Camp NaNoWriMo 2014

Time for camp! Get out the smore's and gather around the campfire to tell your stories. Join the campers in Camp NaNoWriMo to get your novel written. Don't know about camp? Here's a little info from their website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. Participants work toward the goal of writing a 50,000-word draft during the month of November. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

Camp NaNoWriMo is a more open-ended version of our original November event. We have Camp sessions in both April and July, and we welcome word-count goals between 10,000 and 1,000,000. In addition, writers may attempt non-novel projects. Camp is a creative retreat for whatever you’re working on!

Sounds like fun, right? I enjoy participating in Camp NaNo more than the November version. First, because November is inevitably a busy time as I get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas and other family-related events that take most of my attention away from writing. Not that I don't write, but there's so much more to distract me.

Second, I love the fact that we can pick our own word-count for camp. I love challenging myself, but sometimes 50k in one month is just a bit much. On an average day, I can easily write between 500 - 1,000 words. I'm comfortable with that. There are those great days when I can hammer out 2,000 a day. I love those days! But, with a family of young children (ages 3, 6, & 8), I'm pulled away from my writing by their needs. Sometimes to settle disputes (fighting over toys!) or sometimes just because they need cuddle time (I adore hugs!). This year my word count goal is 30,000 words. I'd like to go a little higher, but I tend to get easily discouraged when I see that I'm falling behind in my word count goal. If I can keep to 1k a day, I'll be happy. 

Since I write every day anyway, why do I bother signing up for camp? I enjoy chatting with other writers. Writing can be a very solitary existence. There aren't too many people who can understand a writer's fears & struggles, joys & triumphs. It's great to connect with like-minded people just so we don't feel alone. And in the past, I've made great friends by connecting with other NaNo participants.

If you aren't ready for April, there's another camp session in July. I'll probably participate in both since I have an abundance of story ideas floating around. :)

You can check my progress here.

Happy Writing!