I hadn't thought about doing Camp Nano, but after watching this, I'm going to. Oh goodness, that "fan." Sorry that happened to you. The series you're working on sounds great! Reminds me a little of Nora Roberts' series, which I loved. I'll be sure to check it out because books like that are my catnip. Love your plan! Now I'm off to grab those printables. Thank you!
Sarra, I hear you. I see you. I love you! You are an inspiration to so many people, especially current and future writers. You and your RU-vid channels are gifts to others in ways you can't see and might never know. You are often my own voice of reason. Crafting a good novel takes time and I am certain that your upcoming novels will be well worth the wait! I look forward to every RU-vid video and I look forward to reading your series! Maybe on a cosmic level your next creations in your series have just been waiting for your newest fans to catch up with you! (I actually found your channel via plannig and stumbled on to what I consider a treasure trove!!) I hate that someone would ever say something so negative to an artist who gives so much of herself. Those negative comments are not a reflection on you. I am glad that you are strong enough to not let negative comments get you down, but that doesn't make them any less painful. I hope you know that you are beloved by so many more fans and students. You have fans for life, and those are the voices I hope will carry you through on your writing ventures! I wish you success on Camp NanoWriMo, even beyond what you dreamed! It was so inspiring to watch you write the Witch's Key in record time and I think that was just the beginning of a new phase of creativity and writing success for you. Hugs to you and your family!!!! I am for one so grateful for the space you create here and the light you bring to the world. 💗
It’s funny that your husband reminded you to be realistic with your goals because yesterday I was sitting down and making pie in the sky plans about my writing after a two year hiatus nonetheless and it was your voice in the back of my mind saying ‘this isn’t sustainable’ ‘it’s okay if you go slower’ ‘be realistic and don’t set yourself up for failure’. See really good advice lives on! Thanks Sara for all you do - I really appreciate it!
I LOVE how supportive George is of everything you work on... you guys are the best team ever and make pretty, pretty babies!!! I also plan to make writing a priority and a source of JOY again... it's so easy for me to get overwhelmed by my little farm, but now is the time to kick some ass.
Because I write nonfiction, I never have a goal of so many words a day. I have a goal of so much time per day. Sometimes I’m taking research notes, sometimes I’m trying to find information, sometimes I’m actually writing, sometimes I’m outlining, sometimes I’m making an interview appointment, sometimes I am trying to transcribe part of an interview.
Sarra you need to stay true to yourself. Your loyal fans know who you are and how you work and will always stand by you. I a can guarantee you that I am definitely one of your loyal fans. Take care and look after yourself and your beautiful family xx
You have my support! Take your time. Your real fans will wait for you and stick with you. Ignore those negative voices. You are my voice of reason. Your advice is invaluable. Take your own advice! We love you!!!
Do not let one, or even more than one, so-called fan bring your spirits down and question your writing ability. Let them write a book and see how difficult the process is while dealing with real life. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. You rock!
Give yourself some grace! You give so much to your fans. You need to give to yourself too. Take the time you need. If it takes three months, or three years, it is, what it is. ❤️
Oh, that a reader who claims to be a fan would be so harsh breaks my heart - what a troll! I'm not sure why romance writers and indies are held to an impossible productivity standard, readers should be grateful you haven't decided not to finish the series because it didn't sell or something. There are so many reasons to take a while to finish a series, not writing the book fast is only one. People need to take a gratitude pill and chill the f#^% out. Love your work
Yes, please do live writing sprints during camp! That would be amazing. I can´t wait for the videos on writing a series as well. I´m glad you take it "slow" instead of stressing yourself too much. You got this!
I did this once a long time ago where I told someone in a forum that they had no idea what it took to write a novel. It was a forum for “Wheel of Time” by Robert Jordan around the fifth book in the series. I went through the process of sitting and staring at a blank page/screen to the printed book being shipped to the stores. I’m sure I missed a few steps in there. Was I impatient? Yes, but I knew that something worth spending that much time on writing, would be a holiday for my soul. His fans would later joke, “He better not die before he finishes.” Of course we had no idea that he would become ill and pass away before he would finish, leaving it in the hands of Brandon Sanderson. People have no idea what it takes to write and get published. This person sounds young and entitled that attacked you. I’m sure every fan counts, but is this person really a fan? If they are/were a fan, they would know what you’ve been through. So I say again that they are young, because it doesn’t sound like life has walloped them upside the preverbal head. You seem to be a sweetheart of a person. Don’t let someone guilt you or stress you. Don’t give anyone that kind of power, ever. As a creative person that puts your work out there into the public realm, you will worry, but the stress of trying to perform will cause the stunting of your creative flow. If your path touches others and they can be happy for a time, that is a wonderful legacy. If not, it is not your responsibility to regulate their life and their emotions. Be happy and just write, because there are over 7 billion people out there. I think you can find a replacement. Plus, writers have enough voices in our heads. We don’t need to add a cyberbully to the bunch. Final thought, in the end, you can only make you happy, because the only person that you live with is yourself. Have a blessed day!
