Camp NaNo – Week One

Here we go – it’s time for the first camp of the year. For anyone who doesn’t know about Camp NaNo, you can read more about it here.

So…

• Project set up – check
• Notebooks and pens – check
• Coffee – check
• Snacks – check
• Cabin mates – hell yeah!

Once again, I am bunking up with my fellow Fiction Cafe writers and we have been busy prepping and swapping notes for the past few weeks now. I feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing support group in my corner.

The thing with camp is that anything goes, and as such I find it so much more chilled and less stressful than November NaNo. Because anything goes, I have set myself a target based on hours rather than word count because I am officially making the switch from pantser to planner. Up until now, I have attempted to just write and see where the story takes me, but I have come to the conclusion that my current WIP needs some serious world building, and so I am going to use the Spring Camp to do just that. Here is the plan:-

• Week One
  • Complete fantasy writing course
  • Read at least one of my many research books
  • Complete my human character profiles
• Week Two
  • Complete beginners world building course
  • Read a second research book
  • Develop my human world
• Week Three
  • Start in depth world building course
  • You’ve guessed it – read another research book
  • Start work on my non-human character profiles and non-human world
• Week Four
  • Complete in depth world building course
  • Keep reading
  • Complete non-human character profiles and non-human world building
• Week Five (two days)
  • Review profiles and world building to start organising scenes and plotting the action

I am aiming for at least 30 hours of work over the month, but I am hoping to achieve more than that. I have a feeling that my non-human development could be a whole rabbit warren, never mind the rabbit hole! I’ll be coming back to update you each Monday. If I go quiet, please send help – and also, chocolate!

Good luck to everyone else taking part, especially my lovely cabin mates!