Clarion Write-a-Thon: Working on a Novel While Camping Can Be a Challenge
[dc]M[/dc]y family’s annual camping trip was this past weekend.
I always look forward to this event: I get to unplug for a few days, relax, sit on a beach, and such. But, this year, because of the (self-inflicted) Write-a-Thon, I had to do a bit of work too.
Photo by me.
One would think, “Oh, I will be super relaxed without any responsibilities, I can easily write for a couple of hours in the day or evening.” Wrong.
I have a big family, and I don’t get see all of them too often (they live near Detroit and I am here in Lansing). Because of this, I did not want to be a hermit and spend my vacation writing. But, I did set aside time here and there when I could. With my new MacBook in hand, I thought, “Ah, I can write out-of-doors and enjoy Nature’s serenity.”
Wrong.
If you have ever been to a State Park in the Summer, you probably know what I am talking about. It is anything but serene, and this year was no exception: cars, people talking, kids playing, people blasting radios, dogs barking, kids barking, Dad telling off-color jokes, and Stephanie telling me how handsome I am every thirty seconds.
Normally, this does not bother me in the least. When I am trying to write, however, this is Awful. I can’t focus on writing with too much going on around me, especially when family members were chatting nearby, or coming up to talk to me while I was working.
Not wanting to scream, “Leave me alone!” to my cousins or Mom, I did the next best thing: I locked myself in my car.
Yes, the trusty Hoganmobile became my Fortress of Writertude for about an hour every day (give or take). I sat in the passenger seat, which gave me plenty of room to type with my MacBook on my lap (what a concept!), and just plugged away.
I tried to do this early in the day, so I could get it over with, as the beach, or games of Bananagrams awaited (I won three straight. Boom).
Now that I am ‘back in the world,’ writing and editing will be easier. I made some great headway today, and started to rewrite the bulk of the last chapters–it is pretty much a few sentences shy of a ‘nuking the site from orbit’ kind of rewrite.
That is OK.
I am very happy with the ideas I came up with over the past day or so. Yes, it means more work, especially with the Aug. 5th deadline looming, but it will make the story better.
Enough blogging. Back to writing.
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