NaNoWriMo Just Around the Bend
Seventeen days is all that stands between National Novel Writing Month participants and the starting gun.
If you haven’t heard of this growing phenomenon, writers spend thirty days writing a 50,000 word novel that includes an ending. NaNoWriMo is designed to help people get over the hurdles of perfectionism, procrastination, and somedayitis. New participants are nervous. Returning alumni are excited. Still, NaNoWriMo has fans…and those who think the whole idea is a waste of time.
The Pros are that NaNoWriMo can provide incentive, freedom from perfectionism, the sense of community and camaraderie. It’s fun and challenging. The spirit of NaNoWriMo is unique and there are no real losers.
The Cons are that most people find the word count goals an unsustainable way to create over the long term. It can add pressure for first timers that might not help. And there are those who believe that writing fast equals writing crap. The spirit of the event is competitive and doesn’t foster the best habits for first timers.
In some circles, NaNoWriMo is controversial. Everyone who knows what the event is has an opinion.
If novels aren’t your thing, consider a screenplay during Script Frenzy, or the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. In some parts of the country, NaNoWriMo is still relatively unknown, so you can always tool around town inviting questions and comments in a hoodie or T Shirt. Each year has a different design and often in more than one color set.
1667 words per day, 12,500 words per week. Does it seem like a lot? Start early or start late. Finish early, on time, or not at all. Enjoy the pep talks from well known published authors and enjoy the regional meetings if you choose to go. Above all, NaNoWriMo is meant to be fun. Have fun with it!
Let’s open this up. I’m inviting the most die hard NaNo haters and the most rabid NaNo fans to give your opinion. What’s best about it? What’s worst? Have you done it? Would you try it? Let’s get some lively discussion going. We have 17 days until the bell rings. Where do you stand?
Well, without Nano I wouldn’t have started seriously writing. I found out about Nano back in October 2007 about a week before it started. Something struck a chord and decided to give it a try. Came up with an idea and went to town writing. Discovered how much liked writing, letting my imagination take flight. Amazed myself.
I think Nano is a great idea for inspiring folks to write, plus helps form a habit. A habit is supposed to take two weeks to form, right. The habit stayed with me most of the year, except for writing 1600 words a day. I’m joining in for a third time and loving the creative process, the brainstorming. NaNo works well for folks who need a deadline and work great under stress. Plus by the end of the month, you have 50k words or more that hopefully make up a passable story. Most of all its a challenge. And sometimes you just have to step outside that box and challenge yourself.
I’m a bit the same as Robin, I found nano in 06 and it really kicked off my writing – since then I’ve written four other novels, a couple of novellas and a whole bunch of short stories. Without NaNo I may never have really kicked that passion back into gear.
I think NaNo can be a wonderful thing for people, encouraging them to do something they might not otherwise try. I don’t NEED it now to write a novel, I have no trouble doing it under my own steam, but I know a lot of people use it as a crutch of sorts and only write during November which I guess is the other side of the coin – I tend to think that writing is a hobby for those people, not a driving passion. Which is probably where the debate starts to come in!
There are a lot of writers who think that anyone who puts out that many words in a month can’t be writing anything worth reading – which is very untrue – they also think that all nanowrimo’s only write during november, which is also not true, and these beliefs obviously mean that people who do nano aren’t real ‘writers’. Which is bollocks… lots of published authors do NaNo, and plenty of people who wrote during nano have had their work published eventually.
You have to look at the month as a way to get a first draft out, because it’s way better to have a finished first draft, than it is to have a perfect first chapter and nothing else. It’s also better to try and fail than to have never tried at all, because you don’t learn anything by not trying.
Hah! I thought I wasn’t a die hard nao-er, but I guess I sound a little like one. the truth is that I could take it or leave it, I’m participating as a means to kicking myself back into gear after having a baby last year, I almost didn’t sign up, but I have friends who are doing it and that’s what makes it fun for me – a little gentle competition, the extra support, knowing I’m not alone in this. It all helps! The site has been a blessing for so many people, and that has got to be a good thing
NaNoWriMo is a complete kick. I participated unofficially in April 2005 and “won”. Since then I nearly forgot about it, luckily I remember about a week before the official start date. I love participating during the official month with the cool progress bar and graph on the site.
Happy writing!
- NJWriter