You’ve probably heard of the NaNoWriMo—the challenge is to write a novel at least 50,000 words long in the month of November. It started with 21 writers in 1999. Last year 200,000 people from around the world signed up. How many actually finished a novel isn’t known.
That’s an average of at least 1666 words every day. Is it a good idea to write this way? Yes and no—depending on your circumstances.
THREE REASONS YES
1: It’s a good push for procrastinators. People who do better when they have a deadline now have one.
2: It’s useful for perfectionists. There just isn’t time to go back and edit and rewrite. You have to forge ahead and ignore the inner critic that may be telling you it’s not good enough.
3: It adds a social element to what is basically a lone activity. Some people will find it motivational to be part of a bigger group and to share their progress on some of the forums and other sites that cover the month.
THREE REASONS NO
1: The deadline may push you to write less well, even in a first draft, then you normally would.
2: Unless you have planned the plot ahead of time (which is allowed), the rush may push your plot into dead ends and you could waste a lot of that writing time.
3: The social element can be a distraction. Chatting on forums, using Twitter and Facebook to share your progress, etc. all take time you could be using for writing.
IT'S YOUR DECISION
If NaNoWriMo fits your personality and your needs, sign up and have fun.
If not, consider making up your own version.
Maybe for you it makes more sense to set a target of 10,000 words instead of 50,000.
Or maybe you can make it only National Novel Writing Weekend.
Whatever helps you write what you really want to is a winner.
PS: I’m thinking of holding a MAD (Massive Action Day) sometime in November, geared especially to people taking part in NaNoWriMo or their own version. It would include tips on writing faster and better plus the usual MAD prizes, videos, and online check-ins. If you want to be sure to get first word on this be sure you’ve signed up for my Brainstorm ebulletin on the home page at this blog.
