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It's all about speed writing and typing thousands of words in a day because we simply have to make that deadline.
That ever-looming goal is stress inducing. It causes us to stay up late and rise early just to thump our heads on the keyboard in hope that something readable comes about.
The fun of Camp can last the whole month, but often, for me, the fun takes place on the first day, when I meet my goal, and when my cabin meets our goal. Note that those are only three days of the thirty (and sometimes it's only one day if I/my cabin doesn't meet the goal).
So the rest of the month, roughly twenty-seven days are COMPLETELY HECTIC.
Sure, Camp NaNoWriMo has many, many benefits. It motivates you to write those words, connect with other
But it's okay to take a break.
The break from writing gave me what I needed to start creating an epic ending for my novel: A fresh mind, new vocabulary from the books I read, and time to dwell on my story so I was actually excited when I started writing again.
When I returned to my story, that's when I realized that it was completely okay to sometimes take a break. It's often for the better.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, as odd as it may sound, try taking a break, even if it's just for the day. Read a book, take a walk, brainstorm, and *cough* write a blog post. It may be what your mind needs to enter itself back into the story.
Now, excuse me while I speed-write hundreds of words to make up for my word count and my cabin's.
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If you're falling behind on your word count or even if you're super ahead and want some extra motivation, Go Teen Writers is having a six day long Word War on their blog! It'd be awesome to war with you. :)
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- Katie Grace
Have you taken a break this month? Do you agree on what I said? Disagree?
For a fun question: what was the last book you read?
Share this post!
I really need to do Camp NaNoWriMo at some point...I've just never seen myself having enough time. Gosh, I want to though.. Let's see, last book I read would have to be Peter Pan, which I'm halfway finished with:)
ReplyDeletexoxo
Grace Anne
http://totallygraced.blogspot.com/
You should. *nods* The nice thing about Camp, is that you can set your word goal to as low as 10,000. Pretty sure that's only about 300 words a day, which is doable.
DeleteOoh, Peter Pan. I haven't read that story in a long time... Did you hear that they're coming out with a new Peter Pan movie sort of thing?
I took a break from writing the past few days because I am on vacation. I need to write some more though...
ReplyDeleteThe last book I read was Dragonwitch and the book I am reading now is Shadowhand. :D
Vacations are a perfect time to take a break. Balancing NaNo and vacations are hard... *cough* Last November. *cough*
DeleteEeee! I love those books so much. SO much. I die a little inside at certain parts. But they're amazing. *flails*
I think taking a break is a great way to stay inspired and ready to keep going! Besides, there are plenty of things to do that aren't always writing related. I'm actually not taking breaks at the moment, but I'm working hard so that I can take a break and go on vacation at the end of the month. Thanks for the good advice, Katie!
ReplyDeleteGood for you. :D I'm glad the writing is going well for you, Heather!
DeleteI'm taking writing breaks all day to work nonstop on finishing the basement...
ReplyDeleteUff. That sounds like a hard job. Good luck to you on that. :p
DeleteOoh, yay! A GTW Word War!
ReplyDeleteOur household doesn't use the computer on Sundays, and I think that gives the perfect breaks throughout the month.
The last book I read... SteelHeart, by Brandon Sanderson. It was very good.
That is a very good idea. I try to be on the computer less on Sundays and spend time doing something else rather than constantly being on the internet. :p
DeleteOoh! Steelheart! I just read that book about a month ago; it was very good. I'm super excited to read the next one, though some reviews have said that the content gets a bit more...iffy... so I'm not sure how far I'll get through it. Either way, Steelheart was an awesome read, especially the ending. I loved the twist. :D
I actually took a one-day break a few days ago.
ReplyDelete. . . to write another story. *angelic smile*
But yes, the break from my novel felt good. xD
Hehe. xD
DeleteThis is really great advice(even if I usually find myself taking too many breaks!).
ReplyDeletePsst! Tag, you're it :) http://thescribblingsprite.blogspot.com/2015/07/unpopular-opinions-tag.html
Ooh, TAG! Thank you so much.
Delete*puts on ever-growing list of tags to do*
Good thoughts! Breaks are helpful! I'm planning on taking a two week one away from writing in September after I get some requested material submitted. I really need the recharge. But doing just a five minute, hour, or day break is helpful as well. ^ ^
ReplyDeletestoritorigrace.blogspot.com
Very true. I don't think I could keep writing nonstop without mini breaks in between... :p
DeleteI totally agree with this. I've been doing NaNo and Camp NaNo since 2011, and while I hate to take a break and ruin my streak, at the same time, as I've got busier and things have got overwhelming, I find I need to take some break days away from my book so I can keep writing fun and not have it topple the pile of things to do. As long as you come back to it soon, sometimes a break really can be the best thing.
ReplyDeleteLast book I read? I'm partway through Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen at the moment, and I just finished reading The Edge of Water by Elizabeth George.
Ah, that would be harder for me to do--taking a break from my streak, but I could see myself having to do that someday when life gets busier. I admire you for doing that. :)
DeleteOoh, were they good? I haven't heard of either of them before...
the last book i read, full was THE ONE, from the selection series by kiera cass, partially(working on right now) is reached, from the matched trilogy by ally condie. I love them both, in a way they are actually both very similar.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I just read The Selection by Kiera Cass. Her writing is really good...
DeleteI've heard a lot about the Matched Trilogy, but have never got myself to check it out. I can see how they could be similar (just by reading about the plots.) You would recommend them?
definately, i will warn though, the later books in the matched trilogy were a little slow at the beginning, but once you hit a good part it flourished pretty quickly
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog to return the favour, the last book I read was one I recently blogged about "Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson"
ReplyDeletehttp://claredot.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/warbreaker-book-review.html