To Camp, or Not to Camp
(In case of curiosity, aye; I did change the wording of the picture simply so I would not be quoting Shakespeare.)
It wasn’t very long ago that I wrote about NaNoWriMo or Camp; most of you who are here now reading this post will remember both. A few of you are new here – and for ye who haven’t read the other posts, the next paragraph is for you.
Ever since my first time doing NaNoWriMo , a challenge to write 50,000 words in the month of November, I have continued to come back. I’ve won all four times I’ve participated, and twice during the three times I’ve done Camp (in which you can set your own word goal). Ever since my first time doing NaNo, I’ve supported it wholeheartedly; in fact, I prefer to write my first drafts in a short period of time. A month full of stats, web badges and encouragement just makes it all the better.
November is my favorite month of the year, with April and July coming in close behind. One of my (unofficial) goals for this year is to participate in every event (and edit in between… oh, joy).
I have, for these four years told people that they should try it; that it is a very good writing tool for every writer.
Now I am older and perhaps slightly wiser, and, while I still love NaNo and will still participate every chance I get, I now know that NaNo may not be best for some writers.
Those of you who are full-fledged NaNo supporters are now staring at me blankly. “What…? But–!” You say.
No, wait. Let me finish.
I prefer to write my first drafts as fast as possible. In fact, I epic-ly failed a 100 words for 100 days challenge, for that is not the way I write – I write all at once, as fast and hard as I can, to reach a specific overall goal.
Yet some writers need more time to write as they go. They write slowly so they can be sure the material is good. They work to smaller goals on the way to the bigger ones.
We are all writers, but as different people, we have different styles. As we learn the way we write best, we will produce the most quality work we can.
If NaNo makes you feel rushed, don’t do it. If editing as you go makes you lose your creativity, don’t do it.
Try out different methods, even if your writing friends do it a different way, or you’ve heard it done in a particular manner. As soon as you learn how you write, you’ll enjoy it, you’ll be more productive, and you’ll be more likely to keep up with whatever goals you choose to set. Do try out NaNo, Camp, or other writing programs, but be ready to change your strategy if necessary.
If you do participate in Camp, I would love to know what you’re working on and what your word goal is.
Red Lettering 
This is my first year to do camp!!! I am working on my novel called Laboratory Island and my word goal 50,000 words for a first draft, hopefully editing will get me at least another 20,000….
That’s awesome, Rayleigh! 😀 I do hope it goes excellently for you!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about writing, it’s that it’s one huge and never ending learning process. My writing process is always changing, which is why I like experimenting a lot. As you know, I’m doing Camp NaNo this year, and I have the bestest cabin ever. *winks* I might try for 50k. Even though I’m more of a slow and steady writer, I’ve been spending a lot of time plotting, so maybe writing a fast draft won’t exactly result in a huge mess of word vomit. I won’t know unless I try, right?
I’m doing Camp this year! I’m only doing 10,000 words so I don’t feel as rushed. I just like these kinds of challenges because it motivates me to write *every day* as opposed to *when I have time.*
While Camp may not be for other people, it’s for me. xD I’m way too excited for it to start.
Though, I have an awesome cabin, so what can I say? 😀
I tried Nano once, and that was enough for me. It wasn’t because I failed, but because I knew I had succeeded I guess I just don’t like having that kind of time constraint placed on me. I’m more fluid with my schedule than I should be, but it still works better for me!
I want to do Camp Nanowrimo this year, but I know it’ll be an absolute disaster if I can’t get my story plotted before then. So I need to work more on that. 😛
In the pat, I’ve been a slow writer because I try to edit my work as I go (bad idea), but I’m trying to change that so that I can get a true first draft finished. 🙂
I’m aiming for another 20,000 words on my WIP, and I’m really excited to try NaPoWriMo as well! 😀
I completely agree with you. I’ve been debating whether or not to do Camp NaNo this year (I did it last year, and have done NaNoWriMo since 2012), but I’ve only won NaNo once. It really stresses me out, and I’m not sure if it’s my kind of writing style.