Camp NaNo - Still not started!

Well, it's now Day 5 of Camp NaNo and that officially puts me 5 days behind. BUT I'm not worried because I'm at CAMP! Real camp, with cabins, camp-outs, s'mores, everything!

I had a lot of fun sat in airports people-watching. I even bought myself a notebook (which was annoying, as I had TWO in my suitcase) to write down my observations and some story ideas.

I arrived in Indianapolis late last night, and watched Fourth July fireworks the whole drive from the airport. I fell asleep to the sounds of nearby fireworks too, which was pretty cool.

I had a bit of a scare at immigration, where it looked quite likely that they'd send me home to the UK, but thankfully they let me through. Many thanks to the camp Program Director for taking a phone-call from them, and confirming that I am an unpaid volunteer!

I woke up at 8am, Indy time, absolutely wide awake and no jet-lag to speak of. WIN! I refused to get up then though, since I knew everyone else would still be in bed, so I dozed on and off for the next few hours. I then unpacked, got a nice hot shower, and generally felt much more human.

I've spent the rest of the day catching up with my camp friends from last year, getting up to date with my Facebook, etc. I probably could have spent that time doing some writing, but never mind! It'll get done :)

I'm now surrounded by Americans and New Zealanders, and am having trouble understanding half of what people are saying, but it's definitely good to be back. Bring on the kids!

Charli

Camp NaNo - Day 1

As expected, I'm already behind on Camp NaNo. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the month!

The drive to Cumbria was absolutely lovely, though. It was a 6 hour round trip - the furthest I've ever driven. The morning was spent trying to research travel insurance for my upcoming trip to Indianapolis.  I didn't get very far on getting the insurance due to quirky internet, but I'm working on it.

This evening my brain has been reduced to mush (as I said - furthest I've ever driven!), but I've been having fun researching more images for my story. That totally counts, right?!

Tomorrow I intend to get some packing done for real camp, buy my travel insurance, and get some writing done for Camp NaNo. You never know, it could happen!

I'm a little put out that my cabin group for Camp NaNo doesn't have ANYONE that I requested, and one of the campers has a character with a very similar name to one of my main characters. I'm already turning into a paranoid writer..!

Good luck to all my friends doing Camp NaNo, hopefully I'll get some writing done this month..! :)

Charli

Camp NaNo - Nearly Time!

First of all, where did June go?! I'm sure it was only recently I was celebrating my birthday, doesn't feel like 2 months have gone by!

Tomorrow is the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo, and I'm already falling behind. Tomorrow I'll be driving my sister and her boyfriend to the Lake District for a holiday, which (along with other errands I need to run) writes off my whole day. No pun intended.

Then on Thursday I fly to Indianapolis for 5 weeks. I'll be up with the sun, toiling all day in sweltering, humid temperatures, running around after squealing children until late at night. That's right, I'm headed back to camp! I'm volunteering for 4 weeks, then have a week's leeway for possible travel. I've been invited to go to Kentucky to visit one of the friends I made at camp last year so I may do that. I go wherever the wind takes me, basically! If I get to tick off another state (I aim to visit all 50 - I'm approximately a 3rd of the way through) then all the better.

Basically, all this means that if I get ANY writing done (never mind hitting my target), it'll be a Camp Magic Miracle.

Wish me luck!

Camp NaNoWriMo - Preparation

I've been trying to get myself ready for Camp NaNoWriMo.  Unlike the last camp I went on, this isn't an actual, physical camp, so prep is a little different.  This year, I'm not packing a suitcase full of flip-flops and shorts.  Instead, I'm organising my proposed novel.

I've decided (for now??) that I'll be working on a fantasy novel.  This idea for this story came out of an activity in A215 (creative writing course), and I've been toying with it ever since.  I looked back on my notes (all in one Word document) and found it quite confusing scrolling back and forth through the pages.  Some of my novel writing friends recommended downloading novel writing software.  Two names came out of their recommendations - ywriter, and Scrivener.

