Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo, which occurs in April and July, is a laid-back version of the National Novel Writing Month’s November goal of writing 50k words for a brand-new story. I’ve never won. I’m not dedicated enough to write an average of 1,667 words every day, especially when I have lots of family and social commitments in November. Many writers do, though, and I admire their passion and success.

My writing goal for April’s Camp NaNoWriMo is to finish the draft of my third McGregor mystery. There are only ten scenes left to complete the story. I’m looking forward to April being my National Novel Finishing Month.

After I finish the draft, I’ll need to edit and revise it, tightening up the plot and polishing the prose. Then the story will go to beta readers and comes back to me for another round of revisions.

Sending the draft to beta readers was scary with the first book. Would the readers like the story? Did the plot and its sequence make sense? Did I leave out important details or transitions? Now I know beta reader feedback helps strengthen the story, and I’m thrilled when I reach that step.

The 100 Club

My 100th blog post published on April 1, my writing and retirement anniversary.

I began writing in 2017, and my first blog post hit the big time (i.e., my newly created website) later that year in September. I was so proud seeing that first post. Posts published irregularly at first, then eventually settled into a twice-a-month routine.

My favorite post is Character Rights, which discusses whether literary characters can file complaints for the treatment they receive from an author.

It’s been five years since I began writing. I’m nearly finished writing my third Detective Scott McGregor mystery, and I’ve plotted over a dozen more mysteries. Recently, I decided to write some of those as short stories, some without McGregor, and I’m even playing around with cozy mysteries. In my spare time, I’ve written children’s books, short stories, and various short pieces for anthologies and an online magazine.

What will I produce in the next five years?