NaNoWriMo stresses quality over quantity
Fifty thousand words. One
month. Sounds crazy, right?
Since 1999, National Novel Writing Month has been challenging people around the world to write 50,000 words in the month of November; that's roughly 1,667 words a day for 30 days. One of the unofficial mottos of NaNoWriMo is “quantity over quality,” which encourages writers to focus on the word count, rather than letting their internal critic take over.
This year, the competition has more participants than ever: 452,095 to be exact, which is about 100,000 more than last year. London alone has 1,263 registered writers.
Between communicating on the forums provided by NaNoWriMo and using a Facebook group, London participants plan events so they can get together to write, to complain, to celebrate, to offer each other plot devices, and to bemoan their lagging word count (or, occasionally, to congratulate someone on an early finish). Some of the events have included a weekly meet-up in Covent Garden Market and a “Halfway Party” on November 15. The participants also plan to have a party on the last day of the competition to celebrate the month of “literary abandon.”
The majority of NaNoWriters range both in age and occupation, and, while some self-publish, most are not professional writers and simply participate for fun.
Londoner Becky Carlyle, a 2012 NaNoWriMo participant, explained why she decided take on the challenge again this year. “Last year I decided to do it on a whim with my best friend, and we both reached our goal around 10 p.m. on the last night, and it felt so sweet. I felt like I accomplished so much.”
Expanding on her experience, Carlyle continued, “I learned that time is our most precious commodity. So often I waste time and procrastinate, and it keeps me from fulfilling my dreams. Part of what makes NaNo so great is [that] it forces you to not look back at your mistakes. You have to keep moving forward and it's scary and sometimes feels impossible. But by the end of the month when you look back and see how much you've written you can't help but be proud.”
For more information, check out nanowrimo.org.
Since 1999, National Novel Writing Month has been challenging people around the world to write 50,000 words in the month of November; that's roughly 1,667 words a day for 30 days. One of the unofficial mottos of NaNoWriMo is “quantity over quality,” which encourages writers to focus on the word count, rather than letting their internal critic take over.
This year, the competition has more participants than ever: 452,095 to be exact, which is about 100,000 more than last year. London alone has 1,263 registered writers.
Between communicating on the forums provided by NaNoWriMo and using a Facebook group, London participants plan events so they can get together to write, to complain, to celebrate, to offer each other plot devices, and to bemoan their lagging word count (or, occasionally, to congratulate someone on an early finish). Some of the events have included a weekly meet-up in Covent Garden Market and a “Halfway Party” on November 15. The participants also plan to have a party on the last day of the competition to celebrate the month of “literary abandon.”
The majority of NaNoWriters range both in age and occupation, and, while some self-publish, most are not professional writers and simply participate for fun.
Londoner Becky Carlyle, a 2012 NaNoWriMo participant, explained why she decided take on the challenge again this year. “Last year I decided to do it on a whim with my best friend, and we both reached our goal around 10 p.m. on the last night, and it felt so sweet. I felt like I accomplished so much.”
Expanding on her experience, Carlyle continued, “I learned that time is our most precious commodity. So often I waste time and procrastinate, and it keeps me from fulfilling my dreams. Part of what makes NaNo so great is [that] it forces you to not look back at your mistakes. You have to keep moving forward and it's scary and sometimes feels impossible. But by the end of the month when you look back and see how much you've written you can't help but be proud.”
For more information, check out nanowrimo.org.
