Camp is right around the corner. We’ve got just a few days left before April begins and the challenge starts. Some of you are probably super excited and others are wondering what in the name of writers world is Jewell talking.
In this episode we are going to discuss what is Camp, how you can join this amazing challenge, and what benefits can you as a writer get from participating.
I’m also going to be sharing some practical steps you can take to ensure you’re successful.
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If you’re writing a brand new story or you’re editing your story or a part of it then Camp can be something you try out this year. It’s where you make a conscious decision that for the next 30 days you’re going to do something to your story or in your writing journey that will move you forward.
Most writers use this time to edit their story that was written for Nanowrimo. I know I’m one of those writers. So before I confuse you further let’s break it down into a time-line.
Nanowrimo is a 30 day challenge where writers write 50k words in 30 days. It’s something I have participated jn every year since I found out about it. To really be successful at thar challenge , preparation is important. And nano helps you to prep for it two months in advance.
So in September nano prep starts. During those two months lots of resources are available to make prep fun and easy. Then comes November where all participants get added help as they try to complete the challenge.
December First is the sigh of relief day. It’s the relaxation month. Authors who participated have spend three months fleshing out our novel to the point that we know it like the back of our hand probably better. And we are a little sick of it. Just a little. So time for is break.
Having the challenge at the end of the year is a great way to end the year because if you continue till the end of the writing and publishing process you’ll be an author. It also a great way to start a brand new one because the new year holds promise.
January and February is the now what months. You’ve written a novel now what. What’s the next step. What are going to do with the stoty You’ve written? All this analyzing in prep for March starts where we prep for Camp. And here we are.
Are you preparing for Camp?
Unlike Nano which is a 50k word challenge in 30 days, During April you can spend the 30 days write or edit or rewriting your story.
Now you have to make some decisions.
Decide if you’re going to join the challenge. It may sound like a little thing but yu would be surprise how a simple mindset Shift can help you be successful in this challenge.
Decide what you’ll do, write or edit or rewriting?
Decide if writing then what type of story and word count. Do you already have the outline or gist of your story? If not, is March the month prepare that outline?
If editing then how many words do you plan on editing?
If you’re rewriting then how many words are you planning on rewriting on a weekly basis. I say weakly because not everyone does writing daily…I jnow I don’t.
After the decision making process we move on to action taking.
Put a plan in place by Create a schedule and stick to it
Create a schedule based on your circumstances. This is something I emphasize always to my students and clients.
If you can Grab your calendar and look at April. See which days you most likely can dedicate to this challenge.
Then make a schedule. Use you Goal, how many words you want to write or edit, and your calendar to make a schedule that fits you. It should look something like this.
I have decided to edit my novel so when I look at April I see that I have weekends off and early mornings before work. I also have late afternoons but those are set aside to record my podcasts and do other business activities.
There are five Saturdays in April and each I can dedicate to spending two hours with my novel. During the week for three days I can set aside 45mins to an hour.
That’s 22 hours for yhe months. I write about 1000 words per hour. So basically my goal would be to edit at least 20k words in my novel. The beautiful thing about Camp is that you set the goal, the word count and when you want towrite while receiving resources and help.
One of the main benefits is that you get accountability and encouragement to continue writing that story. That will propell you into completing your first story and becoming a published author.
Camp can be the stepping stone you need to finish that story.
But for you to really take action. I’ve put together some planner sheets to help you go from deciding to doing. These planner sheets are actually part of the 40 plus page printable genre specific author planner that helps writers go from idea to book. You can snag resource in the shownotes.
As always thank you so much for listening.