# Nano Camp April 2015



## Caged Maiden (Mar 5, 2015)

Welcome to a new nano year, scribes!

i'm anihow over there, so friend me.  This thread is for people to meet nano friends and get into cabins with fellow scribes.  Tell us a little about your project or just leave your username.  I think we can request up to six friends in a cabin, so get your name in soon!

More coming soon!  The clock is ticking.  20 days to next cabin assignment.


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## TheCatholicCrow (Mar 5, 2015)

Yay! I've been watching the calendar and mentally prepping for outlines. Last November was my first time participating. Never done a Camp before ... I think my username should be the same as here. 

I was planning on returning to Book 1 in my WIP series but I've made better progress than I expected so if I can finish it in time, I'll be rolling right into #2. 

My project is a complex political piece with 6 MC's. A simplistic overview of my project is ... 
There are 2 brothers, an ex-fiance, and a father/daughter duo. The brothers are poor but mostly content farmers in the (independent) East. The ex-fiance is Eastern as well (but wishes she was part of the Western culture.) The father & daughter are nobles in the West. The daughter's 1/2 Ancient (race) & has healing powers. Her father (though aware of his daughter) has volunteered to be at the forefront of an inquisition/genocide of the Ancient people. He's climbing social ladders and must fight to protect his secret. He is caught between his desire to rule the kingdom and the knowledge that killing the queen will unleash dark unholy magic (and probably result in the enslavement of the humanity). Fearful of persecution, the daughter flees Eastward and finds more trouble than she anticipated. She is captured & enslaved to Ex. The younger brother comes looking for her & finds the young noblewoman instead. He vows to get even with his Ex by freeing her favorite slave. The first volume (will) end with the daughter & one of the brothers fleeing together, the father in a higher political position (a coup eventually but still working on the timing & revising it). And the second should pick up immediately afterward and introduce new potential romance, the threat of war, an inquisition, etc. 

I'd love to hear a bit about what everyone else will be working on. 
:Smile:


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 10, 2015)

Thanks for the reminder Caged!  
I'm going to rewrite some older material, I've been fretting over, this go around. 
In short it's an urban-epic fantasy. 

To request I'm "Cicca" 
GL to all. May your cabin rock, your story flow and the night lights burn brightly for everyone. 
xoxo, ~C~


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 10, 2015)

so the way we typically do cabin assignments is to sort of divide the scribes into groups.  If we only get 6 participants, we'll all be in the same cabin.  However, we have people all over the world.  Last August I think we had a sort of Europe group and a sort of America group, for time zones, so people could talk to a cabin of folks on at the same waking hours at least.  

Last April camp we separated into groups by genre because we had more than twelve people I think.  As we get closer, we'll try to make sure everyone gets a cabin group of scribes that best fit their needs.


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## Tom (Mar 10, 2015)

Hey, I'll participate this time. Maybe I can use this to finally end that novel I've been working on for years, as well as some other projects...My username is M Schiller.


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## skip.knox (Mar 10, 2015)

Since there are other finishers here, I'd like to join in, too. I'm slogging through the Great Swampy Middle and could probably use some support and encouragement. April, eh? I knew about the June one; didn't know about this one.


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## skip.knox (Mar 10, 2015)

All logged in. I'm elkinheadlights


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## skip.knox (Mar 10, 2015)

So, since I'm aiming not so much at finishing as getting a good ways toward finishing, I'm wondering how others handle tracking word count at this stage of the game, when the majority of the work consists of editing existing material, but a goodly percentage is still writing up missing scenes or throwing out a scene and rewriting from scratch. IOW, it's neither all new nor all editing.

Also, how do you go about planning for this month? Outlining? Goals? Task list?


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 17, 2015)

When I logged in it asked me to "Create a cabin" so I did, looks like there are 6 or less of us, so do I send you all invites? 
"Anihow" has not created a project yet according to the system....


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## SM-Dreamer (Mar 17, 2015)

Am definitely up for this. Hoping to get my ass back into gear for writing again, lol. Taking the story from NaNo and ripping it apart, outlining and replanning, and going to put it back together. At least that is the goal.

I'm SM-Dreamer on there, too.


