Why I love Camp NaNoWriMo
The July 2019 session of Camp NaNoWriMo starts in one week, and I am super excited! I'll be working on revisions to my current work in progress, hoping that I might actually have a draft ready to hand over to my (endlessly patient) beta readers before the year 2050.
Never heard of Camp NaNoWriMo? It's an off-shoot of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). During their namesake event each November, writers are challenged to write an entire (short) novel in one month.
If that sounds like an interesting challenge, the good news is that you don't have to wait until November to give it a try. Twice a year in April and July, the good folks over at NaNoWriMo host Camp NaNoWriMo.
I actually prefer Camp over NaNo Classic. Why? I've got three big reasons.
You don't have to write 50K Words
During the November event, everyone who signs up has the same goal: to write a novel, which in the case of this challenge means at least 50,000 words. That's an intimidating goal for a lot of people. If writing isn't your full-time gig, it can be hard to find the time to crank out an average of 1,667 words per day needed to hit that target. Not to mention the fact that one's writing can get pretty dicey if you're just throwing words down to hit a certain number. The last time I did it, more than half the work was cut later even though I had outlined the thing before I started.
But during Camp, the pressure to meet a lofty word count goal is taken away. You can shoot for 50k if you want, but you can also...
Create Your Own Goals
During Camp NaNoWriMo, campers set their own goals. You can choose a word count goal, or a page number goal, or - if you're like me - a goal for how much time you want to spend writing during the month. I love that freedom, because it allows you to still take advantage of the opportunity to write in the context of the amazing NaNo community while pursuing a goal that fits with your own life.
I've found that time goals work the best for me. A stated goal gives me the accountability of protecting a certain amount of time for writing each month, which builds momentum in my work, and that consistency results in more forward progress than simply a bigger word count. Not all of the work that I'm doing on my project means writing new words. There's a lot of time spent researching, re-outlining, crafting a sentence, etc.
And since writing is generally a pretty solitary activity, it's nice to do it in the context of an online...
Community
The community created through cabins is, to me, one of the best parts of camp. Each participant is placed in a "cabin" group with up to 19 other campers. Or, you can create a cabin of your own and invite others to join you. There are cabins with all kinds of different themes, so if you want to be in a group of all YA fantasy writers, you can. Want all your cabin mates to be over 65? There's a cabin for that. Maybe you want a cabin filled with people who live in your area. You can do that.
Each cabin also has it's own chat room, which is a great way to get to know your fellow campers and encourage each other in a more focused and intimate setting that the regular NaNoWriMo forums.
I've been in a cabin with the same group of moms for the last four sessions of camp, and they have been an invaluable source of inspiration and a wonderful cheering squad. We do writing sprints together, share advice, and cheer each other up when the kids skip their naps and we miss writing sessions. We've even kept in touch with each other over social media so we can continue chatting and encouraging each other between camps.
Have you been sitting on an idea for a book but don't know where to start? Are you on the fence about trying National Novel Writing Month because it sounds like too much pressure? You should totally try Camp! It's a great way to kickstart your writing goals in a fun, low pressure setting. And you'll just might make some awesome new friends along the way.
Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this year? You should also join in on the camp-themed Instagram photo challenge I'm hosting this month using #campinstawrimo! You can find me on Insta as @lauralarockwrites.