We’re only halfway through March, but with all the pandemonium going on in the world right now, it seems to me that now is a great time to start planning for the April 2020 session of Camp NaNoWriMo. If you’re stuck at home, there’s no excuses for procrastinating on reading, research, or writing right now. And with the wide-spread encouragement of social distancing, we all have an excuse to blow off social engagements without the risk of getting guilt-tripped or feeling bad about it later. Welcome to a brand-new world of state-sanctioned introversion!

I’ve mentioned before that NaNoWriMo doesn’t suit my typical measurements of writing progress. I like to mark my milestones during drafting by way of finished scenes and chapters, editing by the same standards. Camp NaNoWriMo is more flexible than the November event, and with the remaining weeks in March, there is plenty of free time in the near future to figure out how to make this writing camp work best for you.

Even if you’re a pantser, you can still set up a game plan for the next month. Decide on your goals, find and organize resources, connect with writing buddies who you know can encourage you or help you brainstorm if you get stuck. Get a jumpstart on your project now and increase your goals if you feel ambitious enough.

If you’re not into NaNoWriMo, you can still take the current social situations and use them to your benefit. Don’t just spend time catching up on your reading, writing, and binge-watching lists. Take time to seek out story recommendations and explore topics or genres you haven’t dived into in the past. Learn something new. Seek out lectures, podcasts, and blogs you haven’t had time to browse before and gather new perspectives on storycraft and the topics you want to write about in your stories.

While the world panics, let’s make this time into the ultimate production factory for turning out great stories and the next great fandoms!

Hezzie