Thursday, March 28, 2013

Going Camping!

                                                                                                                       
While a lot of my fellow bloggers will be cranking out daily posts during April in the A to Z blogging challenge, I will be at camp.

Ah, camping...A whole month of bunking with other campers, making friendship bracelets and gimp keychains, applying calomine lotion to a multitude of bug bites, and sharing ghost stories around the campfire while downing a few smores.

Truth is, I've never really gone camping. The closest I came was spending the night in my friend's grandparents' trailer on a mattress after having a few beers and laughs. We were warm, dry, and  managed to fend off most of the mosquitoes on the way to the showers.

But I'm not talking about that kind of camping. During April I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo for the first time. I'll be trading a sleeping bag for my rolly chair, bug juice for coffee, and archery for tapping out words on a keyboard. If you're not familiar with CNNWM, it's similar to November's NaNoWriMo without the crazy pressure to write a 50,000 word novel in one month, which for me is one of the most difficult ones to write in every year. Camp NaNoWriMo occurs twice a year: in April and July - and you can set your own goal.

Want to add 30K to finish a current project? Go to Camp.
Need to revise your novel? Go to Camp.
Want to start a new ms? You guessed it...go to Camp.
Want to go on a scavenger hunt, play Capture the Flag, and short sheet your cabin mate's cot? Well, this camp won't satisfy those needs, I'm afraid.

Me? I've been working on a Young Adult Ghost Story for a while. I'm about 17,000 words in and hope to add between 20-30K to my word count during the month of April. While the blogosphere is busying A to Z-ing, I'll be concentrating on reaching the 3/4 mark of my WiP.

What about you? Will you be "Camping," participating in the A to Z blogfest, or doing your own thing during April? Have you ever participated in Camp NaNoWriMo?



Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Spring, Where Art Thou?

You wouldn't know it by the view out my back sliding glass door, but tomorrow is the first day of spring.

Another day of accumulating snow and sleet. (8 inches)

Another day off from school/work (we're up to 6 now).

Another day of cold cheeks and runny noses while shoveling.

Another day of sore muscles from shoveling heavy, wet snow.

Another day of warming up with hot chocolate.

Another day dreaming of cozy sunshine and green grass.

Another day of unplanned writing!

How's the weather in your part of the world?