7 Alternatives to Camp NaNoWriMo7/5/2022 If you’re a writer who’s not working on a novel or a novelist who’s not the greatest fan of strict word counts, July’s version of National Novel Writing Month, or Camp NaNoWriMo, might not be for you. Have no fear, however, because one of the following options will probably be suited to your July needs. Most of these are November events, traditionally alternatives to NaNoWriMo, but they fit well as alternatives to Camp NaNo as well.
0 Comments
Setting Realistic Writing Goals7/4/2022 As wonderful as it is to have written, the actual writing part can be difficult. With writing comes inevitable rewrites, blocks, and bouts of imposter syndrome. We want to get our ideas out on paper and published as soon as possible. This drive coupled with the thinking “I’m not a real writer if I don’t write 1,000 words a day” can actually slow your roll and create more blocks in your process.
Believe me, I understand the longing to write as much as possible. But setting too high a goal too early will deter you. Let’s say your current writing goal features throwing 500 words onto a page each day. Maybe you start off fine, especially during the summertime or over the weekends. Suddenly, you miss a day. You went to school and got swamped with homework, or you picked up more hours at work because life costs way too much money. When you finally reach your designated writing time, you’re too exhausted to put pen to paper or fingertip to keyboard. Your brain locks up, and the voice in the back of your head screams “SEE YOU AREN’T A REAL WRITER I TOLD YOU SO”. How to Win Camp NaNo July 20227/2/2022 What if you were one decision away from finishing writing your book, or starting the one that gets you a contract? Today is the perfect day to start a Camp NaNo Project. You could write a poem every day, finish four short stories, write 10 chapters of your book, outline a new project, draft a screenplay—literally whatever you want to do, you can do it!
What is Camp NaNo? I’m glad you asked. Camp NaNo is a choose-your-own-adventure writing program that runs twice a year, in April and July. Unlike the rigid 50K word requirement in November, during Camp you get to make your own goal, and it doesn’t even have to be writing—you can also edit previous work. Camp is meant to increase your engagement and productivity towards writing, so any kind of goal is a good one. At times frustrating and rewarding, editing and revising your draft inevitably comes around in the writing process. You might feel a sense of impending dread as you approach this stage, but fear not! Editing is where the magic happens. You’ve gotten the ideas down on paper; now comes the time to bring clarity to them.
Take a deep breath, and prepare yourself. It won’t be easy, and you’ll probably have to kill some darlings, but it’s all for the best. This is the part where you start making your story the best it can be. Here’s a few questions to keep in mind: What? YOUR DRAFT is evolving!6/25/2022 What do Pokémon and writing a book have in common? Evolution. Don’t believe me? Have you seen what a first draft looks like?? My book has come so far from its first form—leveled up as I’ve gained experience, if you will. Pokémon metaphors aside, revising a book really does change it from draft to draft. The writing journey is different for everyone, but I hope this article gives you some expectations for how your book will change with each draft and what to focus on using my own experience.
Let’s call my book Seaside, since that’s the code name I gave it. The first time I thought about this project, I wanted Romeo and Juliet set in a coastal town. My book is now nowhere near Romeo and Juliet, but it was the idea that sparked my interest. Here’s the first change to look out for: from inspiration to outline (or straight into drafting if you prefer). Ideas change. You may find your original idea won’t work for a whole story and run in a new direction. Embrace the change and trust your instincts, and that goes for every stage of writing. Hello, my name is Grayson and I’ve been writing for JUVEN Press for more than a year now, wow. On top of over 40 articles, I’ve been writing my own projects for the past ten years and very seriously for the last 2 and a half. In this article, I’m presenting seven lessons learned with a hack so you can try them out yourself. I don’t claim to be the font of wisdom for what you should do or how you should write, but I hope you’ll take away something you can use to write faster, better, and happier.
It’s getting close to that time of year! Mark up your calendars, count down the days, and prep your prompt lists!
For those who are unfamiliar, Escapril is a yearly poetry/writing challenge put together by poet and author Savannah Brown (link her site here). The challenge is technically for poetry, but it can be used for any other form of writing or art that you’d like! In practice, it functions similarly to the art challenge Inktober (in which you do an art piece with ink, every day in October). Every year at the start of March, a list of prompts is released, for anyone who likes to prepare or plan (you can find the official account and the prompts here: official Escapril account 2022 Escapril prompts ). If you asked me two years ago if I was a writer, I would have said no. I had ideas for stories back then and even tried writing one, but none of them were fully committed to. But halfway through 2020, the seed of an idea bloomed, and today, I wouldn’t call myself anything else but a writer (except for maybe author, fingers crossed!). At the start of a new year, I find myself reflecting on 2021 and its lessons about writing and my relationship towards it. Here are seven things 2021 taught me about writing.
Camp NaNoWriMo — abbreviated “Camp”— is different from NaNoWriMo in November because it's more flexible. Unlike in November, the event in July and April encourages all kinds of writing projects from short stories to memoir. Challenge yourself to write a poem everyday, or draft a film script!
But first, a pep talk. It’s easy for things to get in the way of writing or to not feel up to it — don’t beat yourself up for that. The spirit of NaNoWriMo is to have fun and be creative. Camp is meant to be flexible and tailored to the writer, so work at whatever pace is comfortable for you. Word count goals can be as low or as high as you want. I participated in Camp last April and had a fun time writing 20,000 words while enrolled in university. Even a goal of 100 words is progress, and you can change your goal almost anytime until the end of Camp. Because Camp is so flexible, it also doesn't matter if you start late. So set your goal for whatever you want! Ready to get started? Here’s how to create a Camp NaNoWriMo project! Categories
All
Archives
September 2022
|