Tag: Campnanowrimo

Going to Camp!

April 1st, 2023

It’s a rainy day, cats are lounging in the Scriptorium, and I am sitting down to write. You know that means?

Happy first day of Camp NanoWrimo!

For those that do not know, Camp NaNoWrimo is an offshoot of NaNoWriMo, which is a collective journey to improve writing stamina by attempting to write 50,000 words in the month of November. Sometimes I accomplish this goal, often I don’t, but it’s a good way to invest energy in a passion that often gets neglected.

CampNanoWrimo is considerably more relaxed than its predecessor. Instead of having a singular goal within the community, writers get to determine what is feasible based on their own capabilities. This is great for a person like me who wants to write but has a lot of other obligations that make 1667 words a day not feasible (unless you count all the written communication that I compose….). Personally, with teaching, grading, and indexing, I do not have much time, so I have taken to only doing the Camps.

When setting goals, it is important to make sure that they are actually feasible. I don’t know about most writers, but I am a dreamer. What I want to achieve and what I can feasibly accomplish often do not co-exist. When I create writing goals, I used to end up getting defeated because the failure of not accomplishing them converted into feeling like a failure as a writer. Until I learned about the S.M.A.R.T. goals method. Kimberlee Leonard and Rob Watts have a great overview of this concept in their Forbes article titled “The Ultimate Guide To S.M.A.R.T. Goals.” It’s a great read for anyone wanting to get things done. Be forewarned: they include the benefits and drawbacks of the process, which shows that it is not an entirely perfect get rich with your goals quick scheme. It will require you experimenting with your goals, reflecting on them, and making strategic changes to the process.

Here is an example of how I broke down my Camp NaNoWrimo goal using the S.M.A.R.T. goals method:

Goal: Finish my novel

Specific: Compose 15,000 words in 30 days.

Measurable: 30 days/15,000 equals roughly 500 words a day.

Achievable: I have timed my average speed of writing/thinking during the drafting process, and it will take about 45 minutes to compose 500 words. I can incorporate that into my schedule if I add it to my planner.

Relevant: I consider myself a writer, so I need to invest time in the process.

Time-bound: Deadline April 30^th, which concludes Camp NaNoWrimo. I will invest an hour a day on the weekdays, and two on Saturdays and Sundays, which should give me a healthy buffer if anything unexpected demands my attention.

Did I mention that Camp NaNoWrimo is a great opportunity to meet fellow writers and gain a support network?

Let’s be buddies! You can find my participation page here.
Camp NaNoWriMo Is Back!

June 26th, 2019

If you have never heard of CampNaNoWrimo, I have written about it before in other blog posts, but the gist is that for the month of July writers set goals and hold each other accountable via intimate forum based groups.

It’s my understanding that NaNo time is supposed to be spent drafting and the off time revising/planning. I suppose that’s a good process, but I’m still revising the 50,000 words I wrote in November, not including all the new extra 30,000+ from April’s CampNaNoWrimo. I’m a slow revisionist, very meticulous in my ability to procrastinate revising, and so it’s not in my best interest to devote July to drafting more words.

As such, this Camp NaNoWriMo I am going to embrace the art of the red pen!

I don’t actually own a red pen, so a red highlighter will have to do…

There will be many surgical cuts, padding where needed and sometimes complete overwrites. It will be hard to capture word count, which is the conventional progress tracking system of fellow Nanoers.

With my trusty stopwatch app on my phone, I will be tracking hours. My goal is to dedicate one hundred hours to the revision process, essentially turning my goal into a part time summer job. Or should it be considered an internship, as I am not really getting paid?

I will also be reviewing the audio book English Grammar Bootcamp from my favorite linguist, Anne Curzan. This series is great, and I gush about it at least once a day at work. I like to pair my writing process with good literature like it’s a fine wine.

Good luck to my fellow NaNo peeps!
I’m Going to Camp!!!

March 29th, 2019

Camp NaNoWriMo is only a few short days away, and I’m excited!

For those not in the know, Camp NanoWrimo is the love child of NanoWriMo, a time away from the vigorous expectation of the elder namesake and it’s 50,000 words within a single month of craziness.

My story idea is a new one that I’ve been developing: a child not too school savvy who has fallen in love with only one book of his life, and it ends with a cliffhanger. The need to find the sequel to the book is strong, but it seems the author never got around to making it! What’s a kid to do? Give up?! Obviously, the answer is no!

One of my favorite features of the Camp experience is that YOU, the amazing writer with a million other responsibilities, get to make your own manageable goal. Forget the NaNoWriMo box; create your own!

This month I will try to write 30,000, which is about 30,000 more than I wrote for the month of February.

Ok I lied, I spent some time writing poetry.

But drafting stories is a mixture of feeling almost godlike to being reduced to a mere mortal within the same breath.

It’s not good for the blood pressure some days.

Which is why the second unique feature of CampNanoWrimo is so valuable: bunkmates! In a forum-based discussion group, you are paired with various people (or create your own cabin) to have a support group.

So far my bunkmates are ready for action!

Anyone else participating in CampNaNoWriMo this year?