Nanowrimo has proven to be good in some ways. Some folks who thought about serious writing discovered it wasn't for them, either because they didn't enjoy the writing process or they found out that they didn't care for putting characters through hell to make an interesting story. It got a lot of words down for some of us, although it remains to be seen how much of it we'll keep.
Nano also proved to be bad in new and exciting ways. 50,000 words is too much for someone with little diligent writing experience, especially for anyone with a job and/or family. Most people can't write 50,000 words in a month without a good outline, period. If you've got a good outline before you start, you already have a lot of words in your head. So it really isn't writing 50,000 words in a month. I'm not a great writer, but I can't write without editing. I got to 50,000 (in less than 30 days, but they weren't consecutive days) with editing and could not have otherwise. Masq got to 50,000 within the month and I know she was doing some editing. The premise that you should write Nano without editing is horse manure. That's not how people who write a lot write! The 50,000 word goal forces you to work within a deadline which sounds good. But, it makes you work at writing when you're tired of writing and that's a perfect recipe for burnout and writer's block.
I really think Nano is a bad thing because it discourages more than it encourages. It teaches bad habits that can really make you hate writing. Setting a more realistic goal of 10,000 or 20,000 well-edited words in a month would be far more within most people's reach and would be a lot more useful writing experience.
Nano also proved to be bad in new and exciting ways. 50,000 words is too much for someone with little diligent writing experience, especially for anyone with a job and/or family. Most people can't write 50,000 words in a month without a good outline, period. If you've got a good outline before you start, you already have a lot of words in your head. So it really isn't writing 50,000 words in a month. I'm not a great writer, but I can't write without editing. I got to 50,000 (in less than 30 days, but they weren't consecutive days) with editing and could not have otherwise. Masq got to 50,000 within the month and I know she was doing some editing. The premise that you should write Nano without editing is horse manure. That's not how people who write a lot write! The 50,000 word goal forces you to work within a deadline which sounds good. But, it makes you work at writing when you're tired of writing and that's a perfect recipe for burnout and writer's block.
I really think Nano is a bad thing because it discourages more than it encourages. It teaches bad habits that can really make you hate writing. Setting a more realistic goal of 10,000 or 20,000 well-edited words in a month would be far more within most people's reach and would be a lot more useful writing experience.
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