First Time Attending Camp NaNoWriMo
As some folks might know, I’ve written many, many years for the NaNoWriMo challenge. This is how I worked through the Dreigiau series and how I’ve started writing Runne. The past three Novembers, I’ve pushed for 50K by writing Runne segments. However, this year, I decided to try something different: I’m doing NaNo in July!
Several years back, I did something I called a Mini-NaNo, which was a challenge to that helped me complete Darkstar during one summer month. This actually worked for me, though the word goal was nowhere near 50K. I was basically writing until I got it finished.
Camp NaNo feels somewhat the same. Instead of 50K, you can set your own goal — I chose to attempt 25K. There aren’t any real hard rules, aside from “Write.” You are also placed into a cabin (think summer camp theme) with other writers, who you can choose or allow to be randomly assigned. You associate with these writers through a shout box interface on the cabin page, which is pretty neat! It’s cool to have these short chats with other writers, see their novel pages, their word counts, their goals, and ultimately cheer each other on.
I’ve written myself into a dark place in Runne, so I decided to try a new/old story: re-writing Shimmer into a novel, which I call Shadows of Zot. It’s the first time I’ve tried to transplant a story from one storytelling tool to another. This allows me to touch on a lot of things in story and character that I never could in the original comic. Who knows… I might turn the novel into a comic one day if I like it better than the original (a joke).
For those who are taking this challenge, good luck! For those who are curious and want to try, I don’t think it’s too late! It’s just the first day.
See my Camp NaNoWriMo profile here.