Tag: chances

Five Reasons You Should do Camp NaNoWrimo This April

Every year, writers, both old and new, get together to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place several months out of the year and allows anyone to write a novel. April used to be for Scriptfrenzy, but now it’s all about the camp life, cabins, writing buddies, and writing a novel in 30 short days.

Here are some reasons why you should try Camp NaNoWriMo this April:

1. It’s a great start for a new project
If you are a writer, or even if you’re not, you could become one this April. Ever have that nagging idea that wants to be written, but you just never find the right time or place? Camp NaNo will give you that time, and the place could be anywhere. Even if it’s not a new project and just a rewrite, you can still have that rush of trying to make word count and the accountability of writing your novel. Either way, you get words on a page.

2. You can pick your own goal
Unlike NaNoWrimo (which is in November) where the word count is always 50,000 to win, in Camp NaNoWriMo, you can choose your own goal. Want to stay on par with NaNo and write 50,000 words? Go for it! Want to smash 50K and go for the big 100K? You can do that too! Scared of the 50 and want to go for something a bit less daunting? Go for 25K or 15K. You can put any number in that box. You can choose whatever you want. AND you can change it throughout the month, no matter what your progress so far.

3. Less busy time than November
Ahh, November, the time of writing a novel, getting together with family, and FINALS IN A WEEK?! If that sounds familiar, whether you are a student, or you have other events coming up in December that induce the same fear as finals, then Camp NaNoWriMo may be a better fit than its parent event. Since April is earlier in the year, and not so close to holidays and more stressful times of the year, it’s a bit less stressful to sit down and write. There aren’t as many tasks that need to be completed before the end of the year, and not as many family members around all up in your space. This makes noveling way less stressful.

4. Less holidays in April
Depending on the year, few major holidays are in April. Sometimes Easter falls in April, but that’s better than Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, and the rest of your family in your daily life for a week or more. In addition to less holidays and distractions, the weather is starting to get nice and inspiration is blooming outside, along with our moods.

5. More Choices
In addition to getting to choose your own word count, you can also choose your cabin mates. There are several ways you can choose them, or you can randomize it and meet all new people. The choice is yours, you can even choose to not have a cabin at all.

There are a lot more choices associated with Camp NaNoWriMo, so it would be a great introduction to NaNoWriMo and what it and the Office of Letters and Light are all about. You could win, or not, but you will definitely end the month with more words than you started with.

So why not try?

Camp NaNoWriMo: Here

Handwrite or type, just get some words down for Camp NaNoWriMo

What do you think about Camp NaNoWriMo? Are you going to participate?

Facing Our Fears

Sometimes, we don’t know what to call ourselves. Are we writers, novelists, authors, all of the above? When people ask us we often just shrug and say “I write stuff I guess…” or just kind of “I’m a writer but not published or anything” Does it matter what we call ourselves or what we say, as long as we write?

I used to struggle with calling myself a writer. I thought that no one would care, no one would appreciate it unless I had something to show for it. I used to write in secret, and I used to let only one person, or a few read my works (and those were first drafts!). I still don’t completely share all of my works yet, but maybe someday I will.

I started to call myself a writer pretty recently, when more people started calling me a writer. As I got older, I got more comfortable calling myself a writer, telling people what I do, what I want to do, what I feel I must do to enjoy this one life I have. So now, when people ask, first I say I’m a soon-to-be nurse (since I’m technically waiting to take the test that will make me a real practicing nurse), and then I say I’m a writer. Depending on who asks, it’s usually switched. I have been a writer way longer than I have ever even wanted to be a nurse.

An author, in my mind, is someone who makes money from their writing. I am not yet an author, but I want to be. Someday, you will all see my name on bookshelves everywhere. I just have to face the fear and dive into the publishing pool head first. And it is scary. The waiting and the rejection and the possibility of having my words out there is three parts exciting and one part pure and complete terror. So I cannot yet call myself an author, but I will someday.

I made the first step toward calling myself an author today. It’s a baby step, but I researched short story publishing today. There are a lot of choices, and so many more steps, but it was a start. It’s terrifying, but I am so glad I did it. It might be a while, but it is going to happen, and I am going to keep writing until it does happen.

Our fears may be frightening, looming before us like huge gates, holding us back from what we can achieve, but amazing things can happen when we face them. Courage, not fear, is the way we make our dreams come true.

This quote is so inspiring. Learning to live with my fear was one of the best things I ever did

What is your biggest writing fear? How do you plan to face it?