Scrivener has a 30 day trial, but if you want to continue with it afterwards, you have to buy it.  It's not hugely expensive, but I'm a little unwilling to part with cash.  Especially if I don't know if I'll find it useful.

ywriter is free. Now that's my favourite word!  So, I've decided to start with ywriter, and see if the concept is something I can use.  If it doesn't do everything I need, I can always 'upgrade' to Scrivener.

Findings so far -

I've only really been using ywriter for a day.  I started with it last night, and have been busily loading my characters into the programme, along with my plot-outline.  This is quite a long, cumbersome process, but I imagine that will be the case no matter what programme I'm using.  Once I've got started, I imagine it will speed up considerably.

Now, I like to also find photos that inspire me.  This is one place where ywriter falls down for me.  It gives you the option to load a photo onto your character profile, which is great, but there's isn't one photo that represents my character.  I'm doing research, I want her hair, her jewellery, her clothes, her pets, her tattoos...I need a whole host of photos per character.  Pinterest is my "go to" for photos, but they all get jumbled together.  That's great for a quick overview, I can scroll through and get a feel for the whole setting, but I'd like to have it organised into subfolders.  I'm a little obsessive that way.  I've created individual character folders onto My Documents, but that seems a bit long-winded.  If I could have all those photos within the novel writing software, that would be fantastic.  I don't know if Scrivener has that option, but if it does, that might be the point that sways me.  We shall see.

Other than that, I'm enjoying ywriter.  I've not started writing yet, as I'm trying not to be a Camp NaNo "rebel", and don't want to start writing until July 1st.  I'll get all my planning done, possibly right down to individual scenes, but won't start writing the main content of the novel.

I'll keep you posted on how I'm getting along with ywriter, and might try out the Scrivener trial as well for comparisons sake.

Camp NaNoWriMo - July 2013

For reasons even I don't fully understand, today I signed myself up for Camp NaNoWriMo (July 2013)!  I've been taking a break from writing since I finished my Open University course, A363 (Advanced Creative Writing - level 3 course), but figured this would be a good way to get back into it again.  What can I say, I guess I'm a sucker for deadlines!

Plus, I'm used to working very long hours, and studying on top of all of that, so with a 10 week summer holiday stretching ahead, I felt the need to fill the time somehow.  So far I'll be doing Camp NaNo, and probably an online TEFL course.  And working, if someone will give me a job for the summer.  And spending time with my family, of course.  Yes, I suppose that will keep me just nicely busy!

I'm now in a flat spin about Camp NaNo though, what on earth do I write?!  I've been toying with the idea of a fantasy novel since A215 (Creative Writing - the level 2 course), but whenever I try and write it, it's just a bit...well...rubbish.  I could write about some of my wacky adventures from the last few years, so many people tell me I should, but I wouldn't know where to start.  Plus, it's all well and  good saying "write what you know", but that's actually really quite difficult!  Or it is for me, anyway.  If I don't do either of those things, then what?!

All I can say is - it's a good job I have a month to figure it out...

Almost there!

Today I submitted my final assignment for my Advanced Creative Writing course, through the Open University.  That means that my next course (Children's Literature, starting in October) will be my final course.

This time next year, I'll be submitting my last ever assignment as an undergraduate, and will graduate at last - after starting my degree when I was 18.  I just turned 24.

Over the last six years (seven, by the time I graduate) I have -

- Studied two years of Psychology at Bangor University
- Spent two years on a 'gap year', turning my life upside down
- Studied two years of Creative Writing through the Open University
- Eloped to Canada, got married, and been separated
- Gained a sister, and a lot of cousins
- Made new friends, and had to question old ones
- Worked as a waitress, a cleaner, a shop assistant, a bar-tender, a complaints handler, a camp counsellor, a photography gallery manager, and an assistant house parent
- Been on Job Seekers Allowance twice
- Moved out (and in again) six times - including once to the USA
- Visited twelve states in the USA

It's been one heck of a ride over the past few years, and I'll be glad when it's finally over.  I'm sad to no longer be a Creative Writing student, though.  I've made a lot of great friends over the last two courses, and wish you all the best with your future (and best-selling, I'm sure) writing.  Hope to see someone you on the Children's Literature course!

