I've wanted to write a book every since I was a little kid. I used to write stories about anything and everything. I aced every paper and writing project at school; eventually, I took all of the journalism and yearbook classes too. I even became an editor for the yearbook and the school paper.

I always thought my first book would be about my own life, but I realized that I had no idea where to start. Then of course I got distracted with the rest of the things I had going on. It wasn't until a few months ago that I decided I'm really going to sit down and write a book.

I've been wanting to write a book for so long and now I've finally got my big idea to do so. You'll hear more about it soon!

After talking to a publisher and a few other writers, I've decided that I'm going to participate in NaNoWriMo. If you're unfamiliar with the term, it is an abbreviation for Nation Novel Writing Month. Of course I didn't want to wait all the way until November, so I decided to join Camp NaNoWriMo in April!

I made the decision a few weeks ago and I quickly signed up! I filled out my information, my writing goals, and put in my cabin requests! It wasn't until yesterday that I realized our cabin assignments came in!

It would appear that I was put into a cabin with 11 other women that are also writing a young adult novel. I'm super excited to start writing with each of my cabin mates and can't wait to get to know each one of them! I've noticed that I have the smallest word count goal in the group and I wondered if I should change it. Eventually, I decided that I will keep it at 10,000 words but I will strive for more.

It's amazing that I will begin working on my book in just two days! I'm very much excited, but I'm also incredibly nervous! I may have to start a few days later than everyone else due to my procedure on the 31st, but I know that I will make up for whatever writing days that I missed during recovery. I'm just hoping that my other three surgeries don't interfere with my writing too.

If you're interested in learning more about Camp NaNoWriMo, you can check out their website here. You can also check out this awesome post here, from the woman that inspired me to sign up! I'll also go into a few more details below.

Basically, Camp NaNoWriMo is an online writing retreat. You have the choice to be assigned to a cabin with 11 other members or you can choose your own cabin. You can find buddies in some of the forums that the website offers.

As a camper, you can use the month of April to write or edit the piece that you are working on. The site also keeps track of how you are working towards your goals. You can look at your stats as well as the stats of the cabin as a whole. For example, in order to reach my word count goal of 10,000 I will need to write an average of 334 words a day. Doesn't seem like a lot, does it? But when I look at my cabins stats, we as a group need to write an average of 16,502 words a day!

I think everyone that participates in a camp will benefit from it. I have a feeling that they will not only be held accountable by their group, but they will also have a group to ask questions, brainstorm with, and even read over their work. If you don't find that you can do that in your group, there are plenty of people to talk to in the NaNoWriMo forums. You can find those here.

There are lots of resources on both their main site and their camp site. They have everything from word count helpers to pep talks! I have found their resources incredibly helpful. I didn't really know where to begin writing and now I've got everything ready for when camp begins!

If you are interested in starting this writing adventure with me, you can sign up here!

I've also got a special challenge for all of my writers out there joining me in next month's Camp NaNoWriMo!

If you're interested in this challenge please download the following file!



Please see the example, for how you will fill out your word count tracker!



You will of course, adjust your numbers accordingly. I included my daily word count goal in each box (in pen) and at the end of each day I will write my current word count (in pencil) as well.

If you have reached your goal by the end of the month, please email me a picture of your word count tracker. Everyone that does that will be entered into a giveaway! You can vote on the giveaway prize in the comments :)