7 Alternatives to Camp NaNoWriMo7/5/2022 If you’re a writer who’s not working on a novel or a novelist who’s not the greatest fan of strict word counts, July’s version of National Novel Writing Month, or Camp NaNoWriMo, might not be for you. Have no fear, however, because one of the following options will probably be suited to your July needs. Most of these are November events, traditionally alternatives to NaNoWriMo, but they fit well as alternatives to Camp NaNo as well. 1)Contests + Literary Magazines Compile a list of contests and lit mags you’d like to submit to, and take note of their themes. Try to write entries for as many of them as possible by setting goals for how many entries you want to fit into a week. You could either write in July, then edit them all in August, or you could write and edit as you go along. For this one, it’s not about word count, it’s about how many poems/stories/essays/works of art you can produce. 2)NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) Who said poetry had to stay in Escapril? Find a prompt list (or don’t), and write a full poem every day this month. Since writing a poem may take less time than writing the traditional 1,667 NaNo words, don’t be afraid to edit and revise. I would encourage looking at the poetry again in August and seeing what pieces can fit into a lit mag/chapbook/whatever you want to share it as! 3)750 Words If 750 words a day seems more manageable for you than the 1,667 NaNo asks for, then this is the challenge for you. It allows you to write anything as long as your daily word count totals 750. If you miss a day, you get taken out of the running and put on the Wall of Shame. Unfortunately, registration for July has closed, but it is a worthwhile challenge to try yourself since 750 words may be more realistic. Since writing is a year-long pursuit for most, you can always sign up for August! The nice thing about this challenge is that you can write anything–a journal entry, a poem, a blog post–as long as it is at least 750 words in length. 4)Flash Fiction Writing One flash fiction story every day involves a time commitment similar to the 750 words challenge, but restricts you to a new story every day. However, flash fiction does tend to vary in terms of length (six-word-story to 1,000 words is the commonly accepted range), so it gives you more flexibility in how much you write. 5)NaBloPoMo If you’ve ever wanted to start a blog, now’s the time! With National Blog Posting Month, you’d be tasked with writing and posting a blog post every day. That would mean writing the post, editing it, and hitting publish all in one day every day. In all honesty, NaBloPoMo might be one of the most demanding ones on here, asking for 500-2k words on something new every day. Depending on your blog’s topic, that might include research, or at the very least, intense reflecting and outlining. Every. Day. If that sounds like a little too much, you could always blog recipes you use or even upload photography and art. 6)Time goals Set aside however much time you can spare–an hour, 30 minutes, 15 minutes–and try to just write. A slight issue with time goals is that it’s hard to hold yourself accountable for your inner critic. If you spend the time editing and deleting, that will end up being counterproductive to a first draft. It may help to break this time up into writing sprints or spread it out into sprints throughout the day. 7)Journaling Some of the above can be used in a journal, most notably 750 words where you can try to write out your thoughts clearly, or the time goals where you can set aside just ten minutes to write down your thoughts. A little note: Editing as I go along works for me when I’m writing collections of shorter works, but it’s not for everyone. If you find that writing and editing every day is too much, then don’t! Edit your lit mag entries or poems in August! The only challenge where editing is necessary is NaBloPoMo. No matter how much or how little you get written this month, it’s amazing that you’re writing, plotting, or brainstorming, and I wish you the best of luck as we get through Camp NaNo 2022! Stuti Desaiis a high school student in New Jersey. They like (in no particular order) books, music, science, history, running, and (of course) writing and are always up to learn something new! Find them on Instagram at @writing_stoot.
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