If you're not a writer or you haven't ever contemplated writing, you probably have no idea what NaNoWriMo is. You are excused from reading further.
If you are contemplating it or are busy getting ready for it, the purpose of this article is not to discourage you. I do not believe NaNoWriMo is evil or even bad. If it helps you get writing, and you are supposed to be writing, then it's a good thing for you.
I'm only here to tell you why I've never done it or seriously considered it. You will probably be in one of two camps reading this. Either you will stridently agree (less likely) or you will be indignant with disagreement. I've never been the type of writer who fits the norm. I'm not the diligent and organized fiction writer who sits down with my neatly typed outline and writes my daily 500-2,000 words without a moment of angst or indifference.
I'm the writer who, even if she writes an outline, will almost always deviate so far from it that it's ridiculous to even attempt one. I'm the writer who has a mess of hurriedly scribbled notes and thoughts and research piled on the desk and beside it and littered around the rest of the house. I'm the writer who will stare desperately at the screen for two hours without writing a word, and the next day will feverishly write 10,000 words or more. I'm the writer who eats, sleeps, and dreams stories and words and adventures and aches to get them recorded so other people can share them. I'm the writer who hates the details, the business, the money. I would rather just write every waking moment.
And that is probably why the idea of a month to write one novel goes against my grain. To me, a novel begins in the recesses of my imagination where some image of a piece of art or words of a song or another story I read or saw causes some spark that ignites. It simmers for months or years. It slowly takes shape as I consider the characters and their desires and fears. Only when I am sure of who they are do I dare to begin to write. And from there, I may indeed write their story in a month or two. But it is far from done. That is where the real work begins of shaping and molding the words into something pleasing and good.
That's the problem I have with the extreme excess of published books we have available. They're written too fast, they follow the same formula and lose the precious tone of the true writer's voice. They may be neat and orderly and follow all the rules, but they don't pose any questions, they don't spark any imagination or inspire any beauty.
If you have a burning desire within you to release the pressure of your exploding imagination through the avenue of a novel, you should. But do it the way you need to in order for it to be your true work of greatness. Don't just follow the rules, do your duty for November and then never think of it again. If you CAN do that, I would question why you are even doing it in the first place.
Not everyone needs to write. If you don't need to, why clutter up an already congested world of books? Let's make sure we aren't wasting our lives doing something that is someone else's job. Find your passion, find what makes you soar, and do THAT. You'll never regret it.
For me, it's writing. And for me, it could never be contained by a month or a plan.
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