The thought of being locked in a wooden cabin with 11 other people for a month, fills this introvert with dread. But luckily Camp NaNoWriMo in July … is a virtual camp, so I’ll enjoy every minute.

What is Camp NaNoWriMo?

Camp NaNoWriMo is a virtual writer’s retreat, designed for maximum flexibility and creativity. We have Camp sessions in both April and July, and we welcome word-count goals between 30 and 1,000,000. In addition, writers can tackle any project they’d like, including new novel drafts, revision, poetry, scripts, and short stories.

My plan is to write a Collection of Poetry based around the people I’ve met, and experiences I’ve had since relocating to Turkey. I’ve got a load of ideas stored up, and am using June to get an approach together, and will be ready to hit the ground running (and writing) in July.

I’ve set myself a 12,000 word target .. which means if I can write a 400 word poem each day for a month, I’ll be able to exceed that target.

And once the words are written – I’d love to throw together a few pen and ink illustrations based on the content of the poems. Not sure if my head (and creativity will be up for it) … but you’ll find out when you download the book in August!

Now please excuse me while I go off and read the Cautionary Tales for Children, by Hilaire Belloc for inspiration.

Once, just once, I entered a school poetry reading contest … reading this poem “Henry King” by Hilaire Belloc. I enjoyed the rehearsals at home. It was during the miners strikes in the ’70s, and with no TV or lights available, I performed my poetry to my parents, brother and pets by candle light.

I loved the poem and was excited to perform it.

Unfortunately there was electricity on the day I performed, and standing on stage under the flood lights was a very different experience to my rehearsal conditions.

I didn’t win the competition, I don’t think I even got placed. Any hopes of finding fame and fortune on the west end stage were dashed in that moment. But the experience ignited my love of poetry.

Guest Post

I wrote a guest post on the same topic for the Alliance of Independent Authors, and you can read it here.