My daughter has never done Nanowrimo (I haven't for a few years) and this video inspired her to join up just now to finish her third novel in her current trilogy. We love the giant storyboard idea!
I always take Sundays off. We all need a day of rest. You come back to your creative work with energy and all these ideas. Just because you’re not “writing” does not mean you’re not writing! And why in the world are you listening to that person asking why haven’t you written the next in the series?! Stop that :)
This was worth the wait. I ALWAYS need a voice of reason when setting goals LOL! I love how you aren't giving up and giving in to all-or-nothing mindset. This is what I am striving to do during this camp nano: write 5 days a week on a completely new and exciting novel. I'm writing into the dark on this one after plotting my last several, so it should be an adventure. My goal is 2,000 words a day :) Excited to see how you do and I'm so glad you are taking care of yourself right now!
I would love to see the progress of your storyboard! I can’t picture in my head right now how/what it would look like, but I’m sure it will be awesome and you will make it work for you. ❤️
So many things to comment. 1. I'm sure you can get this done!! 2. You and Geoge are a amazing team. 3. Love the giant story board. 4. Would love to do the camp, but I juggling too much right now (work + personal problems). And think that would be setting myself to a disaster. 5. Keep us updated on the progress. Will be great to see how things are evolving. And last, hater gonna hate. So just don't mind those useless ppl that spend their time to put throwing mean comments. They are just sad. That's all.
Yes, I will be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo for my first time! I am going to structure, organize, and edit a draft from 2015. I like your storyboard. You inspired me! I think I'm going to use my closet doors in my bedroom for a storyboard! 😆 Good luck!
Ugh love all of your videos. Never thought I would have a role model from RU-vid lol good luck this month! I'll be trying to write the second book in my only series. We got this!
I would love love to see writing sprints. The storyboard is awesome ideas. And what about doing a daily vlog for accountability. It worked for you on the witches key. All you fans would be cheering for you and it maybe fun. It's an idea
My goal for camp is 40k. I did about 45k in April so I am trying to keep my goal realistic. Working on my outline right now, it's the fifth book in a series with a growing number of characters and locations so I also have a lot to keep track of. I do my outlining digitally because otherwise I lose things, but we all have to find the right method for ourselves. Your giant story board looks like fun! I hope it works out for you. Good luck with your writing!
I'm participating in camp, but I have yet to come up with a solid word count goal for the month. Also--I know it's easier said than done, but don't listen to people who think you "aren't writing fast enough." LIFE HAPPENS.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for instantly motivating me to get serious about finishing the first draft of book #2 of my romcom series in July! The organized prep you've done here is SO inspiring, Sarra. Thank you again for the wonderful free downloads you always provide. I immediately went from this video to my Camp NaNo page and set my goal. Yay!!! Let's DO this!!
oh wow! If I was you I would take that 30 day spread and leave it as is, I would write in the days you are supposed to write only(so the first 25) you could also leave it blank and fill by day just in case you manage to write a bit on your off days(I know that you will at least once be inspired on a Sunday ;) ) Big hugs! oh! And George is right, he does have brilliant ideas🤗
Hi, Sarra. I'm Candy. I enjoy your videos. For camp wrimo, my goal will be 200 words a day 5 days a week, 1000 words a week. Total = 4400. This is realistic but challenging for me b/c I have GIANT writer's block. Thank the creative source for sprints. Happy wrimo!
Yay! You are so going to own NaNoWriMo! Thanks for all the great ideas for how to stay motivated and to keep on writing! Hopefully, I'll finish my book this year! Love!
I'm so excited to see your goals for camp! Best of luck to you! I'm just now sitting down to go through this round of Bootcamp, boy... am I behind hahaha
I am doing camp next month. I was around 5k short from winning camp in April. But next month, I will be starting a new book which I will hopefully have an outline done for it before camp starts.
If I could reach through and give you a huge hug, I would. I feel so proud of you for standing in your truth. You are a genuine soul. Very beautiful honest person. I will be doing camp.
I am sooo excited (and, getting over my fear) for camp this July! I have an extra board that I am not using (from HB90 extra Kanban board) I am going to use for my stroyboard! Thanks for sharing this :-) I love how you always share great ideas and strong positive energy!
I'm super excited to do Camp Nano. I've signed up in the past but haven't been in the right frame of mind or was too far into a book to really give it a go. I like to start fresh. I'm hoping to hit at least 50k, but would love to actually finish the first draft of the third book in my super secret series that I'm working on.
I originally wasn't going to take part in camp this July, simply because of how uninspired I've been lately. However, I recently thought up a new story, and I've been plotting it out over the past month, and I think I might actually have something I can finish (first time). I gave myself a small goal (20K) since I'll be busy with work, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to reach even that. Good luck!! :)
I've not done Nano before, but I think I will give it a go. I signed up last year but the website just didn't want to play, I'll check it out again and see if it will let me this time around. So looking forward to the videos about writing a series. It's odd how trad pub can get away with a year, two, sometimes more between releases and I don't think the fans freak out really.
