Before we begin, a huge thank you to Miri (@moonlark-) for the original FAQ, as well as to Pi (@pitau) and Moonlit (@MoonlitSeas) for updating it along the way! I've just added and revised some information to account for some of the more recent shifts within the community <3 Now onto the questions! Q. What’s this SWC thing? A. Glad you asked! SWC is a triannual (happens three time a year - in March, July, and November) writing camp where you set a word goal and get sorted into a cabin, participate in camp-wide and cabin-specific activities to improve your writing and earn points for your cabin, forge lasting friendships while creating lasting memories, and, of course, write! It's all just fun though so don't be intimidated ;D Q. How will I know what cabin I’m in? A. All cabin leaders will message and invite their campers sometime before the start of each session. The sort typically takes a day or two to be finalized so you can expect an invite anytime after Feb/June/Oct 25th and definitely before March/July/November 1st. Q. What's the difference between the main cabin and the genre cabins? A. The main cabin is the headquarters of the whole camp. You can post what points you've earned from activities (dailies, weeklies, etc.), and a (co)leader/host will add the points for you! It’s also a great place to hang out and meet fellow writers, as well as ask for critiques, prompts, and inspiration. As for the smaller individual cabins, that's where you'll add the words you write (example: +160 words from my novel), and your leader or co-leaders will add them! Cabins have often formed some very tight-knit communities – beyond being a place to add words, they’re somewhere you and your cabinmates can always hang out and have fun together! (note: you don't have to write the genre of the cabin you're in, you can write any genre you’d like <3) Q. What counts toward words? A. While you are welcome to write in any genre you’d like, in order for your words to count towards your word goal total, generally speaking, they must be literary and original. This means that activities such as note taking and texting do not count, but english homework, short stories, and journaling do! If you’re not sure about whether or not something counts, ask a )co)leader :D You can also find a more complete list of what does and doesn’t count here - Q. What are reserves? A. Reserves are words that you ‘save up’, often to add at the end of the session – one reason people do this is to count all handwritten writing at the very end, instead of as they write it. It’s important to note that you may not add more than 10k words at a time, including reserves. This means that you also may not have more than 10k words in reserve – your leader will only be allowed to add up to 10k, and you will likely be required to share partial proof. Additionally, all your words become reserves after the session ends in your timezone. Q. When do I need to share proof of my writing? A. If you attempt to add over 5000 words at a time, or your (co)leaders notice that you’re writing several thousand words a day, they will likely ask you to share some proof of your writing! You’ll also need to give proof of your writing for all weeklies – if you’re uncomfortable with this, please reach out to a Polar Bear coordinator (usernames found in Main Cabin desc.) to find an alternative. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, and the earlier you reach out, the better your chances are of getting one! Q. How can I give proof of/share my writing? A. The easiest way to share writing is to post in the SWC megathread, which you can find a link to in the Main Cabin! If you need to post writing in the forums outside of the megathread, please limit yourself to one writing thread at the very most. All writing threads should go in the “Things I’m Making and Creating” forum. If you would like a more private way to share your writing, you can put it in the description of a project (though there's a limit of 5k characters) or a comment inside a project. Please don't use other websites to share writing. Q. Is there a specific time I have to be on? A. Nope! The nice thing about an online camp is that we're flexible. You can be on every day, or you can be on once a week. After all, this is for your fun - don't stress yourself out! Real Life > SWC. Q. How can I apply to be a leader or a co-leader? A. Two months before every session, one of the hosts will release a leader applications project, with a list of questions. Remix that project with your answers, and half a month later, see if you got chosen! Q. How can I apply to be a camper? A. A month before every session, the hosts will release another project - this one for campers. There'll be a form for you to fill out - fill it out in the comments. Everyone who signs up gets in, don't worry! Q. What timezone is SWC based around? A. Most activities will start/change at midnight UTC
For a full list of FAQs, please view the following: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/891680/ Q. What are points, anyways? A. Points are how the end-of-session results are determined. You can earn points in one of eight ways - dailies, weeklies, word wars, critiques, penpals, the memory book contest, the writing competition, and just writing in general. Each of these have a number of points attached to them (in particular, every word you write counts as a 1/2 a point at the end of SWC) at the end of the month, all the points are added up, and the cabin with the most wins! That isn’t to say the ultimate goal of SWC is to win - while placing high in the cabin rankings is enjoyable, it's the writing, improvement, and memories that really count <3 Q. Wait, wait - what are all those things? A. Here’s an explanation of each activity: Dailies are new activities posted every day at midnight UTC. These are short-to-medium-length prompts that help enhance your imagination and motivate you to write. Most of the time, they have points attached - usually from 200 to 600! Weeklies are long activities - but luckily, you have the whole week to complete them! Starting from midnight UTC, a new one is posted every seven days. These are often connected to a set of writing workshops, helping you use what you learned in the workshops. They’re also usually worth a few thousand points, and are a great way to dive a bit deeper into specific writing techniques. Word Wars start during the first week of camp. It's an activity where you and someone from another cabin agree to write for a set amount of time, and whoever writes more wins! If you win, make sure to comment something like "won a word war for [cabin]!" in the main cabin for 100 points. There's also an opportunity to do a prompt-base war where you can earn an additional 25 (you can only get points for winning a word war once a day, though). The Critiquitaire is an activity where you and another SWC-er offer to critique a piece of each other’s writing, and you’ll earn Main Cabin points based on the number of words you wrote! Similar to word wars, the critiquitaire starts when a Polar Bear Coordinator shares the respective project - typically at the end of the first week. The Memory Book Contest is a campwide opportunity to be a part of something bigger. Each session there'll be a theme that the contest follows and you can submit an entry that follows the outlined guidelines (found on the project) to earn 25 points for your cabin. The winner(s) of the MBC are chosen through a campwide vote during the last week of the session, and their covers will be used when the session memory book is shared. Penpals are an opportunity for you to get to know other SWC-ers. Essentially it entails choosing a penpal at the start of the session (by commenting on the project) and writing letters to each other to make new friendships! Each letter is worth a specific number of points depending on how much you write, however those specifics will be covered in the project once it's shared. Last, but certainly not least, the writing contest! One of the hosts will share a project, where you'll post your entries. There are a couple of rules (written on that project), and I would definitely recommend entering - in addition to the helpful critique that these pieces often receive from cabin mates, (co)leaders, and potentially judges (after results are shared), winners can earn tens of thousands of points for their cabin! Q. So.... what's the deal with the writing workshops? A. Workshops are guides written by (co)leaders meant to help you improve your writing, as well as focus on quality over quantity! Each session, some weeklies will require you to read a few workshops and then use that knowledge. Keep an eye out for them ;D Q. I hear a lot about cabin wars, what are they? A. Cabin wars are one of the most famous parts of SWC – twice a month, cabins can war each other with challenges. Each challenge has a time limit, and a penalty if not completed in time. They're very high-energy and a good time to get hyped up, as well as the only SWC activity where you can lose points instead of gain them! Q. What if there's drama? Who should I talk to? A. We don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable, and we want it to be fun, so if you're having issues, contact your leader or one of the hosts privately (example: at the bottom comment of one of their projects). We're happy to help <3 Q. I have an idea for SWC. Where should I put it? A. If you want to get your great idea heard, put it in our suggestions forum (right here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/514261/). The hosts will review them as a team and who knows, maybe you'll see it implemented ;D (thumbnail made on Canva)
