Should You NaNoWriMo?

It's Wednesday, isn't it? It's totally Wednesday.

Well, looks like another late post tally. I'm on a roll this October!

Today, even though it's a day late, I want to discuss NaNoWriMo.

Do you have no idea what I'm talking about? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month - which takes place November 1 through November 30. Basically, the goal is to write a 50,000 word draft of a novel in just 30 days.

Over 310,000 people around the world participated in last year's NaNoWriMo. With these kinds of numbers, is it time to join the bandwagon? Let's explore the Pros and Cons.

Pros:

Do you procrastinate? "I'll write after I make dinner. I'll write after I do the dishes. I'll write after the kids are asleep? I'll write after my homework's done. I'll write tomorrow because it's too late and I'm tired?" Then NaNoWriMo may be the right format for you. Not only do you create a profile by pledging to participate, you also get your own word count widget to see how many words you wrote today, along with a support system of hundreds of thousands of writers to keep you honest and to give encouragement. In short, if you're not writing EVERY DAY like I so advocate on this blog, NaNoWriMo could help.

Are you your own worst critic? Do your typos drive you mad? Do you waste hours in the quest for perfect sentence structure? If you're a perfectionist when it comes to the craft, NaNoWriMo can help. With the lofty goal of 50,000 words in one month, there is no time for editing. If you decide to NaNoWriMo, ignore the misspellings and the bad grammar, and instead write with a new, freeing mindset. It'll do wonders for your first drafts. Promise.

Networking. Many NaNoWriMo participants find great writing friends and literary advisers through their participation.

Also, there's NaNoWriMo for kids! (With a much lower word count.) So if you want to get your kids or students interested in creating, or just want to spend more time with them, here's your chance.

Cons:

NaNoWriMo falls in a very busy month for most of us. Football. Thanksgiving. Christmas Shopping. Family get-togethers. School breaks. On and On. If you're going to commit to writing a novel in a month, 1) should it be during such a busy time of year, and 2) why not choose a month with 31 days and give yourself an extra 24 hours to reach your goal?

Unless you're writing middle grade, 50,000 words does not equal a first draft of any novel. For that reason, be prepared to keep writing after November leaves, even if you reach your goal. Writing a novel is a massive commitment not to be taken up lightly on October 31.

Are you sure you're not a procrastinator? If you're sitting at your desk counting down the days to November 1 so you can start writing every day and complete draft one of your novel, why haven't you started yet? There's no law (in America, at least) that says novel writing can only happen during NaNoWriMo. If you're so excited and committed to writing, you can write every day. So do it! You don't need a widget and a world map to track your progress against everyone else. Write because you need to.


Whether or not you decide to NaNoWriMo, there's one goal here for all of us. To Write. So get those laptops and Carpal Tunnel braces ready. The novels are coming.