NaNoWriMo

[John Dishon]

It's almost October, which is the time when the National Novel Writing Month website kicks on again and everyone who wants to can sign up to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. This will be the ninth year of NaNoWriMo, which takes place every November, so I imagine this will be old news for many of you.

It always gets me excited though. There's something about 60,000+ people doing the same thing at the same time that's just thrilling to me. Plus it usually gets me writing again, as I tend to go through long dry spells. And until I get my irrigation system up and working, I'll settle for the shower of NaNoWriMo to get me writing again.

I have participated the last two years and failed both times, but the third time's the charm. After writing a novel in six days this past Spring, averaging about 10,000 words each day, writing 1,667 words a day should be nothing, right?

The point of this discussion, though, is what do you think about NaNoWriMo? Because not everyone is coming up daisies about it. Some say that NaNoWriMo is an insult to those serious writers who work so hard for so long to produce a novel, and how dare those NaNoWriMo-ers take such an irreverent attitude towards the serious writer's profession.

Others latch onto the misguided belief that NaNoWriMo is all about producing crap, and the world doesn't need anymore crappy novels, so please keep that book inside you.

Now, I know that NaNoWriMo is really about getting the thing finished. The low quality of the work is merely an expectation given the fact that you're not thinking too much about it and just writing it. And everyone agrees that first drafts are imperfect anyway.

But does NaNoWriMo devalue literature? Does 60,000 people writing crappy first drafts make War and Peace less of a classic? Should serious writers tell these participants to stop writing? Does anyone have the right to do that? Or is NaNoWriMo just in good fun, and maybe it's a good thing for so many people to be creative together and get away from the TV for a while?

What are your thoughts?

[terry bowman]

Well said, Becky. Write On!

[Goldie Alexander]

I mostly write for kids so know the benefits of stayihng short and pithy. Most contemporary novels need some cutting in my opinion. Bigger is not always better.
Goldie