We’re halfway through October, believe it or not. November is going to start before we know it.
It seems like we have a good amount of time left. Two weeks is a good chunk of time, but that always seems to go by in a blink of an eye.
Yet, there are some people who are still unsure of whether they want to participate in NaNoWriMo or not.
So, with about two weeks left to decide, I thought I’d help those people out a little bit. Here are a few reasons as to why you should participate in NaNoWiMo.
1. It’s a great community.
NaNo isn’t just about the writing. It’s also about finding other writers who can help and support what you do. Find writers in your genre, in your age range, etc. There are so many people in the same boat as you and they’re there to help you through anything tough or just there to have a friendly conversation.
2. NaNo is there for you in other months than just November.
Do you want to write a novel? Then NaNo is certainly what you need. (Sorry — that sounded like the beginning of a corny commercial.) NaNo is during the month of November, but that’s only when the writing happens. There’s so much more to putting together a novel.
During October, NaNoers are there helping each other prepare and outline their novels. Tighten their plots, develop their characters, have some sort of idea where they’re going.
In January and February, they’re there to help with the editing and revision process. NaNo doesn’t just help you get the words on the page and then throw you to the wolves. They help throughout the whole process.
3. They have creative ways to get the words down on the blank page.
You could just sit down at your computer and type out 50,000 words. Or you could go on the NaNo Forums and look at different ways to write. There’s a board called Word Wars, Prompts, and Sprints. Other than what the title suggests, there are also crawls and games. Those kinds of games help the creativity flowing; especially if you get stuck on a part in your novel.
4. Everyone is a winner.
If you hit 50,000 words by the end of the month, then congratulations! You’re a NaNoWriMo winner. You get a couple of winner badges, can buy a winner’s t-shirt, get special discounts from the sponsors, etc.
If you don’t hit your 50,000 word goal, that’s okay. You don’t get the fancy goodies (though you still get a smaller discount from all the sponsors), but you still have words written for a novel. It may not be finished, but it’s a start. At least you tried and you can continue your novel after November and see where it takes you.
5. It’s fun.
This might be a cheap reason, but NaNo is a lot of fun because of all the other reasons. You make new friends, you get more creative with your writing, NaNo is a great resource, it’s there for you pretty much all year round (if you include Camp NaNo as well), and it gets you started on something that you may have thought you would never do in your lifetime–whether you hit that 50k mark or not.
So if you’re still up in the air about joining NaNo I hope this helped. I hope you all consider joining and giving it a shot.
It’s well worth it.
If you’re on the NaNoWriMo website, feel free to add me as a writing buddy: Fiery_Sapphire
