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

1) It all goes back to character:

Whenever I feel stuck in my writing I go right back to my characters and ask, “What is it that they want more than anything? What are they afraid of?” I keep asking questions and it reminds me of their journey. 

Writing Dare: If you haven't yet, spend 10 minutes holding an interview with your character. You can use the Character Questionnaire in the novelist workbook, watch our interview video, freewrite from their point of view, or even draw a sketch of them. 

2) Write small details:

World-building can seem overwhelming. One trick is to avoid listing only large-scale details. Think of it like a camera, you want to zoom in and give readers specific details of your world.

Writing Dare: Zoom your writing camera all the way in—pick a room or a place in your story's world and spend 10 minutes listing all the things you see (including things that may be hidden or very, very small), or try the activities in our world-building webcast.

Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of the young adult novels Dealing in Dreams and The Education of Margot Sanchez, both from Simon & Schuster and available now in bookstores everywhere. Her work has appeared in Elle, Los Angeles Times, Tin House, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, to name a few. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.

What's up at Camp?

• Look for a Breaking News on Thursday about our Young Writers Flash Fiction Contest! While you wait, read last year's winning stories. 
  
  
• Read "Useful Tips and Tricks to Write Around Writer's Block," a blog post by a YWP participant. Interested in writing for the NaNoWriMo blog? Fill out this form!
  
  
• Check out the Camp NaNoWriMo Calendar to stay up to date on what's happening, including Virtual Write-Ins every Thursday at 1 P.M. Pacific!