#Camp NaNoWriMo

[nanowrimo]

4 Tips for Autistic Writers

Autistic writers can face unique challenges when it comes to writing. NaNo Participant Auden Halligan has tips to handle some of those challenges!

So, you’ve just sat down at your desk, all ready to work on your next chapter, but you just can’t seem to start. Something is itching at your brain, and no matter how hard you think, you can’t figure it out. For autistic writers, that itch might be even harder to get around when compounded with autistic inertia, introspection issues, and sensory processing disorder — even if we were super excited to get started, sometimes the stumbling blocks are enough to keep us from going anywhere at all.

Here are four tips to identify your struggles and work around them rather than against them as an autistic writer!

1. Schedule your writing time appropriately

While keeping a schedule can help you stave off unwanted change in your routine, the need to switch to another task when the clock strikes the hour sometimes feels like a monumental task, one that eventually becomes detrimental to your creative pursuits.

If switching tasks is the biggest hurdle to your writing, setting a designated writing time with no other plans around it could do the trick. Oftentimes, just one hour of time to transition from doing dishes to sitting down at your computer to write is exactly what you need to get past that point and find your writing headspace.

2. Make sure your sensory environment is right

Sometimes getting into that writing headspace is harder than normal, but you can’t put your finger on a reason. Chances are, you’re not quite ready until you have your sensory needs met and you can fully focus on your story.

Personally, I like to be on the couch with my water bottle, a playlist at just the right volume, and a comfortable jacket or hoodie on. For you, the ideal sensory space might involve a desk and a snack, a pet nearby, and a quiet room. For others, it could be outside or even at a library or coffee shop. Autistic people are all different and so are their sensory needs, so this one is super subjective — do what works best for you!

3. Take breaks often

Writing can be exhausting, and if you’re struggling to keep going, you might need to take a pause. If you’re like me and struggle with remembering to hydrate and eat once you’re deep in a task, use your break to get some water and a snack. If you’re having trouble staying focused, get up and move around and stim or go outside to give your brain a reset. If you feel like you’ve gotten some good progress done, however small, reward yourself — do something related to your special interest, dance with a pet, and celebrate your little (or big!) win!

The pomodoro method is a good way to keep yourself from working too long without a break, and if that doesn’t work for you, methods like the Eisenhower method with breaks interspersed and even simply inserting breaks into your scheduled writing time are just as valid.

4. Don’t be afraid to skip around

Another thing that often trips us autistic people up is needing to follow the story down its natural progression, from start to middle all the way to the finish. But inevitably, once we’ve gotten past the initial excitement of having the project started, we hit a stumbling block…and the project gets abandoned. I’ve left behind countless projects because I lost interest after hitting a scene I wasn’t excited for after just a few chapters.

To combat this, try writing out of order! Skip ahead to the scene directly after your stumbling block. You could also skip to the next scene your favorite character is in or even to the climax if it helps you move forward. If you’re having trouble putting your first words down, try writing a random scene in the middle of your story to get into the groove of writing your characters.

Alternately, if you can’t abide by the out of order method and really need to get your characters from Point A to Point B, try putting the scene you’re stuck on in brackets. For example:

[Character 1 and Character 2 fight over the decision to kick Character 3 off the team. 2 leaves in anger.]

It’s simple, efficient, and gets you out of that particular rut so you can keep moving toward that sweet, sweet conversation you’ve wanted to write since Day 1.

Now go forth and write, my friends!

Auden Halligan is a creator through and through. She’s been writing her entire life, but didn’t start participating in NaNoWriMo until 2017–right now she’s working on developing a TV series (or two!) and has several novels and short films in the drafting phase. Auden is currently a college student studying film production and hoping to minor in disability studies. You can find her on her very sparse Twitter at ink.and.spite. Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels

If you’re an autistic writer, check out the Pillow Fort in the NaNoWriMo forums! It’s a group for people who are neurodivergent, have disabilities, mental health concerns, or physical challenges that affect their lives.

#nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #writing #autistic writers #writing advice #by nano guest #Auden Halligan #neurodivergent writers

[wordscount]

This was in my head and I had to make it.

