Things I’ve Learned From Camp NaNoWriMo

We’re gearing up for the next Camp NaNoWriMo session in July! Now that you can announce your newest writing project on the site, we’re starting to think about how to best prepare. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Lolita shares a few tips on setting goals and maintaining a daily writing habit before it starts:

When I participated in the NaNoWriMo challenge in November 2018,  I managed to hit the 50,000 words challenge by retyping my second draft into a third draft. Mostly, I felt like a cheat because I thought I should have written something new. So, when I received the newsletter about signing up for Camp NaNoWriMo in April, I decided to participate.

For Camp, I decided to tackle the first draft of my second book. Then I could feel like I really achieved something. I got the laptop setup and ready to go. I was full of good intentions before I even started. But I quickly realized that I’d made a mistake. Sitting in front of the computer screen, I couldn’t write a word! I knew what I wanted to write. I knew my characters. I knew the places they were supposed to go to and who they were supposed to meet. I shared some of my struggles with fellow writers via the virtual cabin and realized that it’s okay. I’m still a writer. We are all different, therefore we all write in our own quirky ways.

For me, the hardest thing about being a writer is not a blank page and writers block. For me, it’s the internal battle of feeling like a fake. 

I’d think to myself: This can’t be the way successful writers create a masterpiece. I never used to speak about those problems because I was the only writer I knew. My husband—while being supportive—does not understand what the writing life is like. Friends and family did not know about my writing until I told them, recently. Camp NaNoWriMo made me realize that I can do this. I am a writer. For me, Camp has been a liberating experience. I don’t know if I reached my target of 50,000 words in April because I didn’t type anything into a computer. But, I wrote a lot freehand.

The main thing I’ve learned in Camp NaNo is that while writing is something we do alone, we are not really alone. 

We can ask always for advice from the Writing Community.

I’ve spread the word about the benefits of NaNo (and Camp). I will definitely participate again. If you write, then I don’t see a downside to participating in the NaNoWriMo and Camp. Just remember that the support is there if you want it. After all, how many people can you speak to about tenses, funny words and all the other stuff that makes you a writer? People will get it!

Lolita is a French native living in the UK for the past ten years. Mother of two and working in a library, she writes fantasy fiction and paints in her spare time. In a life where we live fast, she wants to read books where heroes (males and females) are not perfect and take time to learn to become better. Lolita is still working on her first novel and hopes to publish it this year or next. You can follow her on Twitteror her blog.

Top photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash.