A message to writers:
You missed your personal deadline? You’re not a failure

We can make the best-laid plans, but sometimes life happens. There are things we can control and things we can’t. Patience is a must for writers.

One of my posts early in the month was supposed to announce that I was, for the first time ever, taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo. I was quite excited, and I needed to put a big push on my book because of the delays in the spring. Summer is often a better time for me to write than November, since I have fewer work hours. I was looking forward to the camp.

Well, neither happened. Not the post and not the camp. Rather than feeling like a failure, though, I’m going to plug on. That is the writer’s life. I’ve heard from a number of authors this year who have had to delay their projects. At first they felt bad, but after some reflection they turned the experience into something positive.

Druyan (fantasy adventure) was officially postponed into a 2018 release at the start of the summer. Instead, I am helping someone else make his book a reality. Ironclad (supernatural adventure) is short and was supposed to be finished, beta-read, and submitted by the end of July.

I don’t like delays, especially when they are at my end. I hate not being superhuman anymore. But I have to say it’s healthier not to be.

I was inspired to write this post because I found out about two fellow bloggers who received their Camp NaNoWriMo winner certificates. I was warmed by their success. Memories of the other authors and their apologetic blog posts came flooding back, and I realized it was time to write my own reflective post.

Even before I got the chance to post this, I received this very nice letter from Camp NaNoWriMo. In most situations, even if I didn’t meet a personal goal, I would be closer to completing the project. In this case, not even that is true.

So, for anyone who’s wondering, NaNoWriMo 2017 in November is still undetermined until closer to the date. Barring any new immediate crises, I will be on the grid, though. I won’t be able to stand it if I’m not signed up. No doubt, my daughter will be writing again, and I’m going to go through my usual process in October of surveying who else is taking part and which of my NaNo Buddies will be returning for another round.

In the meantime, as the sayings go: “Keep on keeping on,” and “Stay calm and write on.”

Image from Dreamstime.com