The Aspects of NaNoWriMo I Find Invaluable
Reasons why I’ll defend NaNo ’til my last breath
National Novel Writing Month, perhaps more commonly referenced as #nanowrimo: wherein a large segment of the writing community attempts to write a novel — or at least, 50,000 words of one — in just 30 days.
Hundreds of thousands of writers participate in the annual challenge — for the last five Novembers, this has included me.
Over the years, there’s been plenty of debate over the merits of the organization, and many of the problems people have with the concept of writing a novel in a month are valid:
- The high volume writing can produce lesser quality content (which you’re then unwilling to get rid of because you’re emotionally attached).
- The idea of “winning” being solely based on word count prioritizes the wrong thing and forgoes more critical elements of the writing process, sometimes including creativity itself.
- It’s an unnecessary event — at the end of the day, there’s nothing different about November, and you as a writer could choose to prioritize writing the same way every month if you really wanted to.
I can completely understand these arguments — they’re not at all unfounded.
Nanowrimo isn’t necessarily for everyone; some people’s writing style just does not mesh with a month of fast-paced bursts of high-volume writing. And that’s okay!
The event is just a tool, and like any other may or may not be necessary or helpful in every situation.
And even those who do like to utilize the Nano style need to beware these potential pitfalls of the novel writing approach — we can’t wake up December first and assume we have an industry ready product when the pressure of 1,667 words a day means a third of our manuscript might be filler.
But the purpose of NaNo is not to produce a book that’s on the verge of publication — this is a project dedicated to first drafts, to beginnings, to inspiration and creation.
This is a project dedicated to first drafts, to beginnings, to inspiration and creation.
(And inspiration and creation still need revising and refining before emerging into the world , in any and every case.)
At the end of the day, I think the strengths of Nano are so much greater than these potential hazards — six years in, these are the reasons I love the program with my entire being.
Why I’ll always be on team NaNoWriMo
Community
The absolute best part of every November is the way the writing community comes together — whether you successfully reach 50,000 words on a brand new project, or you spend the month doing more reading or editing than actual writing, you’re part of something bigger than yourself.
Partially because the program is specifically intended to foster conversation and supporting each other, and partially because simply so many people are engaging in this challenge, there is an ocean of other writers working at the same time as you at any given moment — twitter lights up, some cities hold communal writing sessions in partnering locale: you’re never alone.
Furthermore, writing is a tough field, and it’s easy to give up hope and feel like your dreams are impractical — but giving up is less tempting when you have an entire army at your back cheering you on, as they fight their own dragon.
The buzz of such collective encouragement is long-lasting.
Momentum
Setting an ambitious goal and having concrete resources, encouragement, and structure for meeting it gives writers a boost to get words on the page.
A sentiment frequently echoed in writing circles is the difficulty of writing the middle of a novel; getting through the “meh” parts, finding your way from conflict introduction to resolution — it’s hard, and movement can feel sluggish throughout the process of writing this slow climb o the story.
Once you’re in motion, though, this becomes easier — the momentum propels you through scene after scene, and you’re too busy trying to write to even consider stopping long enough to give up.
Realizing it’s Possible
50,000 words is — a lot. Writing a book is a lot. So many of us are so afraid of getting our hopes up and falling short, that we don’t really believe we truly have the potential to write a book.
But actually sitting down and doing it makes you realize you can.
There’s something incredibly validating about it, and regardless of how far you get, any writing done is proof that this is attainable, that you are capable of it.
Maybe you only make it to 10,000 words — that’s still 10,000 more than you knew you had the potential to come up with before November.
There are plenty of other components of NaNo I think are undoubtably beneficial — it’s a free platform that offers resources, structure, and community to writers who might never otherwise have had them.
- For so many, this might be the first time their voice feels heard — the first time they think they might have anything worth saying.
- Getting into the habit of writing regularly is one of the greatest things aspiring authors can do for themselves; whether it’s this project or the next or the one ten after that which you pursue, NaNo is a craft-honing experience — all we can ever do is practice and improve our skills, really.
- The regular advice the organization provides specifically for NaNo participants from beloved and admirable authors , each of whom has a different perspective, a different method that they bring to the conversation.
All of this to say, while it might not be for everyone, I love National Novel Writing Month — I love what it represents, I love what it does for the community on an overwhelmingly broad scale, and I love how impactful it has been in my own life;
I’ll fight for the goodness and positive impact of NaNo forever, because I don’t know if I would’ve ever believed I could write without it — and I know I’m not alone.
