry when everyone around you wants to take, exploit, manipulate, and even make an offer to take your soul.
Pretty dramatic.
Yup. But, a lot of truth.
And, maybe I’m being vague here, and you’re hearing this for the first time, thinking ‘like, give me an example.’
I don’t even want to revisit any of that trauma. And usually, when people talk about it, they get pretty lambasted. Even by people that supposedly know and “love” them.
The industry can be pure evil. Just read Brittney’s new book. Or take a look at the new “Quiet On Set” documentary. When industries go unchecked, this is what happens.
People want fame and don’t care about the consequences. (At least, they don’t care about the consequences until they have to suffer them.)
Or, worse yet, don’t have God to keep them aligned with what’s really important here.
Wow. What a rant.
*rabbit hole, much?
Right. Sorry. I will move on from that…
SO!
No more waiting, procrastinating, or hesitating. I’m ready to get doing things on my terms!
A NEW ALBUM is coming… errr, almost.
…and I don’t want to wait any longer to do it. So, join me in today’s vlog as I take you along a journey!
I’ll show you what I’ve been doing to work my vocals, and musical muscles, how I’m planning and strategizing for the month to write a full album in only one month.
I’m also going to take you along the tour of my recording studio where I have been shuffling and refreshing that space, so it is more workable.
There are things now on a shopping list that I need to purchase too. There only on the wish list at the moment; but, in no way do these ‘need to buy’ items hold me back from writing and recording my own work again.
Gimme a tape recorder from the 1980s… I’ll make it work.
I’m resourceful! *wink
Lastly, if you’ve hung around long enough, you’ll get access to some bonus footage of some things of the past. To sort of catch you up on my music industry experiences, records, and the like!
*the good stuff, of course *wink
Also, what goes into prepping an album for release. There’s proper copyright details, marketing, PR, advertising, and ensuring it’s available to stream any – and – everywhere!
Oh! And of course, pictures. Lots of pictures. And this is one of my -fav- fortes!
There was that modeling thing that I did so long ago, and now & again, if a print ad shows itself that’s in line with my current values and such, I still do modeling work from time to time.
But, my photographers! I have worked with just so many AH-mazing photographers over the years! IYKYK
Alicia and Azero, I see you! Love you!
*pssst… here’s their website if your in the San Diego area!
https://www.nobleambiencephotography.com
Today, I want to highlight my girl, Devon! She’s amazing!
someone to mention: MWTVPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
If you need an amazing photographer, check out Devon’s website for availability! She’s so easy to work with and has a wonderful vision to help you get to your final visual product! She does photography, and video work.
I’ll definitely be working with her again for the album cover, and the music videos that will follow!
Should I get to that point some time in the damn future… *eyeroll please
So, give my CAMP NANOWRIMO for 2024 a watch here & we can chat about it in the comments below:
So, what did you think? Pretty fun stuff, right?!
I love getting started on any project. It’s the time when everything is the most exciting, you’re reeling with energy, and you’re pumped to the max with vision and plans!
Rearranging the room was such a necessity. As I mentioned in the video above, having more musicians in the room was cramped with how I had it organized before.
Do you write music? Do you have a designated space for it? A corner of a room? The dining room table?
My recording studio shares my walk-in closet, and hair and makeup station. So, I get it. Zoning the room into two-halves for each zone is working out just perfectly so far!
What you need to know is, nothing will ever be perfect, and just get started. The reality is, whether your working on music, or a new book, short story, or poetry.
- It’s the ‘getting started’ that’s the most important.
2. The pace comes next. Move with a quickness, and intention.
3. Third, push through the middle. No complaining. Just get ‘er
done!
And finally, when you come to the end… you can finally rest on your laurels and share that Proud Mary, you’ve intensely focused on. Share it with the world!
You Make It Sound So Easy…
We NEED to TALK // Week 1 // My CAMP NANOWRIMO Update
I can’t believe Week One for CAMP NANOWRIMO was over in the blink of an eye. It literally flew by. It was a hectic week.
I forgot to film a few days but feel I got the important stuff down in the logging of that post!
Are you participating? It’s a fun challenge, and being camp and all, it’s not as intense as the regular NaNoWriMo!
something to mention: If you’re not familiar with nanowrimo.org
it is a writing challenge where writer from around the world can participate! The goal is to write 50k words in 30 days. It costs nothing to jump in, and you can make friends that will rally alongside with you as you support each others projects.
Now, you don’t “win” anything, when you do “win.” But, the experience is worth the effort! And the satisfaction of “finishing” something is far better than any silly painted trophy anyway!