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## cupiscent (Mar 17, 2015)

I really, really wanted to do Camp NaNo in April - it was on my year's schedule and everything! But owing to unexpected health issues, I am running WAY behind on my schedule. I think trying to scrape something together would be more a hindrance than a help at this point, but I'll be cheering enthusiastically for all you participants in April. I found it a great kickstart to my productivity in July last year.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 23, 2015)

skip.knox said:


> All logged in. I'm elkinheadlights


I can't invite you as you've not created a project yet dear.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 23, 2015)

TheCatholicCrow said:


> Yay! I've been watching the calendar and mentally prepping for outlines. Last November was my first time participating. Never done a Camp before ... I think my username should be the same as here.
> 
> I was planning on returning to Book 1 in my WIP series but I've made better progress than I expected so if I can finish it in time, I'll be rolling right into #2.
> 
> ...



invite sent, I'm Cicca.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 23, 2015)

SM-Dreamer said:


> Am definitely up for this. Hoping to get my ass back into gear for writing again, lol. Taking the story from NaNo and ripping it apart, outlining and replanning, and going to put it back together. At least that is the goal.
> 
> I'm SM-Dreamer on there, too.


Invite sent, I'm Cicca.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 23, 2015)

Tom Nimenai said:


> Hey, I'll participate this time. Maybe I can use this to finally end that novel I've been working on for years, as well as some other projects...My username is M Schiller.


Please double check and post your user name, the system can't find you when I try to send an invite.


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## Tom (Mar 23, 2015)

Hm. Maybe I need to make a new account. I lost my password anyway, so I can't log into the old one at the moment.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 23, 2015)

So unless more ppl decide to join us Caged, it looks like we have just enough people to fill the cabin up. Kellie from the FB group (think she is on here too) will be joining us as well.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 23, 2015)

Okay, I figured it out.  My project for April is going to be a long story?  is that a thing?  Well anyways, it's called Overwound.  It's about a misfit crew on an airship and their interpersonal relationships.  I've wanted to write this one for a while and with our recent discussions and Phil's challenge, I'm forging ahead with my POC cast and my meager understanding of clockwork.  It's a steampunk fantasy and my Main characters are a POC captain who was dropped from the naval academy, a clock-maker's daughter looking for adventure, a young boy escaped from the um.. adult novelty trade?  And their newest addition, a clockwork man.  Let's see if I can make 50k words!  I'm hoping to write the first scene as part of Phil's challenge.


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## Tom (Mar 23, 2015)

Apparently my old account is invalid now. *fumes* Guess I'll have to make a new one.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 23, 2015)

Can you send me an invite Lotus?  I created a book today, but I can't get into your cabin unless you invite me.  Thanks!  Do you know whether we have an all private cabin then?  Or will they fill it with other folks?  I guess we can invite as many people into a private cabin as we want?


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## Tom (Mar 23, 2015)

I just logged in and created my novel, after spending fifteen minutes digging around for the tiny notebook I keep my passwords in. My username is M Schiller. Exactly that--capital M, capital S, space between the two.


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## skip.knox (Mar 23, 2015)

I have now done my homework, Blue Lotus. Ready for that invite, and thank you for letting me know!


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## Nimue (Mar 23, 2015)

I feel like I really ought to do this for my current WIP, but I don't want to knock us out of a full cabin.  I may just do this on my own time!


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 24, 2015)

okay 18 hours till cabin assignment.  Get on the list so Blue Lotus can invite you to the nano scribes cabin!
Let's rock it out this April.  We play games, motivate, and generally keep it fun and friendly.  Join us!


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## Tom (Mar 24, 2015)

How exactly do we get in our cabin? Is there a list we have to be on, or what?

EDIT: Yesssss, I'm in!


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## Chessie (Mar 24, 2015)

Is it too late to join in? I've decided to do it after all (and I enjoyed our November group). I'm YogiChess over there.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 24, 2015)

Gotcha.  

Okay, so it looks like we have a private cabin and there's no need to make it public.  We're all alone, scribes, so we can fill this cabin with 5-6 more people.  Please put your nano name on your post if we haven't got you.

To access the cabin, respond to the invite and then hit "my cabin" in "community" tab.


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## Nimue (Mar 24, 2015)

Ah, if you do have room after all (I thought the cabins were six people?) I've signed up as Luthie.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 24, 2015)

gotcha.

