I came into this post feeling a little defensive, because I Love NaNoWriMo, warts and all. I have to acknowledge there have been some years I regret. Some years where I shouldn’t have participated. And the result of failure set me back. I was left with a shitty first draft or a major side track.

I love NaNoWriMo because it shows new writers what’s possible and gives the veterans a lift. And because all of the negative outcomes you described happen to writers anyways; it’s all part of the writer life. We will give up and quit in the middle of a seemingly successful flow. We will look anywhere for motivation. We will doubt ourselves. We will be too embarrassed to look at a shitty first draft for five years.

And we will cheat on our word counts, particularly when we gain the confidence as writers to accept that our daily hustle is good enough, and that no one else can tell us what the rules are.

I gained that confidence through NaNoWriMo. I can’t say how appreciative I am for this post, though, because with your advice a novice can fast-track that whole process. I second all that you’ve said, and I’m grateful for the insight you’ve added through your experience teaching writers who fall into the NaNoWriMo void.

Happy November!