#nanowrimo #national novel writing month #camp nanowrimo #camp nano #writing #writer #author #arrested development meme #writing meme #writing memes #writer memes #writer meme #writers of tumblr #writblr #writeblr

[lyralit]

camp nano challenge prompts

choose a new genre to write in

or a new audience to write for! write something ya, or adult, or a children's fantasy series

transcript a movie

write 10k words in your secondary language (french conjugaison be damned)

write a story inspired by an album

write a story starting from the end

pantsers become planners and planners become pantsers!

write a spin-off / au for your main wip

ask your friends to create characters and weave them into a narrative

write a short story every day

find another writer to write a story with

rewrite the first wip you can remember working on

write a shakespearean retelling

rewrite a novel but change its genre

create characters and write a random scene with them every day; put it together at the end

#camp nanowrimo #lyralit #creative writing #writerblr #writers #writers block #writblr #writing prompts #writing ideas #writing #nanowrimo #writing prompt

[maxkirin]

writer moods 💛💚💙❤️

#writing #amwriting #my art #writing community #nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo

[leave-her-a-tome]

#every time i am caught unawares #eris talks #writeblr #writing #writers on tumblr #writing community #nano #nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #camp nano july 2023

[umutrblg]

#umutrnblg #postlarım #photography #photographyday #rumll #sarhoskedi #nature #kaanbubelli #i̇zmir #bokmutluyuzaqq #camp #coconut #forest #tree #bird song #campfire #camp nanowrimo #tomarrowski #petricorsworld #landscape #travel #visnelimeybuzz #cottage aesthetic #cottagecore #sunset #camping #vvedalar

[cel-writes-stuff]

Writing Tip #21

Every character is the main character of their own story. Write a scene from their perspective to flesh them out if needed.

{I’m posting a writing tip every day of NaNoWriMo}

#writing #writer #nanowrimo #author #novel #camp nanowrimo #draft #drafting #tips #writer things #reading #amwriting #writing things #fantasy #writing help #writing tips #book #nanowrimotips #nanowrimotip #reader

[authoralexharvey]

A Bitter-Tasting Blade, a novella and Camp Not-NaNo intro by @authoralexharvey

The Basics

GENRE - dark fantasy, high fantasy, travelogue

INSPIRATIONS - Bloodborne, Claymore, Dungeons & Dragons, The Witcher

POV - third-person limited

TAGS, THEMES, AND TROPES - alatrism vs. blinding faith, battle couple, duty vs. freedom, enemies to lovers (the murderous kind), forced proximity, journeying through a ravaged land, lgbtq, magic, monster vs. monster hunter (and eventually monster x monster hunter), monsters and the humanity within them, runic/sigil magic

CONTENT WARNINGS - body horror, fantasy racism, sex, violence

STATUS - outlined, currently drafting

NOT-NANO GOAL - 20,000 words

THE CHARACTERS

Toshiko Egawa, the designated Sword (monster hunter) of a minor Akalese clan. Her staunch faith in her goddess The Lady guides her hand in her fight against monsters.

Fel, a (somewhat reformed) monster of a woman and once-prominent researcher. One of few of a new burgeoning race of [TERM], people who became monsters and have since clawed their way back into humanity.

SUMMARY

Monsters have emerged in the world of Mesiphrae. Former humans, now twisted into unrecognizable forms, cleave claw and fang through those they used to love. Though some countries fare better against the crisis than others, it shows no signs of stopping until the world is overrun.

Toshiko Egawa is no stranger to these monsters. As her clan's Sword, she is regularly tasked with slaying former friend and foe alike. When her newest mission is to escort Fel, a monster of a woman, through the ravaged wastes of Hadorae, she thinks it all to be a cruel joke. But as she grapples with her burning hatred, she is forced to learn the world is not as she once understood it to be and must reconcile her differences to complete her task... and perhaps come to love along the way.

(Set after the events of ASMLP)

TAGLIST (ASK TO BE ADDED)

@andromedaexists , @ceph-the-ghost-writer , @bebewrites , @ashirisu , @pinespittinink , @rose-bookblood

#wip intro #writeblr #nanowrimo #nano #camp nanowrimo #my writing #abtb

[satancopilotsmytardis]

I literally forgot that today is the first day of Camp Nanowrimo too! I'm setting my goal for 100k words this month and from this point on, no new projects for all of April!

#tanco speaks #camp nanowrimo #camp nano 2024

[encrucijada]

but hear me out....

title: haze dogs

genre & category: horror, low fantasy, adult

about: an isolated town is haunted by otherworldly canines incapable of dying. when connor hidalgo comes back to life after being sacrificed by her old classmates, the town finds a temporary solution to their problem that will keep more people from dying: they offer connor and only connor to these animals.

what is this? this is my horror book about a girl who comes back to life and so her boyfriend's mum decides to use her to gain influence and power by elevating connor to the status of a god. shenanigans ensue. OR, what if jesus was a girl who was a dog.

wordcount goal: 5000

#i wasn't gonna post this but you know what. fuck it #camp nanowrimo #camp nano 2024 #( wip ) haze dogs

[nanowrimo]

Angst: How to Hurt Your Characters and Make It Count

As a writer, you’re probably familiar with putting your characters through painful situations. But how can we make all that suffering worth it? NaNo Participant Liz Generally has some advice on how to write effective angst! Arabella K Federico said, “Write pain so effectively, your readers will be begging for it to end.”

When you find yourself emotionally invested in your characters, hurting them can feel outright wrong. But sometimes, for the sake of your story, you just have to push them off the cliff (metaphorically or physically!)

Make it hurt. Dig deep, and reach into the darkest pits of emotional and physical pain. Give your readers a reason to break for your character. There are a few methods you can use to do this.

1. Physical Pain

Pain is a powerful motivator. It can cause people to act out of character, lash out, create out-of-character emotional outbursts or realizations, or show previously unknown care. This can also make your character more relatable to your readers. Pain doesn’t just affect the person experiencing it!

2. Mental or Emotional Pain

What is your character’s worst fear? The nightmare that keeps them up at night? Are they afraid of losing someone close to them? Are they terrified of leaving someone behind? Use that to heighten the consequences of a scene. Characters who experience intense emotional or mental pain become more real to your readers, especially if they have experienced similar mental or emotional pain.

3. Spiritual Pain

Although spiritual pain generally results from either physical, mental, or emotional pain, it can be a very effective method to hurt your character and create angst. How can you make your reader question their faith or lack thereof? If they are very spiritual, can you make them believe their god or deity doesn’t exist? If they don’t believe in a deity, can you make them believe in one? Spiritual pain can be the most excruciating to read when done well.

So how do you amplify the pain? What can you use to make the pain more graphic, intense, and palpable?

1. Dig deep into your own personal experiences.

Using your own pain as inspiration will help you ensure that what you’re writing is authentic and raw. Chances are, at least some of your readers have experienced something similar.

2. Use words that evoke not only emotion but physical sensation.

If you are struggling to write a specific scene, outline it. Write a list of each of the five senses and a list of all of the thoughts that your character might feasibly think. You should write at least one or two from each sense, and a few thoughts (if your chosen point of view allows for it) into the scene to create a full sensory profile.

3. How does your setting affect the pain you’re writing into the scene?

If your character is in love with someone, and the angst happens at a wedding, what is happening around them to increase the pain they feel? Is their love interest marrying someone else? What are they feeling or seeing that could make that pain worse? Is the song playing a song they imagined dancing with them to at their own wedding? Does the wedding look like the one they always imagined having with them? Are they standing beside them trying to pretend they don’t wish with every fiber of their being that they were the ones getting married?

Angst doesn’t have to be physical. It does have to connect with your reader. When you use multiple types of pain, utilize your own experiences, use all of your senses, and your setting to its full potential, there are unlimited ways to create angst that will have your readers begging you to put your characters out of their misery. Have fun hurting your characters!

Liz Generally is a romance author, wife, and mother to two girls and two dogs living in Oklahoma City. Liz is passionate about helping people and raising awareness for congenital heart disease. When she isn’t writing, she can be found spending time with her family and friends, volunteering, crafting, or cheering on her favorite hockey team. Liz is the author of Never Gonna Let You Fall, Alpha Mine, Blood Dreams, and Through The Flames all available on Kindle Vella. Photo by Abigail on Unsplash

#nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #writing #writing advice #writing angst #by nano guest #liz generally #angst #characters

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

ALRIGHT. Hello my maggots I hope you're all eating each other very deliciously. Good job I'm proud of you.

Y'know NaNoWriMo is November but they also have a Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July and you know what? Fuck it I've set a word goal (you can do that for Camp) and I'm gonna do it. My first novel I completed during a July Camp and so I have hope for this one.

Is that too high a word goal, considering it's already the third of April?

No. I believe in the power of GAY.

A lot of things disappoint us but the power of gay always comes through.

Anyway wish me luck and more importantly if you wanna write this is your reminder to go for it and write.

You know what to do. Do it with style.

#good omens mascot #weirdly specific but ok #asmi #maggots #writerblr #writing #camp nano 2024 #birds of paradise #avian #my poor dumpster fire ship #you're getting put in words #camp nano april 2024 #camp nanowrimo

[dallonwrites]

Lover Boy But It's The Camp Nano Intro?

Sometimes Beau thinks his heart must be made out of the most fragile, feebly tissue paper – the dainty pink stuff pushed into the bottom of a Valentines giftbag, the biodegradable kind that immediately crumbles when it’s met with water or trash compost or an uncaring hand. But it’s not his fault he’s a hopeless romantic.

genre: adult litfic

setting: san francisco, 1980s

deals with: grief and loss, queer history + the AIDS crisis, sex and the body, terminal illness and caretaking, being a hopeless romantic but like for all kinds of love, platonic love, friendship when one of them is ill and knows they will likely die, disability and how caretaking can reshape dynamics

summary: It's about love, babey! Beau tries to navigate all the different types of love in his life -- romantic, sexual, platonic, familial, communal, self -- as he leans into relationships, even the unhealthy ones, to try to cope with the death of his best friend Bobby, who Beau took care of whilst he was sick for two years. Told with a dual timeline showing those two years as Beau processes it. It's about being messy and confused and trying to understand how to move forward when the biggest part of your life is now gone. It's about being in love with your best friend but like platonically and also your best friend is dead. It's about queer sex and grief and caretaking and the AIDS crisis. Beau is also obsessed with horror movies and is definitely autistic but doesn't know it. Bobby loved volcanoes and mountains, acrylic painting, David Cronenberg movies and also The Muppets (his fave was Gonzo btw). If you want to know more I have a more detailed WIP intro and also the tag where I post way too long excerpts!

status: 16,391 words into the first draft, but that's been writing whenever/whatever I want rather than a consistent routine

my goal?: get a consistent drafting routine LOL. Word count wise I'd like 15k to basically double it, but we will see! Would love to write everyday at least though.

I haven't done taglists in a while buuuut if people are doing camp nano taglists? That could be fun? This story is so sad but sometimes it is so silly and fun. If you like stories where the grief and joy hold hands then this might be for you !!

What Beau remembers: The quiet when, for a long moment, Bobby didn’t speak. Then, a whisper. “Today wasn’t the day.” And Beau understood what he meant, a painful but deep knowing -- how they still weren't ready, whenever they talked about it, to say the word die. “No, today wasn’t the day.” Bobby, quieter. “And tomorrow. Tomorrow won’t be the day either.” “I don’t think it will.” Beau thinks, at this moment, that he kissed the top of Bobby’s head, or he whispered one into his hair, pressed his cheek into it. At least, that’s how he remembers, or how he wants to. “I don’t think it will be the day for a while.” What Beau remembers: Bobby, still quiet, his breathing slowed. But still awake. How he moved closer, and Beau held him tighter. Sometimes Beau believed that if he just held onto Bobby tighter it would somehow lengthen the time between now and the day, that the universe would sense their closeness and not dare to sever it. All if Beau just held him closer, heartbeat to heartbeat. It was so dark in the room, the moonlight a thin sheet behind the curtains; just them and their bodies, their breaths. And he thinks he remembers Bobby smiling, that he felt it or even sensed it, the presence of something happy, something that, for a moment, let itself be hopeful. “Your heartbeat is so relaxing,” he said. “I love that you sleep like Dracula.”

#the way i literally tried to make this short. i kinda flopped #laughing so hard this is basically the same length as the other one but like bc my ass needed THAT excerpt at the end #camp nanowrimo #lover boy #me doing the exact wip intro style i said i didnt like for my camp nano post LOL! #i tried to parallel the vibes w the excerpts like #lure you in with the hopeless romantic quote and then OH! it's about seeing ur best friend slowly die

[island-delver-go]

#steven king #the shining #no nut november #no shave november #nanowrimo #camp nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2023

[maxkirin]

everybody:

me, talking about my OCs:

#ocs #inspired by true events #camp nanowrimo #camp nano 2023 #camp nano april 2023 #writing #amwriting

[albatris]

unspecified writing challenge month day 2!

today's wordcount is 4,725 / 30,000!

nat tries to fend off visitors and grub makes an appearance! nat and quinn attempt to build a cat tower

today's excerpt is,

today's mood is PUZZLES and today's jam is "turn out the light" by the crane wives

bye! I love you!

#camp nanowrimo #a rental car takes a left down rake street and disappears