We’re gearing up for Camp NaNoWriMo, and we’ve asked our great community for their advice for campers, both new and returning. Today, YWP writer Claire Marino shares what makes Camp NaNo so special: 

Imagine being locked in a room for a month. You’re told to set a goal for yourself, keep track of your progress, and create something you care about. You have complete creative freedom—something that, these days, is much harder to come by than you might think.

So, what is this mighty project? What do you immediately itch to write when given such a guideline? Take that inkling—that feeling—and bottle it up! You will need that inspiration later!

You might be thinking, “NaNoWriMo? Isn’t that the insane novel-in-November thing? I can’t do that. I don’t even want to write a novel, anyway.” To which I would say, “Great! Then Camp NaNoWriMo is just the thing for you!”

Camp NaNoWriMo is nothing without you, our incredible participants. Today, Claire Marino, a fellow Camper and member of the Young Writers Program, offers you some pep:

I was thirteen when I stumbled upon NaNoWriMo. I was looking for an outlet that would help me tap into my inner creativity, and I found one. But, a month? A full thirty-day month to commit to her writing project is a pretty big commitment for a thirteen-year-old kid in the middle of one of the most demanding months of the school year.

As I considered participating, I felt unqualified, unsure, and afraid. Everything around me was already taking a turn for the crazy. Why would I willingly throw myself into the center of another time-consuming adventure?

Roadblocks of self-doubt confronted me. Truth is, I’m still just about as “qualified” to write a novel as I am to operate heavy machinery. Which is to say, not at all. These obstacles almost stopped me from turning my writing from a hobby to a passion.  But who creates the qualifications for what exactly makes a writer? Who decides whether or not I am capable? Well, I decided, I do.