Camp NaNoWriMo Wrap Up

Let's talk about how Camp NaNoWriMo went.

Perhaps more accurately, let's talk about how it didn't go.

As of the writing of this post, I have written 1,394 words. I haven't had to save my draft document since the 12th of the month. I haven't written a word for this project since April 12th. Today is April 30th, the last day of Camp NaNoWriMo, and I won't be writing.

Let's just call a spade a spade and say it: this month was a complete failure.

I was so excited for this project. I planned, I researched, I created. I had a timeline and Pinterest boards and details about characters that would probably never be used. I had been looking forward to actually writing this project since January. Fast forward to now, April 30th, and I haven't even opened the Word document since the second week of the month. What went wrong?

1. I have been working - a lot. I work at a restaurant, and we recently opened our ice cream portion for the season. This means a lot of me training new employees and a lot of me working all day (while the younger helpers are still in school). My shifts are often 2-9 during the week and 12-9 on the weekend. When I get home, I don't want to do anything. When I wake up, I don't want to do anything besides watch Black Sails and get ready for the day. This presents a problem for writing progress. I am still spending tons of time reading, but writing is a different time of commitment that I haven't been willing to make.
2. I have been doing other things. Like the above-mentioned TV watching and reading. Like catching Tigers games when I can (which isn't a lot, sadly). Like blogging (slowly, but surely) and watching YouTube videos, and generally wasting time. There really is no excuse here.
3. I have lost my excitement over the project. I still like the idea, don't get me wrong. I think the months of planning leading up to Camp left me drained when it came to the actual writing process. Is that a thing that can happen? I was so excited and so ready and so motivated and, then, nothing. I spent so much time researching and plotting for what? Thirteen hundred words? I have a story in my head but my words aren't lining up with it. I have written something that I think is decent, but I just don't know what else to write and where else to go.