Camp Nanowrimo is a bit different. The challenge is similar but during camp, you get to sort of set your own rules, word counts, and really play with how you want to approach the month of writing for your project!
My word count this month is less than 1k words. That’s right.
You heard correctly!
I won’t even be writing up to one thousand words this month on this project!
And, honestly, I could use the creative “writing” break.
Of course, I am still writing though. But, I’ve integrated it into my music album project that had been shelved for quite some time.
Let’s chat about it though.
Because, if this is new to you, you may be having feelings of overwhelm, or its just something you don’t think you could do.
But you totally can!
Getting started is the toughest part, and that’s why I vlog my writing updates during the month.
To show you, I didn’t really know where I was going to start, and what I was going to do. Even during the preparation video from last week! I knew I was writing music; both lyrics and instrumentals.
But, that was it. Also, I had some reservations, as I’ve not won a Camp NaNoWrimo… Well? Not Ever.
I’ve won 2 regular, Nano’s, sure. *celebratory clappity clap
After a few failed NaNos on my “not-so-permanent” NaNoWriMo record (haha) …of course, I’m kidding. Not about the failed nanos… but the permanency part.
Anyway, I decided I needed to tailor camp to my needs for my writing journey. And, because Camp Nanowrimo, is just the time and place to do it –
Well? I’m doin it!
We’re going to approach this month’s writing goals with songwriting in mind. That’s right.
Instead of writing a book this month. I’ll be writing a new music album. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do again for some time… and I don’t want to wait any longer to do it.
So, join me in the next vlog as I take you along with me, as I finish week one strong!
What did you think?
Can you relate to any part of the video update? Share what strategy has, or has not, been working for you.
The next couple weeks are, and have been quite trying in my little world word-bubbles.
Getting in time to write and work on this album has been – how do I explain this – like the universe is creating issues so i just can’t get in to my recording studio. Like, AT ALL.
Then at the end of the day, I sit and reflect on the day, as per usual, and think – how did I not get in some Camp Nano stuff today?! Where did the time go?
And with the close of Camp looming… I had to really take a strong look at the progress – or lacker thereof – and take inventory.
I was feeling stressed, overwhelmed, over-committed to too many other things, personal responsibilities were seeming tougher to accomplish each day… the list could go on.
And so I decided to make a tough decision, and be okay with that decision:
HOW I LET GO // A Camp Nanowrimo Self-Love Story
Self-love, Self-Acceptance, and Expectations can all be a b*** sometimes.
Pardon my language.
But, what’s hardest for me, isn’t amassing a ton of action items, and checking them off the list. It’s the reality that I just cannot get it all done fast enough or box out the time to get some things done, no matter how hard I try.
And when this happens, it usually means I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
And what that means, is that I have to re-evaluate, assess, shuffle, and restructure a new plan. Which – not only frustrates me but also – annoys the heck out of me!
I hate the feeling of “starting over.” Or “quitting & giving up.” Even when I know that’s not exactly what I’m doing.
In this case, the time constraints, insane amount of clerical duties for my business, and domestic responsibilities have really gotten the best of me this month.
I keep falling behind and that’s not only irritating to my expectations of goals I’ve set up for myself for the entire year….
But, driving me bananas.
How do you handle your schedule when your current one is no longer working for you?
Join my self-acceptance story, as I give an update and also explain why I ended my Camp Nano journey this month.
I still needed to maintain, posting content geared toward writing, there’s the Writing & Productivity Livestreams
+each week, (We do our best to watch our 5-min break times! lol), +plus bonus Weekly Live Events, Camp Nano – April,
+Camp Nano – July, and of course
+my next book release, and the plethora of tasks, tolerances, and additional duties that were just taking me out.
So, after watching the video above, was any of this relatable? Do you have a crash and burn story of your own? How did you handle it?
Is there reassessment, and reevaluate plan in place for such catastrophic failures?!
Okay.. maybe it was a catastrophic failure… sometimes I can be dramatic. But, for the blog’s sake, I ask of you:
1. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
2. THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW (OR NEXT YEAR)
3. MAINTAINING EMOTIONAL PEACE IS WAYYY MORE IMPORTANT!
We give ourselves challenges to accomplish them, and get some inner feels, and confidence about our abilities.
But, just because something doesn’t work out as planned, doesn’t mean you suck or you can’t do it.
It just means, you can’t do it RIGHT NOW.
And it’s okay.
Thanks for hanging with me today, I know it was a long one! I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below and let’s get a discussion going! Til next time! xoxo