I've wanted to do something similar to the storyboard on my walls for a while but never had the balls to do it. Can't wait to see how yours comes out. Also... stop teasing us with the series course.... I need it so baaaad *cries*
I plan on writing a rough skeleton plot outline for my Gothic Gaslamp fantasy YA. I always go into Camp NaNo and NaNo with extreme enthusiasm and not being realistic with how much my health issues get in the way of the progress I have planned. So this time, I'm going to try using Scrivener's corkboard feature to see how it works for me. My goal is 15,000 for the month because I'm in final edits for a novella and have to get it published at the end of July. I bought long paper rolls like you're using for your storyboard to make a timeline. I've never done a storyboard before, so I'll have to watch a video or ten to see how to do it. You can find me as Tambra Nicole on NaNo. Good luck everyone and have fun!
Going to try to work on a series for Camp. But I'm eagerly awaiting your series on series. LOL I still have a lot of fletching out of characters to do that the reader isn't going to see.
I did something similar for a storyboard in my hallway outside my bedroom door. I also understand the heavy things stealing your joy. I hope that you can find some more little things to offset the big things.
I'm still in editing hell so no CampNano for me (the site only allows word count goals). Thank goodness your husband talked you out of that nightmare writing pace you originally set out to do. Do what works best for you and ignore those naysayers. One of my favorite authors takes about two years to write a book and then the publisher releases it two to three years afterwards. I'm still a fan because I love her series and I know it's always worth the wait. Heck, I'm still waiting for the next Song of Ice and Fire book to come out and it's been 9 years since the last novel was released. True fans will be patient.
I haven't wrote since Dec, after NaNo last year because of burn out. My first year doing NaNo, my first year back writing after a 10 year break and I pushed myself (way too hard) and finished my first novel ever during last years NaNo. 63K words to finish the novel on Dec 1st. I've been in limbo ever since. Wanting to work on my books edits, but needing some distance. So I just kind of... did nothing (not the best approach, I know. I was overwhelmed). So, for Camp NaNo next month, I did think of doing edits on my first book, but decided against it. I'm going to work on outlining and first drafting Book 2. I think, Book 1 might ever be just for me. It will require heavy edits and I'm not sure I'm in love with the storyline. I love the book because of what it did for me, but at this time I am using it as a writing experience. I'm very interesting in your storyboard. I hope you share pictures and such with us about it. I know you can't share too much, seeing as it's a book your actively working on, but it fascinates me to learn all these "new" tips and tricks.
10:40 - I've been waiting for The Winds of Winter for 9 years and it may be 1-2 more years before I get that book. I think that person that emailed you can wait, lol. On a serious note - I understand some fans...enthusiasm...but they need to chill and realize that their favorite author isn't a machine. it takes time to produce art and to entertain them. I mean, it's amazing that some can crank out a new book every 3 months and it be great, but it's completely ok, to me, if it takes you a decade to get that next book out. Take your time because the worst thing an author can do is rush a book and not turn out the way they want. Good luck. I just finished up my schedule for Camp Nano and can't wait!
I am doing camp as much as i can. I have everything lined out and planned. As long as the world doesn't throw a monkey wrench at me I am hoping to get 20k written in camp in July.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to do camp because. I’m just finding it hard to get back into my book. I have been writing my current book wich will be the first book of a series since 2010. I wrote a first Chapter for a creative writing class in high school which I still have and is not going to be rewritten. Over the next year or so I had fleshed out my story ideas as well as create a map of the fantasy world I was creating. I wrote two more chapters and then I lost all my notes when we moved including the two extra chapter because I had written them instead of typed them. After that I lost my momentum and didn’t start to work on it again until this past year. I need to work on character and plot development some more and I think it will be easier to get back into my writing. Hopefully I can have some good solid ideas before the start of July. The book is called The Search For Truth.
This will be my first Camp, and I'm hoping to write the entire rough draft of my novella, which is kind of like a dark fairytale. I'd love to do live sprints!
I had to pause halfway to comment.....it’s fantastic that you have so many readers, but it’s unreasonable if someone thinks they can treat you like their personal author. If they enjoy your work enough to buy it, that’s brilliant, but they need to respect your whole life, not just the part they think they’re owed as a consumer. I’m sorry you feel such pressure-don’t. March to the beat of your own drum, not someone else’s.
What kind of person does that?!? °_° Please, don't let it get to you! A few of those [insert unfriendly word] are not worth burning yourself out. You serve your community, your real fans and yourself and familiy best by staying as healthy and happy as you possibly can, because then you are the most productive. ^_^ Excitement and joy brought you The Witch's Key, it will also take you through Fate's Surrender. Take your time, follow your instinct and your passion. and all will be good. You know that. And keep listening to George, he's just the best. We love you so much!
I envy you. Having someone to support you and your dreams must be so positive. And as I have learned in AA, I would pray for that person wearing her grumpy socks. Pinch Evie's nose, please.
