The debate is whether I want to participate this year or skip it.
Pros:
- if I’m in a writing lull at the time (November 1, to be exact) it’s a great way to kickstart things
- I commit to a longer work that I may not have otherwise (short stories are so much easier because they’re, well, short)
- the camaraderie of toiling along with other NaNoWriMo participants is nice
- seeing the word count go up every day is more satisfying than it has any right to be
Cons:
- if I’m in the middle of a writing project, the necessary pause for NaNoWriMo can derail it
- a novel written in 30 days is usually not very good
- it’s easy to write 50,000 words in a blur; rewriting them takes almost the same effort as writing another book
- the camaraderie only takes you so far
- my NaNoWriMo bio is never as clever or witty as I want it to be
In the end I’ll probably take part if the first item in the Pro list is happening come November. NaNoWriMo is a great way to get rolling on some steady output when work/life/the universe has otherwise snuffed out your enthusiasm and smothered your muse with a pillow borrowed from the Chief in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
