Introduction and Recipe for One OLL Intern

Hello, campers! I’m Ben, your new OLL intern, and summer camp counselor!

I’ve spent much of my life working at one summer camp or another, but this one may be the strangest. I’ve worked at space camp and adventure theater camp, but I’ve never worked at a camp where I only meet the campers online before! I’m thrilled to be here, and eager to help with Camp NaNo. Areas of my expertise include fireside storytelling, surviving camp food, avoiding dehydration, handling homesickness, and of course pranking other cabins.

Wondering what makes an OLL intern? Read on for the recipe below:

Recipe for One Letters and Light InternIngredients:

1/3 college student
1/3 aspiring novelist
1/3 camp counselor
2 lbs. curly hair
3 NaNo victories
1 storytelling obsession
27 vests
1 semi-complete novel draft (lightly toasted)
2 3/4 cups naive enthusiasm
1 jar of Nutella
2 batches of cookies

Preparation:

1. First, give the college student three years of linguistics and creative writing (education at Swarthmore College specifically is optional), but make sure that he hasn’t graduated yet.

2. The camp counselor should be sent back to work at the same camps he went to as a child—preferably things like space camp and improv theater camp. The stranger the better!

3. Give the novelist plenty of innocent idealism, and lots of good teachers and inspiring mentors. Make sure he works his way through at least three years of NaNo (plausibly preceded by one false start). You’ll know he’s ready once he’s finished a first novel draft and set it aside to work on an even better one.

4. Combine in a mixing bowl. Stir vigorously. At this point it’s important to keep the mixture disoriented, preferably by abruptly dropping him back in his hometown after three years away.

5. Once the mixture has reached a smooth consistency not unlike melted cheese, begin stirring in the enthusiasm and obsession. Stir until fully blended.

6. Cover the bowl in vests, and put it in a fridge for one week.

7. Remove from vests and fridge, and put it in a pot and bring to a low boil. Let simmer for one hour.

Garnish with Nutella. Will make and serve the cookies, if prepared properly. Serve hot. A single serving should last for one summer, full of mad dreams about growing up to be a novelist, and following in the footsteps of authors like Garth Nix, Jim Butcher, and Douglas Adams.

—Ben