Motivation is a fair-weather friend: Nice to have but pretty unreliable. It is said that practicing discipline will make up for that sudden absence of motivation, but that takes time.
Sometimes we have to seek a little outside push. With writing, community is often the best place to find that.
One of my favorite writing events is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). NaNoWriMo is an annual writing challenge that takes place each November. Its contagious energy gives me outside motivation when my own is gone.
I was a NaNo outsider—didn't partake in write-ins or community events. I was also disappointed at how short-lived it was compared to the rest of the lonely writing year. But NaNoWriMo doesn't only happen in November.
Welcome to Camp NaNoWriMo.
Camp NaNo is an event that allows you to make your own rules and goals for writing, rather than the standard 50,000 word goal of traditional NaNoWriMo. You can use the NaNoWriMo website during Aprily and July for the camp events.
When you win Camp NaNoWriMo, you gain access to their sponsor list. These sponsors often have generous discounts on their products, from writing software to worldbuilding sites, to grammar check extensions and much more.
Participating can also be its own reward. For Camp NaNoWriMo specifically, just the act of participating can grant you 20% off a year subscription to NovelPad.
NovelPad extends their trial to a month during Camp Nano for you to see if their sleek and distraction free design is right for you. You can then use the code CAMPNANO23 for 20% off your first year (redeem by August 31, 2023), and enjoy the year with reliable writing software and a supportive community of writers.
Camp NaNoWriMo offers a lot more than a website to track your progress and some discounts on software. The camaraderie, energy, and the paths it can take you down are worth your time.
There’s a greater incentive to pull out your unfinished work during Camp NaNoWriMo. You can learn a lot about your limits and desires during this time, and strive to complete something you may have started in November.
If you are someone who does not know how to reach out to groups or join the community, Camp Nano’s loose rules allow for a more chill environment. Where NaNoWriMo's main goal is to reach 50k new words in a month, you can set your goal to anything you want at Camp, allowing people to have more time to get to know others and talk about their work in progress.
There are more articles, groups, and discussion on the revising and editing process, or you can get ideas on projects like collections. More doors open to learning new things this time of year.
The friends I’ve made and the path that got me to writing this article right now was because of NaNoWriMo events. Without their easy access to sponsor discounts, I wouldn’t have found the right people, the right software, and ultimately the right job for me. If you told me Camp NaNo would have put me here, I’d have a hard time believing you.
If you are interested in Camp NaNoWriMo for this July, sign up or sign in at $ NaNoWriMo.org$ to set up your project for the month. If you have already fallen in love with NovelPad and are participating in this year's camp, enjoy your coupon for 20% off a year subscription!