Every November, writers from all over the world participate in National Novel Writing Month. As an eight-year NaNoWriMo veteran, I can’t help but get excited once we hit October. I love it all: the planning, the outlining, the brainstorming, the decisions to just freaking write, the coffee, the fall weather, the start of the holiday season, and most importantly—the camaraderie. National Novel Writing Month provides many benefits to writers, and if you’re still on the fence, here’s why you should participate this November.
1. It establishes a writing routine. Before doing NaNoWriMo my first year, I didn’t think I had time to write. But NaNoWriMo has taught me that I do indeed have the time. I am extremely busy balancing running the writing studio, running a literary magazine, editing, and teaching, but participating in NaNo each month has made me see there are places I can squeeze in writing–I just have to make it a priority. I remember having written in some pretty odd places over the last few years: my car before work, in the checkout line, on a road trip, in waiting rooms, at events via my phone, etc. It also forced me think ahead. If I knew I was going to have a packed day, then that meant I needed to wake up early and write or find a spot in the day to make it happen. One other thing it taught me was that people confuse writing routine with having a set time to write every day. That’s all well and dandy if you’re Stephen King or Nicolas Sparks, but most writers have day jobs. Routine to me just means making the time. The point is: I did what I needed to do to get it done and Nano was the foundation for that mentality.
2. It gives you the confidence to write the damn book. One other limiting belief I had when I started NaNo was that I couldn’t possibly write a whole book. I really only had experience writing short stories—how was I going to write an entire book? What would I even put in said book? When my critique partners suggested I do it to get my MFA thesis started, I thought “What do I have to lose?” I wrote without any pressure. I simply wanted to see if I could do it. And you know what? I did. Because of that, I will forever be indebted to NaNoWriMo. It showed me I had what it took to write a novel. I believe it can teach other writers the same, which is why I spread the word about it and encourage writers to participate. It’s also the reason we do it really big at the studio every November.
3. It teaches you discipline. I think one has to be pretty disciplined in general to finish a novel. If you feel like you’ve been struggling in that arena, then NaNoWriMo is a great way to teach yourself to be disciplined. NaNoWriMo encourages writers to write every single day during the month of November. That is discipline! If you just stick to the scheduled word count each day, you’ll have a completed novel by the end of the month. That same principle can be applied to other projects at various points in the year. If you stick to a word count goal, it’s just a matter of time before you hit the desired goal. That’s what discipline is all about—sticking to your commitment to get to your end goal.
4. The Camaraderie. One of the things I love most about NaNoWriMo is all the new friends I gain, not just in real life, but online as well. I’ll never forget my first NaNoWriMo, I hadn’t started the studio yet, and all of my writer friends were far away because I had recently met them in my MFA program. Enter the land of Twitter. I tweeted that I was doing NaNo and a couple writers responded that they were too. We cheered each other on for the whole month. I still talk to these writers to this day. One of them even became a good friend who I ended up meeting in real life, though we live in different states! We still meet up on occasion and keep in touch. I can’t even begin to tell you how many writer friends have been made at the studio because of NaNo. Every year we get a few new writers and some of them even stick around. It’s pure joy cheering each other on and celebrating what everyone has accomplished at the end of the month.
5. Even if you don’t “win,” you win. The beauty about Nano is that you will be writing! If you don’t finish the whole novel, at least you wrote something. That counts for something. Having words on a page is better than not having any words. No matter what happens, you can be proud of yourself for writing something.
Hopefully, after reading these reasons, you’re not longer on the fence about participating in National Novel Writing Month! It is one of the most rewarding experiences, even if you don’t finish that novel. Do it! If you’re looking for a free and supportive online writing community, check out The Writer’s Atelier Online Community on Facebook!
What do you love about NaNoWriMo?