As I'm now so close to the end of a (very) long chapter, I feel this is a moment that can only truly be described through song.  Ahem.

I know exactly where I'm going
Getting closer and closer every day
And I'm almost there, I'm almost therePeople down here think I'm crazy, but I don't careTrials and tribulations, I’ve had my share
There ain't nothing gonna stop me now ‘cause I'm almost there
- Tiana, Disney's Princess and the Frog


Best wishes!
Charli

Dear Supermarkets...

Dear Supermarkets,

Please allow me to introduce my little sister, Princess Lollipop.

She is 4 years old, and full of attitude.  Her favourite foods are cheese sandwiches, ice cream, and milkshakes.

Two weeks ago, she was diagnosed as lactose intolerant.

This has meant a major upheaval in our house as we adjust.  In case you didn't notice, all of her favourite foods involve milk.  She'd watch us eating these things, and in a forlorn little voice ask "Can I just smell it...?".  Luckily, several of our vegan friends have stepped forward with advice and recommendations.

Mum and I trekked out to one of the supermarkets, armed with a list.  Our first trip wasn't very successful.  We found some of the items they suggested, such as Swedish Glace ice cream (she's now obsessed with it!), vitalite margarine, and oat milk.

We spent ages searching for the chocolate oat drink suggested, and could only find it in small cartons.  Big disappointment.  She had wanted it on her rice crispies to make it "chocolatey", and it was a nightmare trying to squirt it out of the plastic straw!

A few days later, Dad and I were in Tesco.  We were overwhelmed by their lactose-free foods, and their "Free From" range. There were shelves upon shelves of yoghurts, milks, cheeses, and more!  She was over the moon to be allowed cheese sandwiches again, and loves her chocolate milk (which Tesco have in proper sized cartons).

I had never realised just how many foods have milk in.  Thankfully, on the whole, her diet has gone on with relatively simple substitutes.

Then today I rang my mum from the supermarket, with what I thought was a straight-forward question - "What cake would you like for your birthday?".  We chatted about the different cakes for a minute, when mum suddenly realised...Princess Lollipop couldn't eat any of them.  Even Tesco's "Free From" range didn't include cakes.  Mum's birthday is tomorrow, and our days are generally very hectic.  Not much time for baking (and we're not very good at it anyway).  She decided to pass on the birthday cake entirely, rather than tell her 4 year old that she wasn't allowed any.

So, supermarkets, I have a request on behalf of our little princess - please could you provide a lactose-free cake?  We're not asking for a wide range, or for intricate designs, just for one cake option.

There are many bakeries out there who specialise in lactose-free cakes, such as Peace of Cake London, which is fantastic, but in this economic climate, they're not always very affordable.  Plus there's the convenience factor of being able to stop by your local supermarket and just grab a cake off the shelf.

Thank you,

Charli & Princess Lollipop

PS.  I tweeted Tesco's Customer Support this same request, and they replied saying "Now that would be a great thing to have.  I'll pass on a suggestion".  I explained it was for Princess Lollipop, and they said "Awwww, I really hope we're able to sort something out for her".  Here's hoping the other supermarkets can be as helpful!

***

Edit (01/05/2013): Today is my birthday, and we went to the store to buy me a cake.  I'd already spoken to Princess Lollipop, and she was perfectly happy that we'd all have cake, and she'd have a bowl of her beloved, lactose-free ice cream. She's planning on having a candle and everything (which she will blow out - obviously). She picked my cake for me, and was generally very happy about the entire situation. Then she decided to choose a cake for her birthday (next February). I had to break it to her that she would still be lactose intolerant at her next birthday, and so she couldn't have one of those cakes from the shop. She burst into tears in the middle of the aisle, sobbing that she wanted a 'pretty, Disney Princess cake, or an awesome Star Wars cake'. She sulked around the rest of the shop, and was in a foul mood after that. We did go and speak to Customer Services, to ask why they didn't offer a 'free from' cake, and we were told to speak to the bakery. I won't name and shame, but they were definitely NOT as helpful as Tesco.