I guess they made private cabins a new option.  Last year they only let you request up to six friends and the other six people in the cabin were random.  This year it looks like you get to do a private cabin that is all requested friends.  how fun!


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 25, 2015)

Caged Maiden said:


> gotcha.
> 
> I guess they made private cabins a new option.  Last year they only let you request up to six friends and the other six people in the cabin were random.  This year it looks like you get to do a private cabin that is all requested friends.  how fun!


I'm excited. We have a fantastic group once again. As for the number of people allowed in I'm not sure, the system never told me a limit, but only people we invite can get in because it is private so no "lame ducks." so to speak.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 25, 2015)

skip.knox said:


> I have now done my homework, Blue Lotus. Ready for that invite, and thank you for letting me know!


No problem dear, hope you are ready to have some fun!


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## skip.knox (Mar 25, 2015)

I'm in a cabin! Coolest cabin ever -- every bunk is top bunk!


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 25, 2015)

I just hijacked a tanker truck load of midnight oil. Now everyone will have a light to write by all month long. Morning, noon and night! The driver was a tish upset with me. I just shrugged in that extra-bad-ass way I have. "Tough shoe leather. We need it more;" I muttered as I pushed past him and clambered into the drivers seat. 
Consequently, the truck is parked outside the cabin. If one of you would kindly bust out the camo paint I'd appreciate it. Thank you.
Still working on a few surprises for the gang. And of course we are looking for input to see what everyone would like to see this go round. 
So pipe up and shout out. Tell us what we can do to make your Camp experience really rock!  
xoxo ~C~


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 25, 2015)




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## Caged Maiden (Mar 27, 2015)

Two spots left in our Mythic Cabin.  We've got some fun planned for this session, so get your name on the list if you are interested in joining.


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## skip.knox (Mar 27, 2015)

My name was on the list but I never got an invite. I've been assigned to another cabin.

Rescue me?


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 27, 2015)

Cicca said you didn't have a work created but obviously that is fixed now if you're in a cabin  If you try to invite someone who hasn't "created a novel" the invite bounces and it doesn't let you select them.  Okay, so get out of your current cabin and I'll get you into ours.  Thanks for letting me know.


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 27, 2015)

sent you an invite skip.  Hurry and accept so you get the last slot.


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## skip.knox (Mar 28, 2015)

Ah, that's better. In the other cabin I gave a shout out to my fellow Scribers and there were crickets. This one's better. Bunk beds *and* a fireplace. Ooh, and an alembic!


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 28, 2015)

I think that is it, the cabin is full. YAY. 
Alison from the November fb pg joined us in the cabin. I keep telling her to join us here as well. 
Edit: Sian from the fb pg joined us as well.


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## ThinkerX (Mar 29, 2015)

I'm in...a cabin of my own, since I spent too long before signing up.  

Been slogging through the rewrite of 'Empire: Country.'  That is nearing completion, though it'll need editing...eventually.  Far more readable and coherent than what it was.

But I told myself months ago I'd spend 'Camp NaNoWriMo' working on the successor, 'Empire: Capitol.'  Sort of an intrigue / assassination type novella.  I hope to finish a reasonably clean draft by May.  

Anyhow, anybody else here wants to sign up, I've got a big empty cabin.


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## The Blue Lotus (Mar 31, 2015)

ThinkerX said:


> I'm in...a cabin of my own, since I spent too long before signing up.
> 
> Been slogging through the rewrite of 'Empire: Country.'  That is nearing completion, though it'll need editing...eventually.  Far more readable and coherent than what it was.
> 
> ...



Thinker if anyone drops out we will add u in


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## Caged Maiden (Mar 31, 2015)

Sorry, I wrote a response to you yesterday, ThinkerX, but it appears I didn't actually post it.  That was rude of me.  My day sometimes turns hectic and I leave my computer open and then children confiscate it to play video games and I forget what I was doing.

Sorry you didn't get in to our cabin in time, but if anyone else wants to join, please invite them/  We can use this thread also to post updates and if you want to join our facebook page, some of the people are more active on facebook.


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## Nimue (Mar 31, 2015)

Oh my god, this is tomorrow!!

...Uh, I may need to finish writing my diversity challenge entry first.  Hokay, this month went fast.


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## Tom (Mar 31, 2015)

I know. Mine is still partway finished, and I'm stalling over characterization issues. Yikes!


