I am reading about people on Reddit, Twitter and other social media platforms who have decided to stop NaNoWriMo. That’s okay. I’ve had my years where I just wasn’t into it. But I have never subscribed to the thought that someone who doesn’t finish NaNoWriMo, doesn’t win.
Everyone wins at NaNoWriMo, even those who don’t get to 50K. The question is: how did you win? I encourage anyone who decided to stop to ask themselves what they got out of NaNoWriMo 2022. Take an inventory:
Did they start a new work in progress they’re excited about?
Did they establish some good writing habits during November?
Did they become excited about the writing craft in general?
Did they start something that they will definitely finish, even if it’s not during November?
Did they make some writing friends, whether in-person or online?
And of course, they should count how many words they typed. The answer is that’s more words they had at the beginning of NaNoWriMo.
The list goes one.
It’s not the end of the world if someone doesn’t get to 50K words. I mean, put it in perspective. It doesn’t mean they’re a failure. It’s only an event people have been doing since 1999. Anyone who did NaNoWriMo wins because somehow, someway, they are a better writer because of it.
They should ask themselves: how can I keep going with my WIP I started? The good news is that they can lower the bar. Write 500 words a day. Or 250 words. That adds up after a week, a month, a year.
Something else a participant can do – whether they will win or not – is participate in Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July. Participants can set their own goals. I usually only write 25,000 words for Camp NaNoWriMo.
So take inventory: How did you improve yourself as a writer in November?
The good news is that there are six more days left. If you haven’t finished, there’s still time.
Word count: 36816
Andrew M. Friday 