I’m aware NaNoWriMo is as widely hated as it is beloved. Who likes it? Those who participate and find in it the motivation needed to draft at the speed of light. OK, at the speed of sound.
Maybe just to write as much as possible.
Now, who hates NaNo? Many people, for many reasons. In yet another one of my many unpopular opinions, I’d say that the majority of people who hate NaNo are those who unfortunately can’t commit the incredible amount of time it takes to win it, or those who simply enjoy writing slowly but steadily. And listen, that’s understandable: I barely make it to the 50k, and to achieve that wordcount, I sacrifice my social life and a decent amount of sleep. What I’m trying to say is: I get it if you hate NaNo. I’ve hated it too, but I also love it, because thanks to it I’ve written two books I love.
Whether people are ready to accept it, NaNo can be a powerful motivation and boost our productivity, if anything just because of the thrill and the sense of achievement, especially for us unpublished writers who have no external deadlines—yet. It’s not about the 50k, but about creating a writing routine, becoming more disciplined.
If you’ve never participated and are doubting: try it. What’s the worst that could happen? Not making it to 50K words? But then maybe you’ll make it to 10k, 20k, 30k! Isn’t that already a win?
You can always do it in secret, record your progress and see how it goes. Again: NaNo isn’t really about winning, but about coming up with an effective writing routine. Have fun, and give yourself the chance.
Yeah, the slower writers (such as myself) really struggle with producing something worthwhile when having so little time to think things through.
And that’s perfectly OK! I also struggle with the speed: some days, I write loads; other days, I barely type a comma. We all have to find what works for us, and the goal is just to write and have fun.
It might be a hot take, but I agree that those who don’t like nano are those who just can’t do it. I’m both excited and scared for November 1st 😅
And I understand it’s not a polite or nice thing to say, but it is true. Who wouldn’t want to write a draft in 30 days?! It’s a dream! That said, I fully believe many writers prefer to go through the process at a slower pace (I’m one of those). Yes, NaNo drafts are messy and incomplete, but THEY ARE DRAFTS THAT EXIST. We all know a relatively messy draft is better than no draft at all. I’ve written three books so far, and the first drafts of two of those I wrote during NaNo.
Cheers to NaNo!