Author Tashie Bhuiyan 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!

1) Keep writing: 

Writing is such a personal process that it's hard to give advice that encompasses all—but my best advice to this day is to keep writing. Sometimes writers think that their first story is their end-all be-all, but that's nowhere near the truth. Most published authors have written several stories prior to their debut novel, all of which helped them on their path to publication. When one story ends, another begins. No matter what, just keep pushing forward and writing—you have thousands of stories within you.

2) Find your character's misbelief: 

One question I always ask myself when writing is what the character wants vs. what the character needs. Sometimes they're the same thing, but oftentimes, they're not. Being able to differentiate between those two helps to find the "character's misbelief" which is the fundamental misunderstanding the character has about either themselves or the world. Once you're able to pinpoint that, you can help the character slowly unravel that misbelief and find the truth as they go on their journey, which will in turn allow them to experience character growth.

Writing Dare: Write a scene where your main character lies to someone about what they want.

What's up at Camp?

• Ask an Author: Camp Counselor Instagram Takeover — Thursday, July 15, 3:00 PM PT (Your Time Zone) Ask Tashie your questions about writing, editing, or publishing! She'll be taking over the NaNoWriMo Instagram Stories to share writing advice directly with you.

  Thinking Like a Memoirist — Our newest track for July’s Camp NaNoWriMo session is full of fantastic resources for anyone who wants to write about their own life! In this blog post, Camp Counselor Lindsey Grant shares 5 ways that writing a memoir can be fun and creative.