It’s the 2nd of August and I’m on day 2 of Camp NaNoWriMo.
What is Camp NaNoWriMo I hear you cry?
[Image sourced via Pinterest]
Well It’s a month long writing challenge that has participants from every corner of the globe aiming to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch (or scratch-ish). It can be any genre, you can be any age and it doesn’t even have to be written on a computer (though I’d advise you do so you can count, your word count).
I’ve briefly mentioned my participation a couple of times on this blog, but I’ve never fully properly talked about it.
Writing is something that I’ve always done since I was very young. I have an over active imagination and do find myself daydreaming stories. The only problem is finishing any of them.
That’s definitely what drew me to blogging. It was quick and easy and posts have small word counts, you can publish your work within a matter of seconds and have dozens of people reading it within a few minutes.
This changed slightly after participating in NaNoWriMo 2011. Alongside University work I completed a whole novel (albeit a very bad one). The accomplishment felt amazing. I’d never finished anything to that length before.
[Image sourced via Pinterest]So what does this have to do with blogging?
Heard of blogger’s fatigue? Blogger’s block? Or feeling a severe lack of creativity? I’m pretty sure all of these symptoms have been faces by bloggers at some point or another. And these are all things you need to fight against when participating in a challenge like NaNoWriMo.
The basic ethos of the challenge is to write with literary abandon and sometimes when you’re feeling uninspired by the world of blogging you need that. I feel like sometimes us bloggers forget that this is our domain, it can be good to loose one’s inhibitions and simply write like no one’s watching. The principle’s the same with photography, crafting and art.
There’s so much emphasis on reaching out to your audience that many of us bloggers can loose perspective on why we started in the first place…because we loved doing it!
That’s really what a challenge like Camp NaNoWriMo is about: letting go and enjoying the unpredictability of writing and creating.
So it may already be day 2 but why not take on the Nano writing challenge?
Or take on the challenge in your own way.
Write 500 words of nonsensical fashion commentary, doodle with abandon or throw paint in the air and see where it lands.
Break the rules and bury your insecurities in the sand.
Keep on wishing…
R.xoxo
*If you’re trying to find me on NaNoWriMo (both for Camp Nano and the Novement event) I’m RCagz on there :)