October: Base Camp

Season September: Fun Run October: Base Camp November: Marathon Cheer Crew Participants

October: Base Camp?

OCTOBER 2026

Build your writing habits one day at a time. Complete one task each day and arrive at November's Marathon prepared, confident, and ready to write. Stay on pace to earn the Perfect Pace Merit Badge, or work ahead or catch up to earn the Trained & Ready Merit Badge.

Prepare your writing project before November begins.

Base Camp is the bridge between building a writing habit and tackling a bigger writing goal. Throughout October, you'll complete 27 guided tasks designed to prepare you for a successful November, whether you're writing a novel, memoir, nonfiction book, blog series, or something entirely your own.

Each day offers two versions of the same task: one for fiction writers and one for nonfiction writers. Simply choose the one that best fits your project. Complete one task each day or work ahead whenever your schedule allows. Every completed task moves you one step closer to being ready when November arrives.

Along the way you'll celebrate milestones with the community and earn a merit badge (or two!) if you complete the tasks. Discover practical exercises that help you build characters, organize ideas, strengthen your outline, develop your voice, and prepare your project before the writing Marathon begins in November. There's no competition, no pressure, and no single "right" way to prepare... just writers helping writers.

What You'll Get

27 guided writing preparation tasks throughout October

Fiction and nonfiction versions of every task

Complete tasks at your own pace all month long

Earn Merit Badges as you complete Base Camp

Prepare your writing project for November

Completely free to participate

Free For Everyone

Base Camp is completely free to participate.

Everything you need to complete Base Camp is available to every member. Register, complete all 27 tasks, earn Merit Badges, receive a Portfolio Awardicon, and prepare alongside the Writing.Com community.

Members who choose to upgrade unlock additional Writing.Com tools, including Books, advanced organization features, and other writing resources, but upgrading is completely optional (see: Paid Memberships )