Happy Monday and Happy July 1st!

Today is the start of Camp NaNoWriMo. Oh boy. I was going to write about my lack of motivation, lack of direction, and general blah feeling about my writing. But, alas, there’s a deadline looming so I’m going to have to get my project on the go.

I’ve made a list of some resources I’ve found while struggling with my own self-doubt, lack of organization, and lack of motivation. I’ve had the “why bother?”s and the “this story isn’t good at all”s for a couple of weeks now. I even stopped bothering with reading because it wasn’t making me want to write anything.

But now I have to bite the bullet. I have to get my head down and just crank out 50,000 words this month. I’ve been worrying about the whole outline, and how I tend to just jump in by the seat of my pants and write. Now I’m going to work with a plan, or a marginal plan, and just put one word in front of the other. Every day.

I was watching Joyce Meyer the other day who said something about, “Work because of who you are, don’t try to find out who you are by working.” The key is to know what you’re good at and enjoy doing. I enjoy it, but I have the desire to share with people because I’m so people-minded. I like the recognition and the approval, and that holds me up a lot during the initial creative process.

It’s like Anne Lamott says she prays that she gets out of her own way, so she can write. I think that’s the key. Our hang-ups and second-guessing will keep us from just doing. Nothing gets accomplished by not doing. I’d rather write a bad book, then not write a book at all.

So here are some links I’ve found that may be of interest to other writers going to Camp today:

• The 10 Types of Writers’ Block (and How to Overcome Them) on io9
• How Dan Brown and other authors defeat writer’s block – I’m with King on the tea, vitamins, and organized papers.
• Famous Authors’ Handwritten Outlines for Great Works of Literature
• The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Writing Fiction (newsletter)
• What Selling Lemonade Can Teach Us About Writing
• 7 Reasons Writing A Book Makes You A Badass (#1: Writing a book is hard.)
• Wow. If You Think Quitting Booze Freaks People Out, Wait ‘Til You Quit Twitter – after my days of lukewarm feelings for Twitter, this made me smile

Here’s my Camper Profile, so feel free to add me as a friend. See you at camp!