Welcome to Camp Nanowrimo!

     When I tell people that I am a writer I have a lot of people tell me that they want to write a book or that they have started a book. Normally what follows is the word "but". They would write, but there isn't enough time, or they can't get the right plot, characters, etc.

     If you have ever wanted to write a book, screen play, memoir, or a volume of poems or short stories, then Camp Nanowrimo is an excellent time to get started. It is an online community of writers who come together during the months of April and July (and November for Nanowrimo) to write. You can choose to write as little as 10,000 words or as many as 100,000.

     The best part of nano is the forums. Here you can get help for just about anything! If you can't quite hammer out your plot, you post, and people will respond with help. If you need a name for you medieval castle, you can ask and people will come up with all kinds of great ideas. There are threads for all types of questions, and if you need a good laugh, writers are quite hilarious. I normally visit for entertainment and end up laughing until I've got tears running down my face.

     The perks that specifically have to do with camp are the cabins, the merit badges, and the pep talks. If you join camp, then you can opt to be placed in a cabin. Here you are paired with 4-6 other writers who are placed with you based on age, genre, word count, and daily online activity. The cabins are amazing because it gives you a way to bond with other readers, laugh about writing issues, and bounce ideas off one another. We also constantly encourage each other to keep going!

     The merit badges are another great perk. You can earn badges for doing things like writing so many words under a table, or participating in at least five writing dares. They can be downloaded when you earn them to be printed off and collected. Although it may sound silly, it is actually a huge incentive to keep writing.

     Pep talks from the people who put on nano (The Office of Letters and Lights), and published authors are e-mailed throughout the month. It is neat to hear their background, their struggles, and their success stories. They come alongside and cheer you on, write amusing posts, and inspire you to keep typing.

     If this sounds like fun, then you can still join the April camp, or wait until the camp in July. Go to http://campnanowrimo.org for more information!

Typical look of the living room during nanowrimo!