And that's a wrap! Words cannot begin to describe what a journey it was to write this book. For months, Carter's story was only something that I thought about when I went to sleep each night, imagining what it might be like to actually write it out. I started writing this story back in 2018 which was not my smartest move (I had no idea what I was doing then). I learned a lot about myself and about writing over the last couple of years though, so I guess in the end it was all worth it.
There were many times where I wanted to give up and call it all off. I was sure I would never finish this story at the rate I was going, but then I proved myself wrong! I figured out what I needed to do to get the rest of this story written and I did it. After nights of scribbling in my notebook and writing until 2am, The Summer at Camazotz was finally complete.
I did finish this story back in August, but there was a lot of editing that needed to be done, especially on earlier chapters. And to be clear: this draft on wattpad is still far from perfect, but that's okay!
If you made it this far, thank you so much for giving this story a chance. And even if you quit after a few chapters, I still thank you. For anyone and everyone who thought they might give this book a second thought: thank you thank you thank you!
And before you say goodbye to this book, I've scraped together some fun facts about TSAC for you to read. I know I love when authors do this, so I hope you do too!
Sincerely,
astrocine ♡
FUN FACTS:
1. The idea for this story came to me as I was falling asleep one night. I dreamt up the same two scenes over and over until I finally decided I should write the idea down.
2. Part of the inspiration came after I watched Love, Simon. I adored the movie and thought it'd be fun to try writing my own story.
3. Astrid's name was originally Violet.
4. Chapters 1-18 were almost completely improvised. I somewhat knew where I wanted to end up, just not how to get there.
5. I didn't start actually outlining chapters until about halfway through the book because I finally realized I needed a guide if I was going to finish writing this.
6. I originally planned for Carter's cabin to come in second, but I liked the idea of Tammy of being a serious competitor better and let her snatch second place.
7. Chapters 16 and 33 were two of the first I wrote. I wrote them in my notes app about two years before I actually got to them in the story.
8. Carter and Jordan weren't going to speak at all after camp, which was the original reason for the confrontation at the end. As I got more into it though, I didn't feel like Jordan would leave Carter hanging like that and changed it.
9. I nearly changed Winston's name halfway into the story.
10. The Summer at Camazotz wasn't always set in stone, but I couldn't think of another title so I ultimately decided to leave it.
11. The first few chapters were written in third person and past tense, but I didn't feel it was working with this story, so I switched to first person and present tense.
12. I started writing this story in October-November of 2018 and finished writing it in August 2020. It was a very long and emotional process.
YOU ARE READING
The Summer at Camazotz
Teen FictionOne summer can change everything. • • • For Carter, living in the woods for a month sounds like a dream come true. It means no drama, no stress, and no responsibilities-well, almost. Determined to make the best of his summer, Carter becomes a camp...
