NaNoWriMo: The Olympics of Writing

Every November, writers from all around the world sharpen their pencils, attack their brains, and leave  their non-writing life behind them for thirty days in order to achieve the incredible: a 50,000 word manuscript written from start to finish in thirty days. Nothing is to be gained from this challenge aside from NaNo recognition, a rather attractive certificate featuring your name and novel, and an unedited 50,000 word or more manuscript to do with what you will. All that, of course, and the experience and reality of being a novelist.

You see, as crazy as NaNoWriMo sounds (and you can tell from the spelling that it sounds pretty crazy), it’s a great opportunity for a young or novice writer to put their best typing finger forward and nail out a story. Because as the experienced author knows, a book is not an easy thing to write. And in doing NaNo, whether you finish or not, you become just that: an experienced author.

Not all participants of NaNo publish their book; not even the winners. Many a NaNo-script has gone unedited, unthought after, unlooked at. And why not? After all, the point of National Novel Writing Month is not the end result, as is believed by many, but the journey there. Actually writing your manuscript is what matters, even if it’s the most terrible piece of writing you’ve ever laid eyes on and you print it on December 1st only for the satisfaction of tearing it into shreds and burning it.

So I would suggest everyone who wants a wake-up call or a hard-earned lesson in writing or even just a fun, super-creative challenge try NaNoWriMo. After all, you’ve nothing to lose but sleep and your mind and so much more than that to gain.