Welcome to another edition of WriteOn, where we gather on Thursdays to discuss all aspects of writing.
While we here at WriteOn do a DaKoWriMo (DailyKos Writing Month) in January, with self-selected goals (and progress tracked in WriteOn diaries and comments), the “NaNoWriMo” (National Novel Writing Month) is in November and has a specific, 50k word goal.
Yes, November is hard for some people, but that was part of the purpose for picking the month. If you can achieve a lot in November around (U.S.) Thanksgiving and the beginning of the winter holiday season, think what you can carve out throughout the year. But 50k is still a heavy lift for many.
At some point, they added a “Script Frenzy” in April (for screenwriters), and a “Camp NaNoWriMo” in July (for self-selected goals), for two more events during the year. By the time I first did an April event in 2014, Script Frenzy was retired in place of a second Camp NaNoWriMo.
Camp, being at a different time and without the hard 50k goal, and being a smaller event, has sometimes been helpful for folks wanting to kickstart their writing. I found the external deadline helpful, and for a few years participated in both Camps (April, July) as well as the November main event.
July starts on Saturday!
Some more reminiscences and comments below the fold.
Camp has never been as big event in my region as November, but we used to organize write-ins and remind people the event was happening. One year, in fact, a bunch of us contributed and we rented a real cabin-camping site for a weekend “writing retreat” (a true Camp NaNo camping event). It was pretty amazing for productivity, being in the woods, no phone service, no Internet, in a big room with a bunch of other writers.
Of course, that was when Camp NaNoWriMo had its own, separate website, and participants were sorted into “cabins” with a cute little in-group messaging system that vanished a week or two after the event ended. I miss this version of the event.
Somewhere around 2015 or 2016, they added the ability to self-select non-word goals (hours, pages, lines, minutes) in addition to the word count. This feature, unfortunately, did not survive the Great Website Redesign (which also removed the formerly useful general forums AND the camp cabins) of, I think, 2019.
It’s a pity, but the primary motivation for me was twofold: First, there was an external timer, and second, even if your region didn’t do anything, you were connected with up to eleven others who were also doing the event.
If you’ve got some time this July, it might be worth it. Of course, the support that was there isn’t anymore, not to the same extent, and now there are plenty of other ways to track progress. My region, at least, sure seems to have lost a lot of the old oomph.
...which fits well with where I am, and why I’m not actually doing Camp this summer. As I wrote last week, I’m drained, and probably need to take some time refilling the creative well and recovering my enthusiasm.
Which leads me to the other bit. It was mentioned in (late) comments last week, but this is my last time hosting WriteOn for a while. The volunteer team which has been rotating through to keep this community space open could use a little help, so if anyone has an idea for a one off post (or wants to be utterly amazing and step in as a monthly contributor!), the team could use the help. Kosmail any of us who have been hosting regularly, reply in the comments, or touch base with mettle fatigue who has been keeping us moving, organized, and motivated.
Happy Writing, and maybe even Happy Camping!
Exercise/Challenge: Inspired by the camping weekend, in 300 words or fewer, create a scene with your main characters (or the stock characters for WriteOn) where they are isolated for a few days from their usual surroundings and whatever form of communication their setting is used to. What would they do? Would they relax, be frustrated? Would they turn on each other, or would it be a team-building exercise? Would they emerge stronger, weaker, or the same?
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