It's a question any writer who has heard of NaNoWriMo asks themselves. I've participated in NaNo several times since 2009. I have won three times. I'm not gonna lie, it's hard. It's stressful and exhausting. Some days were full of dread because I didn't have a clue what I was going to write.
AND THAT is why you should do NaNo. At least once. It's good to push yourself to your limits. NaNo must be the writer equivalent to running a marathon. Do it at least once. Not to win, but to give your all, whatever it is. Just see what happens. You'll be surprised. And when you see what you can do, it will feel amazing.
Once you've done it, you can check it off your list of things to try and move on. You can do it again of course. You can do it a couple times of year if you find it really helps you. Or don't. My point is, do NaNo for yourself, not for others.
These days I don't try to win at NaNo any more. It's too stressful. I decided a long time ago that if writing stopped giving me joy, I'd stop writing. Not that I don't have hard days but pushing myself to get those 50k words saps the joy out of the process for me. But even at a lower word count goal, NaNo is still good for pushing myself and resetting a daily writing habit.
I also really like going to WriteIns (this obviously won't apply to this year.) There is a cool comradery that comes sitting with a bunch of other writers forging ahead in the same frenzy. I'll do this with other writers through MeetUp too, but there is something special about NaNo. It's a different kind of energy that rolls around in November.
I say I've won three times, but I succeed every time. Words on the page, no matter how many they are, are progress. And progress no matter how slow means I am moving forward. So whether you do 50k or 5k in November, do challenge yourself and see how awesome you actually are when you pour yourself into something.
Happy Writing!
AND THAT is why you should do NaNo. At least once. It's good to push yourself to your limits. NaNo must be the writer equivalent to running a marathon. Do it at least once. Not to win, but to give your all, whatever it is. Just see what happens. You'll be surprised. And when you see what you can do, it will feel amazing.
Once you've done it, you can check it off your list of things to try and move on. You can do it again of course. You can do it a couple times of year if you find it really helps you. Or don't. My point is, do NaNo for yourself, not for others.
These days I don't try to win at NaNo any more. It's too stressful. I decided a long time ago that if writing stopped giving me joy, I'd stop writing. Not that I don't have hard days but pushing myself to get those 50k words saps the joy out of the process for me. But even at a lower word count goal, NaNo is still good for pushing myself and resetting a daily writing habit.
I also really like going to WriteIns (this obviously won't apply to this year.) There is a cool comradery that comes sitting with a bunch of other writers forging ahead in the same frenzy. I'll do this with other writers through MeetUp too, but there is something special about NaNo. It's a different kind of energy that rolls around in November.
I say I've won three times, but I succeed every time. Words on the page, no matter how many they are, are progress. And progress no matter how slow means I am moving forward. So whether you do 50k or 5k in November, do challenge yourself and see how awesome you actually are when you pour yourself into something.
Happy Writing!
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