Camp NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo is one of those events that I want to try each year, and yet each year I either try and fail utterly or something comes up that prevents me from taking part.

I hoped to take part in NaNoWriMo last year, but in November I was only a month into my Creative Writing MA and I just couldn't bring myself to start working on two projects at once. One of the main reasons I chose to do my MA is because I used to find it incredibly difficult to focus on just one project at a time, so starting my academic year writing two novels at once wasn't a good idea.

Last year I also had a go at Camp NaNoWriMo in July. I thought Camp NaNoWriMo would be ideal for me because it came at a point in the year when I wasn't busy. In fact in July I finished my undergraduate degree and graduated!

... And graduation ended up being my downfall. That and many other things. I hadn't really planned anything specific for Camp NaNoWriMo - in fact I'd love to go back to the novel I started working on in future because the idea has changed a bit since then and I'm still eager to write it.

I ended up spending a week of July away from home, visiting family and friends and graduating, and during that time I just couldn't find the time to write every day. Not much of an excuse, I know, but I couldn't just whip my laptop out and start typing when I was in the middle of a conversation with my sister or my brother-in-law!

One thing I did love about Camp NaNoWriMo, though, was the choice people had in regards to their wordcount. Writers could attempt 50,000 words or 5,000 words, anything that made them feel accomplished and helped them to write more.

Personally I'm fairly certain that I couldn't write a novel in a month - not even an incredibly rough draft - but I think I could write a novella, and I have an idea for one! So this year I'm thinking of giving Camp NaNoWriMo another try.

Rather than July, however, I'm thinking of taking part in April, over the course of my Easter holiday. By the time July comes around I'll be done with all of my seminars, but I'm going to need all of summer to hopefully finish my current WIP and then pick the best extracts, edit them and put them together for my portfolio at the end of August/beginning of September.

Are any of you taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo this year? What are your thoughts on the event?

See you next week! J.