Should I participate in NaNoWriMo? Pros and cons of the popular annual writing challenge
This is the time of year when writers start talking about NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month which takes place every November. During this annual challenge, writers from all over commit themselves to writing a 50 000 word novel in a single month. The organization offers other smaller challenges throughout the year as well. You may have seen writers talking about it on social media or preparing themselves to participate. If you spend a lot of time in writing communities, you may be feeling pressure to participate yourself. Before you make a decision about whether NaNoWriMo is right for you, here are some important things to consider.
Books completed during NaNoWriMo are not (usually) fit for publication
NaNoWriMo tends to put emphasis on achieving a specific word count with very little focus on the craft of storytelling. Writing a novel is much more than the act of getting words on a page. Focusing only on word count is a little bit like building a house in a short period of time without a blueprint or any experience. You might be able to get something together that offers shelter, but it’s going to be a far cry from a home that is sturdy, safe or pleasant to look at. If you ever wanted to sell it, you would have to take time to learn more skills and make lots of upgrades. You might even have to start again from scratch. The same is true for writing a book under pressure without experience. Deadlines and word count goals only deal with one aspect of the writing process, which is habits. Good writing habits are something many of us need to work on, but we also need to work on writing craft. Finishing a collection of words in a document is not the same as writing a story. A story has a shape and form that meets reader expectations. This is called story structure. Writing while only paying attention to word count, doesn’t usually result in a good story. Most of my clients who have finished a book during NaNoWriMo have had to rewrite most or all of it to get it ready for publication.
NaNoWriMo leaves many writers in a state of burnout
My second big issue with NaNoWriMo is that it often leaves writers burnt out. Many of us need help with our writing habits. We need to learn how to write consistently and allocate time and discipline to our writing practice. However, a burst of discipline over a month does not help writers with consistent habits. Instead, it often leaves them feeling guilty for not “winning” or exhausted from pushing themselves when they don’t have the mental or emotional capacity. The result is often that writers feel so burnt out from the experience that they don’t come back to their writing for a long time.
In the long run, this is not helpful for your writing practice. What’s more helpful is setting a pace for your habits and consistency that is manageable along with everything else that is going on in your life, including job, family, school or other commitments. It’s much healthier for a writer to commit to writing fewer words over a longer period of time than it is to commit to something that is not sustainable. Think of it like a dieting or exercise habit. Starving yourself for a month may help you lose weight, but it certainly isn’t sustainable in the long run. Running every day for a month might help you get in shape, but if you can’t go back to it for months after, then you’ll ruin your progress. All writers need to take their typical life circumstances into account and design a writing practice that works well for them. NaNoWriMo tends to be a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t set anybody up for long-term success.
Advantages of participating in NaNoWriMo
Over the years, NaNoWriMo has made better efforts to incorporate storytelling and craft into their challenges. Their website offers a variety of ways to challenge writers and help them work on creative goals, including virtual events and pep talks. Another thing writers enjoy about NaNoWriMo is the sense of community and encouragement it provides. If you don’t yet have a writing community or critique partners, this is one way to get connected with other writers. It will also connect you to writers who are close to you, opening up future opportunities to meet writer friends in person. You can also choose to be a NaNo rebel, which means you decide and set your own goals for the challenge. You could decide to focus on planning out a novel, writing fewer chapters or words or completing revisions. If you’re struggling with your habits, this could be a way to refocus and recommit to your writing goals. The important thing is not to make your goals too over-zealous or overwhelming!
Why planning for NaNoWriMo will help
If you do decide to participate in NaNoWriMo, I would recommend doing some planning during the month of October. Many writers do this and it’s called Preptober. Your planning can take various forms, depending on your writing style and process. Creating an outline or deciding on key plot points before you begin will help in two ways. First, it will help your writing go smoother and faster because you’ll already have direction when you sit down to write. Second, when you plan first, you tend to have a stronger story structure, which means fewer revisions and rewrites. Story structure needs to be settled and decided on early, and it doesn’t come naturally for most people. Adding story structure later is much more difficult.
If you need help with planning, subscribe to my newsletter to instantly get The Fiction Writers Beat Sheet for free. This is a guided planning tool that can help you decide on and define your key character and plot points. Whatever you decide about NaNoWriMo, know that I’m cheering you on!
