Are you participating in Camp NaNo this year?
What is Camp NaNo?
National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, takes place every November. It is an intense challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Over the years, the NaNoWriMo community has grown and developed such an amazing support system. Every year, I try to participate, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t even come close to winning, but I love to make the attempt.
It started out as a challenge to write 50,000 words of a new fictional novel. As it gained popularity, however, breaking these rules became popular. These “rule-breakers” are known as NaNo Rebels. NaNo Rebels can be someone who is continuing a story they’ve already started, someone who chooses to revise or edit their novels, and some even use it to write nonfiction, papers for school, or other writing projects.
As the number of NaNo Rebels increased, there became a desire for something other than the once-a-year novel challenge. Camp NaNoWriMo debuted in 2011. Camp NaNo is a way to officially write whatever writing project you may have, while still having the community and support of NaNoWriMo.
The Community
I think what I like about NaNoWriMo the most is the sense of community and resources available to writers around the country. Everyone who participates is in the same boat, trying to reach that 50,000 word count by the end of the month.
The Camp NaNo community is just as encouraging as NaNoWriMo is in November. Camp NaNo still has writing buddies, write-ins, goal trackers, events, swag. You name it.
The Time of Year
Like many people, I have a busy life. I have three little kids and November is the beginning of the holiday season. We are always so busy at that time of year, sometimes 1,667 words every single day is hard to reach.
Camp NaNo takes place in April and June. This means there are usually less distractions, but with the same amount of support, I tend to be much more productive.
You Set Your Own Goal
The pressure is off! You are not locked into the 50,000 words and you get to set your own word count goal.
I love that Camp NaNo allows me to set a different goal that is more achievable. I’ve always been more of a nonfiction and short stories writer. So for Camp NaNo, I can easily work on a short story or one of my children’s books, and not have to worry about not hitting 50,000 words.
CHECK OUT THE WRITER’S PLANNER BY QUILL AND TOME!
Get the planner and organize your life and your writing!
What you can find inside:
- Plenty of writing space in a vertical layout
- Undated weekly and monthly pages you can start using any day of the year
- Reading and Writing Trackers
- Writing Tips
- and so much more!
Over to You
NaNoWriMo is a wonderful writing challenge that I encourage any writer to take part in at least once. It is a great way to build a habit of writing every day and make some real progress on your story. However, NaNoWriMo can be a little intense.
Camp NaNo is essentially a toned-down version. There is more flexibility on what and how much you need to write (and still win!). It can help you create a writing routine at a time of year that is much less demanding.
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Hopefully, you found this helpful.
Get back into writing today and participate in Camp NaNo!
Write On,
The Team at Quill and Tome
