Steamrolling Through The Madness

So, remember on Tuesday I said I was afraid I would be scrambling to keep up to my 1k a day count to keep on par with goal for Camp?

And remember me saying it was going to spiral me further into madness between work and writing?

Yeah…

Things aren’t really happening that way.

I really did light a fire under my ass within the past few days. Because for July 1st and 2nd, my 1k goal for each day turned into me doing 4k for both days.

And I mean over four thousand words a day. Not one, or two, or even three. But four thousand words on both days.

I am freaking ecstatic over those numbers.

I’m currently sitting at 9,281 words written already. My goal was 31k. I’m already one fourth of the way there. In the matter of three days (because yes, I’m becoming a total addict like someone else I know that writes as soon as midnight hits for that day).

Honestly, I feel like I’m dreaming over those numbers. I don’t know where my sudden inspiration or want to write came from, I don’t know what I did to achieve it, but I am certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I was worried about building a cushion and falling behind on the five day straight work period I have.

Yeah… Turns out, I was worrying about nothing with this streak! I’m on fire!

Not literally, of course.

If I was on fire I’d be running around screaming right now, and then doing stop, drop, and roll. Not writing a blog post.

Can you tell Camp’s madness is already getting to me? Or maybe I’m just slap happy, and sleep deprived. Or all of the above. Who knows? All I know is whatever it is, it’s working for me. Now if only I could figure out what it is, I’d be set!

Anyways, I’m getting totally off topic here…

So yes, I had set my goal to 31k for Camp. However, there has always been that secret wishful part of me — ever since I did my first Camp last July — that wanted to hit that big 50k number. Right now, if I keep the rate up that I’m going at, I honestly know I can hit that goal.

I had wanted to type in the numbers 5-0-0-0-0 when I was creating my novel for Camp under the little goal bubble. It was seriously tempting to say “the hell with it, you only live once,” and go for it.

(Well, technically, that’s not true. As an author — or reader — you live WAY more than one life. That’s beside the point though.)

After my fiasco of a Camp in April though, only managing to do 15k. And I mean barely managing to make that goal in a madness induced last minute week of writing to get there, I was wary of making a really high goal. Afraid that if I made a really high goal like that, I’d end up dropping it again and again and again, back down to some lowly number like 15k. I was even scared to put 31k in that little bubble since I hadn’t managed to keep up with the 1k-A-Day Challenge my friend presented me with at the beginning of this year, six months ago.

Do you see my problem with follow through showing through here?

But now that I literally have a 7k word cushion under me, nearly 10k written in three days, and I’m still on a roll, I’m getting more and more determined and excited to change those little numbers from 31k to 50k. I haven’t done it yet, but it’s tempting.

I think what’s going to happen is I’m going to leave it go for now, see how far I keep going and once I get close to that goal, I’m going to up it to the 50k. My secret goal is to hit 50k or higher, and if I actually do it, I will be the happiest author alive. It’ll be the first real thing I stick to and keep up with.

My only worry in this with having a 7k cushion right now that one day I’ll be thinking, “oh I don’t really need to write, I have a giant cushion, it can wait.” And then a few days later, I’ll come to find I shouldn’t have done that because I’m behind on par again. That is my only worry with having this big a cushion right now, which makes me want to up it to 50k now.

Well, that and burning myself out on writing.

I’m also finding by writing my 1k for the day at midnight before I go to bed, I’m able to keep at it better. I’m a night owl, so this quiet, uninterrupted time is perfect for me to write. By getting that goal then, if not more like I did Tuesday night, it allows me to keep with par, and then go over it by adding more during the day after or before work. I’m finding this system is working. (Until I wear myself thin by needing to be up at early morning hours for work. Eh, that’s where the madness comes from, and where the energy drinks are appreciated.)

No matter what I do though, I am still steam rolling through this Camp and I’m not slowing down any time soon. Hopefully I don’t burn myself out this way, but right now, I’m just too excited to even think that way.

Now if only I knew what got me so organized and on fire for this, I would be really set. Maybe it’s the fact that I actually had some summaries and notes and other things planned out for a few chapters ahead of where I am.

I’ll probably never know.

But at least I’m accomplishing something with my descent into madness, I’m steamrolling along and there’s no sign of me slowing down.

(Now before I really get carried away here and bore all of you, I need to end this post. And sleep, considering I have to be up in less than six hours for work. Oops.)