June is here, which means you can accept the Camp NaNoWriMo challenge from your Dashboard. Before we tell you more about that, though, we want to tell you this: however you're feeling right now, that's okay. A lot is going on in the world, and you've probably been separated from your community supports (classmates, teammates, friends, family) for several months because of COVID-19. Some of you might still be sheltering-in-place, while others might be seeing requirements loosen. In recent days, many folks have also been venturing outside of their homes to protest in support of Black lives and against racism in the United States and beyond. If you can't imagine writing right now, that's okay! If writing makes you feel better, then we're glad we can be here to help. We're so grateful for our NaNoWriMo and YWP community. Be safe!

And now... Camp!

What is Camp NaNoWriMo?

• Camp NaNoWriMo is a writing event that happens in April and July. It's different from NaNoWriMo in November because you can work on ANY type of creative project, not just a novel. First drafts or revision, scripts or stories or poems or essays—all are welcome! Just set a goal and get writing. 
  
  

Visit Camp on YWP to learn more!

Tired of working on novels? Here are three other projects you could try:

• Take one of your story ideas (even one you've worked on before) and turn it into a script for a TV show. Watch a few episodes of your favorite shows (bonus!) and take notes on what happens every few minutes: what's the opening scene like? What percent is dialogue vs. other kinds of action? Think about how you could SHOW a viewer what's happening in your story rather than just telling them about it. Check our our script resources for support!

• Write a memoir! A memoir is a collection of stories about moments or events in a person's life. No matter how old you are, you've got compelling stories to tell! Jot down a list of memorable experiences, then choose a few you'd like to write more about. Memoirs can jump around in time, too - you could start writing about the day you got your pet cat and end by reflecting on what it means to graduate middle school, or how it feels to grow up. 

• Think of an issue or topic you care about and write a long-form, narrative journalism piece about it. That means doing research and taking notes, interviewing people who have first-hand experience with your issue, and then putting it all together in a creative - but factual - essay. It's like a newspaper article, but longer and told in a more story-like way. 
  
  

Contest Update

Yowza! We received over 1,100 submissions, and we're having a blast reading them. So much creativity and talent and hard work and risks and surprises and heartfelt emotion... we could go on and on (and on!). 

We'll announce results by the end of June.  If you sent in your work, thank you! We know it can be scary (and exciting) to send your story out into the world, and we appreciate your bravery. Please consider sharing your excerpt in the Flash Fiction Contest forum thread and reading other young writers' hard work.