If you’ve been around this blog for a little while you probably know that I have a bad track record with CampNaNoWriMo. I’ve participated in every Camp since 2011, and I’ve lost every single time. High goal or low goal, it doesn’t matter. My losing streak continues.

Every day makes it more and more likely that I won’t reach my goal this month either. I’m not giving up. I’m not going to stop writing. Anything could happen as long as there is still time left to write! With my track record it does seem less and less likely that I will reach 50,000 words this month.

I actually don’t care if I lose. At this point I’ve already written 5,000 more words this month than I did last month, and there’s still a whole week to go! I might not get an official win, but I’ve already accomplished a lot.

That’s why I keep coming back to CampNaNoWriMo loss after loss. Anything that motivates me to write even just a bit more than I would otherwise is a good thing in my book. It’s an extra kick in the pants. It’s a burst of energy from all of the other people writing around me. I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

Whether I manage to win or lose CampNaNoWriMo I will be back next time. I’m being productive. I’m having fun. I might not get a nifty certificate at the end of the month, but that’s far from the greatest benefit of Camp. Being mindful about writing every day and trying to write more words per day than I would otherwise are both so much more useful than a winner’s certificate (even if having one is pretty neat).

If you’re like me and far behind on your word count goal, don’t give up. Don’t give up on your project. Don’t give up on CampNaNoWriMo. There’s so much you can get out of the experience without ever crossing the finish line.