Author Tracy Badua is your Camp Counselor for this week. Find all Camp Care Packages in Breaking News throughout the month of April, or learn more about Camp NaNoWriMo!

1) No words are wasted.

Everything you get down on the page can be considered practice. This means you’re sharpening your skills every time you write, even if you ultimately end up shelving that work. People are often surprised that my first published book was actually the sixth full one I’d ever written, but I needed five whole books of practice to get to the story I wanted.

2) There’s value in trying.

Even if you don’t reach the goal you set this time, you took tangible steps toward it. I’ve done NaNoWriMo a handful of times and haven’t always “won,” but those first chapters, outlines, character sketches, and everything else I created in pursuit of the story, including friendships with others in the writing community, were invaluable.

Writing Dare: Have a character tell a joke. Now show us whether the other characters think it’s actually funny.

What's up at Camp?

• Webcast: Explore Your Writing Process and Legacy (Co-Presented with Novelly) - Today, April 26, 5:30 PM PDT (Your Time Zone) What do you hope your legacy will be as a writer or author? What is the most helpful thing you've learned about your own writing and editing process? These questions and more will be answered by a panel of talented young writers. Hosts Harnoor and Emdya of the Read to Heal podcast from Novelly will lead the discussion.

• NaNoWriMo Community Virtual Meetup, ft. Tracy Badua - Thursday, April 27, 1:00 PM PDT (Your Time Zone) All writers in the NaNo community are invited to join us for a virtual meetup, featuring guest Camp Counselor Tracy Badua! She'll share a writing prompt and answer your writing and publishing questions. 

• Writers of Color Virtual Meetup - Friday, April 28, 1:30 PM PDT (Your Time Zone) Come join a virtual write-in for Writers of Color in the NaNoWriMo community! We'll get to know each other as writers, share what's inspiring us, talk about the writing life, and do some writing together. (Writers of color only, please — thank you for respecting the space!)