Greetings and welcome to the Scratch Writing Camp Camper signups for our upcoming March 2023 session! Please ensure that you read the entirety of this description before you sign up <3 ⬡ SWC, or Scratch Writing Camp, is a triannual virtual writing camp, in that each participant sets a word goal for themselves and aims to write that number of words throughout camp. But that's not all we do - SWC also entails activities to help you with your writing, fun challenges with creative limitations, and other tasks that you can complete to earn your cabin points. Speaking of points! There are 15 cabins (studios) - you'll be in one of them - and all through camp, friendly competition is maintained between each of them by way of a point system. The camp runs from the 1st of March to the 31st and it's entirely online, so you aren't required to check in - though we encourage you to update words and finish activities as often as possible. ⬡ We will not accept further signups after 11:59 PM UTC on the 20th of February OR when we hit our cap of *500* signups. You will be informed about which cabin you are sorted into in late February. The word goal limit is 100,000 words. It is impossible to write this amount and still be healthy – to hit that goal would require you to write over 3000 words each day. Once you hit 100,000 words, your leader will not be allowed to count any more from you. Remember to follow Scratch Guidelines above anything else – so no insulting or gossiping about other people. You are expected to know all of this, but we are not too strict. Please remember that this is just an online writing camp <3 Prioritise your own mental + physical health and schoolwork over SWC. There are no prizes for winning SWC, and we would all much prefer it if you got eight hours of sleep rather than none because you were writing towards a cabin war all night! ☁ To sign up, the only thing you have to do is to fill out this form in the *comments* below: 1. Do you have any plans in March that will affect your activity levels? 2. Of the cabins and leaders listed in the Notes and Credits, list a MINIMUM of three* leaders or cabins you would be comfortable with, WITHOUT an order of preference. Leaders listed should be from DIFFERENT CABINS. (If you have no preference, just say that!) *You may request The Cabin That Will Not Win (See explanation in the Notes and Credits) as your only preference (or you may list it as one of your preferences as usual). In the event that it’s full, you will be placed in another cabin that also aims to have a similarly relaxed atmosphere. 3. What is your word goal? (A good starting goal for an inexperienced camper would be around 5,000 – 10,000) 4. What is your WPM? (WPM is words per minute - an average of how many words you type/write in a minute. To check, go to https://www.typingtest.com, and put the NUMBER that you get in this answer, not 'High' or 'Average') 5. Would you be comfortable having any of your comments during March quoted or screenshotted for the SWC memory book? (Answer with either "always", "ask first", or "never") 6. Have you participated in SWC before? ⬡ Leaders, cos, and their desired cabin atmospheres (written by the leader teams) this session can be found in the Notes and Credits. The main cabin can be found here, with links to each cabin if you're interested in checking out the themes: (link) ⬡ Credits: Many thanks to all of the past hosts, co-hosts, and others who have assisted in the workings of SWC. A full list can be found here: Thumbnail made on Canva Music is "bee." (I am in love with this) by GroovyDominoes52 SWC logo by
Adventure: @theleapingleopard || @lvnarlys, @ForestPanther "A fun, community spirit fueled with enthusiasm, driven in part by competition, in part by friendship and excitement!" Bizarro Fiction (Bi-Fi): @gooseful || @cocomelon45, @-vanillamochabear- "The atmosphere of Bi-Fi will be relaxed and inviting. We aim to emphasise self-care and fun, bonding activities with friendly in-cabin competition. Building friendships is the main goal in this cabin!" Dystopian: @MoonlitSeas || @TheBibliophile7 "A family-esque atmosphere, we aim to create an engaging and benevolent community where every unique goal, competitive or personal, will be supported and encouraged." Fanfiction: @strange_skies || @dsjlin, @Violet-- "the fan-fiction arena is going to be a relaxed, friendly cabin. we're aiming to create a place where competitiveness is encouraged, but not mandatory, and each camper's goal in SWC is supported :)" Fantasy: @opheliio || @Rey_venclaw, @starr-light “learn the art of wish granting in a chill, low-stress cabin emphasizing collaboration! form friendships as you play collaborative writing games and find fun inspiration for your own writing.” Folklore: @--tranquility || @Sandy-Dunes, @Piper_Camps "The Folklore Spell Shop aims to be encouraging and supportive, focused on learning new skills/techniques! The main components of this cabin are personal improvement, critiques, and writing skills :D" Historical Fiction (Hi-Fi): @zparkly || @cb2jkl, @-waveii "Hi-Fi aims to create an atmosphere that allows campers to work on whatever pieces they desire with the incentive of in-cabin competition. Bond with other writers in this cabin!" Horror: @Lesixiq- || @Eeveedonut, @Spire- "Focuses more on the campers' enjoyment, mental health, and experience, while also making room for bonding, competition, and sharpening their writing skills throughout the session." Mystery: @Willow_wonderful || @xc-egg, @iinspirqtion "Mystery The Secret Organization encourages friendly competition, teamwork, and self-development through ciphers and codes while offering campers both motivation and personalized goal-oriented experiences." Nonfiction (Non-Fi): @-NightGlow- || @129waterfall, @essayist "Non-Fi will be motivating, supportive and fun, with engaging in-cabin events to promote cabin bonding. Campers are encouraged to do dailies and weeklies - while taking breaks and moving at their own pace." Poetry: @Whirlygig || @-limeade, @IvyCreations "Our cabin will focus on community over competition, establishing a chill atmosphere while still motivating campers to write. Open Mics will give campers a noncompetitive way to share their writing." Realistic Fiction (Real-Fi, The Cabin that Will Not Win): @Bellevue91 || @fluffyjujunicorn, @bloofs "The Real-Fi Retreat is a calm and chill cabin with a significant focus on personal projects, mental wellbeing, and perpetual encouragement. The only person you’ll be competing with is yourself <3" (In addition, the Cabin that Will Not Win will NOT be a part of the rankings. An explanation behind it and more information can be found here: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/650823/?page=1#post-6839332 ) Science Fiction (Sci-Fi): @RLove10 || @Xx_Hermione_xX, @Flowerelf371 "A mission geared towards interaction between campers and leaders. Working as a team to reach goals, with a relatively high level of competition. Explore a new planet which as a crew we have to escape." Script: @Luna-Lovegood-LOL || @-redredrobin-, @Stariqe “Laidback with competition as a more minor aspect, and an encouragement of team spirit and collaboration. The storyline will still be interactive but stay simple and easy to understand!” Thriller: @Polarbear_17 || @mossflower29, @pages-of-ink "Escape rooms with collaborative puzzles/challenges & emphasis on forming supportive communities & self-improvement above competition. With various twists & collectible rewards, you're in for a thrilling time!" ⬡ IMPORTANT: Cabin names have no correlation with what genre you write - you could be writing historical fiction if you were in the Dystopian cabin, or any other combination. Make your choice based on the leaders, cabin themes and atmospheres!