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## ThinkerX (Apr 1, 2015)

> Oh my god, this is tomorrow!!
> 
> ...Uh, I may need to finish writing my diversity challenge entry first. Hokay, this month went fast.





> I know. Mine is still partway finished, and I'm stalling over characterization issues. Yikes!



Don't go feeling left out, you two.  I am still doing the rewrite for 'Empire: Country' - which will take me into the weekend.  I wanted that wrapped up before Camp NaNoWriMo, but ran into some plot bugs that forced me to stop and think about a couple things.

As to my camp project, 'Empire: Capitol,' I realized just a couple days ago that my mental outline had a couple really big holes in it - despite thinking about this tale on and off for over a year.  So, I've been puzzling that out along with working on 'Empire: Country.'  Plus, I have been doing a rewrite of my 'Jobe' story.

Bright side is I can apply the word count for part of the one tale to my NaNoWriMo total.


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## ThinkerX (Apr 1, 2015)

Oh...before I forget (again)...
At Camp NaNoWriMo I am 'Thinker102'


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## The Blue Lotus (Apr 6, 2015)

CONTEST!!!!!! 
Announcing a cabin wide contest, ThinkerX you can enter too if you like, you are one of us after all! 
Rule # 1- Entries must be submitted via the FB groups pg. https://www.facebook.com/groups/646977998734654/ (<-- the link) 
More detailed rules coming soon. 
Also seeking someone to help judge the entries. PM if interested in judging with us. Let's boost those Word counts!
Prize is a physical copy of "Shawdowfires" by Dean Koontz.


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## ThinkerX (Apr 7, 2015)

Finally finished the rewrite of 'Empire: Country,' though it still needs an edit for grammar pass I'll do once my main NaNoWriMo is over.  35,000 words, of which I can claim about 6500 for NaNoWriMo.

Tomorrow: time to get started on 'Empire: Capitol,' at last...and if there's another Camp in July, then I'll see about 'Empire: Estate.'

Hmmm...maybe I should do a rudimentary outline...


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## Caged Maiden (Apr 7, 2015)

outlining is for wimps.

ok, no seriously do your outline.  Every time I try to outline, it goes something like this:



> Scene 1: Introduce main character’s failed assassination attempt and her befriending secondary character.a. A conversation about Savio Marco's death​1. Show emotion because it's important the reader knows he was murdered (at least in the lawyer's mind)​b. Mention the cathedral's basic shape and look, but slip it in naturally, not too technical.​1. Add in some interesting details about the divine statues out front.  Maybe she can hang onto one?​c. Encounter a Divine and Yvette takes it as a godly message, so she goes to pursue the lawyer​


​
a pretty good start.  But then it turns to this...in less time than you'd think:



> Scene 36:  Yvette and Thorne sneak out of town to meet with Zanchi.a.       Black arrow.
> b.       Twelve guards.​c.       Talk in the woods.​1.      “I was hoping when you invited me for a walk in the woods, you really meant just that.”
> 2.      “Thorne, I didn’t realize you fostered such feelings for me.  I’m flattered.”
> 3.      “I just didn’t realize we were going to be risking our necks.”
> 4.      “I take it back, then.  I’m not flattered.”​



yeah, I'm a little jealous.   Best wishes!!!!!


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## ThinkerX (Apr 7, 2015)

Considering that I see many a post here about people deviating from their outlines, and taking into account most of the wordage in the rough drafts gets altered or deleted, the one seems about as good as the other.

Detailed outline more or less equal to a rough draft.


I ended up cutting almost half of the original 'Labyrinth' and rewriting 90% of what I did keep.  Same deal with 'Empire: Country,' got rid of a couple chapters and deleted large sections of the others.   I might be improving, though.  The four chapters I finished of 'Labyrinth: Seed' back in Novembers NaNoWriMo still look pretty dang good, and I'll probably be able to keep most of it.  Pity my other project got in the way there, or it'd be about 14 chapters. 

What prompted me to wonder about an outline here was a couple of giant unrealized plot holes in the middle of this story.  There were four or five chapters I had pretty solidly worked out, but the connecting pieces were missing, hence a 'map' (outline).  But I have been puzzling my way through the section since that realization and have it mostly worked out.


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