Camping at Work and 101 Challenge 6

For those of you who have no clue about it, NaNoWriMo is a yearly event that takes place in November. It’s a writing challenge where you take the month to write a story with the goal of reaching 50,000 words before the month ends. It can take a lot of work, but I’ve been taking part for about a decade (yes, I started as a youth). While it may seem to be a difficult goal, and I’ve only actually succeeded once…But still, I never give up, and I am to continue participating every year until my death (though I can’t see that far ahead, huh?).

Now, the truth is it isn’t only NaNoWriMo that’s special to me. Twice a year, in April and July, they have a lighter version of the challenge: Camp NaNoWriMo. You get to choose your method (Screenplay, Comic, poetry, novel, whatever you want basically)…and you choose your word goal. The point is to keep writing, and to connect with other writers in ‘cabins’ online. Normally, my way of getting a cabin is just selecting for it to randomly choose on the distribution of cabins. However, you CAN join a specific one. This year will be my first year doing that- because my boss at the magazine made one for our group. For once, I’ll probably know everyone in my cabin beforehand! Not that it’ll be any different than my usual lurking in the open discord…Hehe. Apparently the boss mentioned something about a ‘Habitica Party’ while I was gone today, so I have to find out more about that too. Seems interesting.

I’ve also started working on writing some tutorials. I’ll eventually add them and some other things I’ve been working on to the site in their own proper sections (just kinda deciding how to go about it, first!). I need to make more graphics for when I work on the site, because it’s kind of dull so far isn’t it? But I won’t give up! I’ll make it shine sooner or later. Just takes time.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE: Your first memory of writing

I think I mentioned it back around challenge four, but I’ve always loved stories. After a while, I’d heard enough silly bed time stories from dad that I decided to try writing my own. Sure, most of it was based on things I’d seen- I came up with an idea based on Pokemon to some extent, with differences I can barely recall today. Once I’d learned how to make words work on paper, I started to write regularly. It was probably my biggest coping skill back when I was ten, and my father had been in dire straights medically. I made a lot of friends at that point through writing and learning the form of it that could be social, role-playing.

I have a lot of fond memories of writing, in reality…But I can’t say I remember what came first anymore. I do know my first three characters I ever made from it though. They’re my very special babies (albeit I call all my characters my kids, which is proof I probably shouldn’t be a mother). I tend to obsess a bit more over them than usual, and when I’m bored and want to make pictures, I’ll jump at the chance to make pictures of them just for fun. From oldest to youngest of my three little girls…

Flutter: I originally called her “Little”, and she was supposed to be a bit based off me, using my internet handle at the time. She’s grown a lot since I made her a decade and change ago, going from a shy, well-mannered girl to a fiesty, logical one that just doesn’t really get emotions well (not that she ever did). She’s always been an alien and has taught me a lot of short stories from her world over my life with her. That said…I think her father has changed WAY MORE than she has >>

Hiruka: If you’ve ever tried roleplaying Pokemon with me, you’ve met her. She’s a hard-headed girl who acts first and asks questions later. She has a strong sense of justice and prefers Pokemon to people, possibly because she has some Pokemon in her DNA from genetic engineering she didn’t even know about. She’s often on the run, and often butting in where she doesn’t belong. That said, she can have her fear of humans quelled if the right person comes along…

Linear: Though she was basically starting out as a character for a roleplay of Megaman, Linear came as a set with Calama, who I easily altered later to still make sense with her even without the net-navi reasoning. Linear’s always been a bit on the mute side, always from trauma as a child. I think it was around the time I made her, actually, that I’d had my first bout of unexplainable amnesia myself. I forgot my own name for a few days at school, and kept writing my name as Little. It confused everyone, including me! When I finally remembered my real name, I wouldn’t react to the only thing I had for those days…I have this feeling I made Linear with a mild amnesia of the traumatic past because I wanted to understand my own situation and why I forgot my name.

All my characters are special to me…And the memories I share with them will only grow, to the point my mind will explode. It’s kind of amazing really…I can remember any of this, when my memory is far from something I’m proud of. Yet all these memories? I wouldn’t trade them for the world. If I could help it, anyway. 🙂