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Camp NaNoWriMo

So today marks the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo.

For those of you who may not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It is a worldwide event that takes place in November where people are inspired, motivated, and urged to write a completed novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days. 

It's crazy.

I started participating in NaNoWriMo in 8th grade, regularly participating all through High School (but never finishing). 

I stopped participating after I graduated high school, because I stopped writing for a couple of years after I graduated high school.  Once I fell back in love with writing, I was neck deep in college, and eventually grad school coursework so I never really got a chance to participate. 

What I did get to participate in, is the community.  I got to surround myself with people who love the craft of writing, who inspired me to be a better writer (even if I never hit 50,000 words) and who understood the hard work and dedication that goes into it.

Camp NaNoWriMo is a similar event, one that takes place in both April and July, but instead of writing 50,000 words, you set your own goal.  It is a nice change of pace because it allows me to still be surrounded by the community, it encourages me to write everyday, but I don't have that dread of a strict word count that I can't ever seem to reach with my busy life.

This year, my goal is a small 5000 words.  This is also because I am starting the month really hammering out some details and creating an outline, and not actually doing any free-writing. 

I'm feeling energized and excited. One of my bestest friends of all time is coming into town today and I'm ready to kick some writing butt!

Wish me luck. 

Also if YOU are participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this year, add me! We can encourage each other in our writing endeavors! My user name is Tulip Girl.

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