Camp NaNoWriMo

I'm getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo!

Not familiar with NaNoWriMo?

According to Wikipedia,

National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo) is an annual internet-based creative writing project which challenges participants to write 50,000 words of a new novel in one month.

The project started in July 1999 with just 21 participants, but by the 2010 event over 200,000 people took part - writing a total of over 2.8 billion words.

Writers wishing to participate first register on the project's website, where they can post profiles and information about their novels, including synopsis and excerpts. Word counts are validated on the site, with writers submitting a copy of their novel for automatic counting. Municipal leaders and regional forums help connect local writers with one another for holding writing events and provide encouragement.

 According to me, it's the most fun I've ever had in November. (Unless you count the time back in 1971 when I gave birth to my daughter, but that wasn't really all that much fun.)

I wrote my first novel, Vintage Roses during NaNoWriMo back in 2009 and I have the winner's stamp to prove it. Of course that manuscript is laying in my desk drawer untouched. It's a good story, but since I did absolutely no planning ahead of time, it's a hot mess and would probably take months of rewriting to whip it into any kind of publishable shape.

This year, NaNoWriMo has announced it's doing a summer campaign - Camp NaNoWriMo. They're busy working on a new web site to host it, with a beta version scheduled for July and a full-blown version ready by August.

So, I'm getting ready to "go to camp." I've been working on the story line, setting, character worksheets and so forth...this time I'm going to be ready!

My new story is called Zoey's Quest and here's a one sentence sneak peak -

"After her grandfather's death, Zoey Braxton finds a letter hidden in a secret pocket of his old Bible that leads her on a quest that might just cost her life." 

 

It's an inspirational suspense novel with a little romance thrown in.. I'm hoping it will eventually get picked up by a traditional publishing house and make me rich and famous. Okay, the rich and famous part is not going to happen with one book, but it's a start, right?

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(Copyright © 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)