go to camp

It's here... Camp NaNoWriMo kicked off at 12:01 a.m.

Like National Novel Writing Month, held every November, Camp NaNoWriMo helps aspiring novelists, like me, get motivated enough to write a book. During the challenge, participants aim to complete 50,000 words during the month. Though this is not typically enough words to complete a full novel, it is certainly a good start.

Though the only prize is the self-satisfaction of being able to say you did it, it's a prize well worth having. Even if it isn't enough to fill a whole book, 50,000 words is certainly a good start. In most cases, it is half if not more than half the length of a full novel.

I am a big believer in this organization. I participated for the first time in November 2010, and I completed the first 50,000 words of my 96,000-word novel during the month.

If you are interested in participating, sign-up at www.campnanowrimo.org. If you are worried you won't have time in July, Camp NaNoWriMo will be held again in August.

Here's more information about it from the Camp NaNoWriMo website:

What is Camp NaNoWriMo?

Based on November's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), Camp NaNoWriMo provides the online support, tracking tools, and hard deadline to help you write the rough draft of your novel in a month... other than November!

Camp NaNoWriMo was established in 2011 as a project of the Office of Letters and Light, the parent 501(c)(3) nonprofit to National Novel Writing Month, and Script Frenzy, and the Young Writers Program. 2011 Camp NaNoWriMo sessions will take place in July and August.

* What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.
* Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.
* Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.
* When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster. Writing begins 12:00:01 AM on July 1, and again on August 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by 11:59:59 PM on the last day of the month. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Happy writing!