Author Gloria Chao is your Camp Counselor this week. Find all Camp Care Packages in Breaking News throughout the month of July, or learn more about Camp NaNoWriMo!

Here's a prompt for writer’s block: What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to your character right now? Even if it doesn’t fit perfectly with where you are now, take a side road and write the scene where this awful thing happens and see where it takes you. Have fun with it! 

Still stuck? Try to pick some wild examples from your life or someone you know. My debut novel is mostly based on true stories, and sometimes the most vivid, wacky situations don’t require much imagination at all.

Today's Writing Dare

Try out the writer's block prompts above! What's the most vivid, wacky thing that's happened to you today?

What's up at Camp?

• On the blog: Clear up your mental chaos with these three tips. 
  
  
• On the blog: Got writer's block? Follow this quick flowchart to get un-stuck.
  
  
• Check out the Camp NaNoWriMo Calendar to stay up to date on what's happening, including Virtual Write-Ins every Monday at 1 P.M. Pacific!
  
  

Gloria Chao is an MIT grad turned dentist turned writer. She currently lives in Chicago with her ever-supportive husband, for whom she became a nine-hole golfer (sometimes seven). She was once a black belt in kung-fu and a competitive dancer, but that side of her was drilled and suctioned out. American Panda is her debut novel, and Misaligned is forthcoming fall 2019. Visit her tea-and-book-filled world at gloriachao.wordpress.com and find her on Twitter and Instagram @gloriacchao.