Write Fiction: NaNoWriMo Or Not?

NaNoWriMo is almost upon us. Every November 1, determined authors sign up to write fiction: 50,000 words in 30 days.

Is it worth entering NaNoWriMo this year?

I conducted a mini straw poll among my friends who write fiction. The authors who have yet to complete a first novel were raring to go. The authors who have a publication schedule, not so much.

Count me among the NaNoWriMo avoiders this year. We’ve been horribly busy at work, which has cut down on my writing time. And even if I had the time, I wouldn’t enter.

Here’s why.

When you write fiction, temptations abound

Here’s the thing. When you’re writing a novel, temptations are many.

“Bright shiny object” syndrome abounds. It’s tempting to junk the processes which have helped you to write. Pantsers commit to outlining this time. Outliners, try pantsing, or a different genre. Or they write nonfiction. Or they tell themselves that NaNoWriMo will set them on the right path.

The grass is always greener, etc.

Years ago, I did commit to NaNoWriMo. At that time, I hadn’t yet written a novel, and I thought it would be fun. And so it was. Unfortunately, I got so bored reading the 50,000 words in January that I couldn’t see any way to fixing them and turning them into a novel.

No doubt today, I’d be able to fix the book, or maybe not, since I don’t want to read it again. 🙂

Reasons you should do NaNoWriMo

• You’ve always promised yourself you’d write a book, one day. Having hundreds of thousands of authors who are also writing will inspire you…
• Or maybe you’ve started several novels but never got past Chapter 3. Writing 50,000 will force you past Chapter 3.
• You’re curious.
• All your friends have signed up; it’s now a social thing.

On the other hand, you should skip NaNoWriMo if…

• You know yourself, and you know that forcing yourself to write at an unnatural pace won’t help you to write the kind of book you want to write.
• You’re too busy writing, and you know you’ll write more than 50,000 words in November anyway.

Good luck with your writing whether or not you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year. 🙂

Resources: articles on NaNoWriMo

We’ve covered NaNoWriMo on the blog, so if you’d like to read previous articles, here they are.