Author Autumn Kalquist 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) Slay the dragon: 

You are not your inner critic. Please don’t mistake its opinions for your own. Your inner critic is a fantasy dragon created from negative ideas and opinions you unconsciously collected over the years. It’s an overzealous, nervous, dysfunctional bit of brain programming that runs on fear. It’s not your fault it’s there, but once you see it for what it is, you can slay it. Take your power back! Never trust what it says. When it sends a puff of smoke your way, laugh. You are the ruler of your realm. No dragon can dethrone you.

Dare: Slay the dragon. What kinds of things does your dragon tell you? Journal about it. Writing its words will bring them into your awareness. Don’t argue with them, though—the dragon isn’t speaking truth, and you can’t reason with it. Simply notice the words your dragon uses. The next time it blows smoke at you, notice the source, laugh, and keep writing. If you do this consistently, the dragon loses the power it once had. 

2) Trust your heart: 

It knows the way. If you’re ever feeling stuck, ask yourself one question. What excites me the most about my story? If you’re ever lost, this question will help you find your way back. Often, you will discover you’re not truly stuck—you just took a detour that led you away from what matters most to you.

Dare: Discover what excites you most about your story. Talk about your story with a friend or journal about it. Or make a list or mind map of all your favorite elements of your story. Answer the question: What excites me the most about my story, characters, and the world of my story? 

What's up at Camp?

• #PowerofPop Bingo Night! Co-presented with The Opportunity Agenda - Wednesday, Apr 13, 2022, at 4:00 pm PDT
  
  Join The Opportunity Agenda for an Abbott Elementary season finale after-show party and bingo! This livestream event features Porshéa Patterson-Hurst, TOA’s Research Manager, with special guests: comedian, TV writer, and Creative Change alum Joey Clift and author, activist, and teacher Aya de Leon.

  Get your Bingo card here and via social media (@oppagenda on IG and Twitter) starting April 11th and play along as you watch the finale with an eye to how the show portrays economic issues on TV. During our April 13th event, we will share who got “bingo” and what the bingo squares—which depict various economic opportunity narratives—mean in the context of the show.

• Author Interview: Camp NaNoWriMo Counselor Autumn Kalquist - Thursday, Apr 14, 2022, at 3:00 pm PDT
  
  Looking for advice on completing your writing goals? Camp NaNoWriMo Counselor Autumn Kalquist is here to share techniques for inspiring yourself and staying in the writing zone, as well as trusting yourself and learning along your writing journey. Plus, we'll share some generative writing time together!

• Camp NaNoWriMo Virtual Write-In - Friday, Apr 15, 2022, at 1:00 pm PDT
  

  Join us as we dive into our Camp NaNoWriMo projects! Led by staff at NaNo HQ, this hour-long livestream is a place where we'll share some writing prompts to help you hit your goal this month, and where you can ask us questions or chat with other Wrimos from around the world.