Although we’re quite a bit away from November, my recent research keeps bumping me with little mentions on NaNoWriMo and I wanted to share my - probably unpopular - opinion about the writing challenge.

So what is NaNoWriMo? If you haven’t heard of it, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place during the month of November. Authors new and experienced are encouraged to crank out a novel in just a month. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to push authors to write in a fast paced environment to get their novel finally on paper and squash the self-doubt and distraction that usual wreck havoc on authors.

So why don’t I like it?

Well, it’s not that I don’t like NaNoWriMo per se. I love that more people getting their story out of their heads and onto paper! I also think NaNoWriMo is great to keep authors focused and not stuck in the endless loop of editing what they just wrote and never actually making it to the end goal - a finished novel.

That being said, it’s the speed that gets me. Full disclosure, I’m a slow writer. A lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I have a full time job and writing unfortunately has to be shoved into any spare pockets of time I have. But I think the speed of NaNoWriMo isn’t good for a lot of authors.

Now to be fair, I know there are many a successful book that have come out of NaNoWriMo and to the authors, that’s fantastic! However, how much time did these authors spend rewriting what they wrote during the November writing sprint? I’ve heard it time and again, authors returning to their NaNoWriMo project and realizing it’s… in need of a lot of help. And the reason for this is because NaNoWriMo puts so much emphasis on speed that it lets quality fall to the wayside.

No first draft has to be perfect by any means! However, the first draft should be something substantial. It’s like the Maren Morris song - “the house don’t fall if the bones are good!” If you want to write a novel that’s really going to be something, that isn’t going to suck all your energy and passion for the story during editing, then it has to start with good bones. This means planning (no offense pantsers! I’m very envious of your ability!) and having a first draft that isn’t perfect but you can see something good behind it. Editing shouldn’t be a rebuild but a renovation.

Think about your novel like a house. It’s a lot easier to change up the kitchen cabinets and change the wall color in the living room than it is to rip down the entire structure because you realize you never set the foundation!

Slow down out there authors! It’s not a race. I promise, if a month passes and you’re not done with your novel you will get it done! There’s no set timeframe for writing. Everyone is different. So, if NaNoWriMo isn’t working for you don’t stress! