April CampNaNoWriMo is almost over! It’s hard to believe there’s only one weekend between us and the end of Camp.

I’ve only had a handful of NaNoWriMo-like writing days this month. The atmosphere around Camp is so different from the November event and my mindset just isn’t the same. I did have one particularly brilliant writing day this week. A part of me wishes I could capture that sort of energy and make every day like that.

We’re close enough to the end of the month that I think I can see where I went wrong. Some of the things that kept me from writing as much as I would like were out of my control, but some of it could have been helped if I made a bit more effort.

In November the NaNoWriMo community is huge. We’re all in it together. We’re packed into the forums and all over social media helping and encouraging each other. Some of that happens with Camp, but on a much smaller scale. Instead of just bumping into people and posts that motivate and encourage me, I need to seek them out.

I haven’t done much seeking this month.

Part of the issue is that the community is smaller. With less people participating the signal isn’t getting the same boost as it would in November. We’re also scattered across so many platforms

We’re also scattered across so many platforms. Some people on on the NaNoWriMo forums. Some people stick to their social media. Other people are focusing primarily on their cabins because it is so easy to let the message board there die if it isn’t tended carefully.

We aren’t a unified front during Camp and with the smaller number of participants it is much harder to stay connected to the event as a whole. I don’t think there is an easy solution to this problem. There are people reaching out, offering encouragement and support, but we need to make the effort to find each other. NaNoWriMo h

The main NaNoWriMo event is so big now that we’ve all become lazy. We’re used to the feeling of belonging being right at our fingertips. Camp is NaNoWriMo on a much smaller scale and being smaller means those of us that want to be a part of the warm, fuzzy feeling of community need to put in a lot more work as an individual to make it happen.

I think it can happen. Some people already have a great, big support group going for Camp events. More of us can do the same if that’s what we want and we put in the work.

I’m already looking forward to Camp in July. I plan on making more of an effort to connect with other writers in and out of my cabin. I think it will work to my advantage to add more enthusiasm for the event to my life.

How’s CampNaNoWriMo going for you? Do you think we as participants should do more to create a network of other WriMos for ourselves during Camp months?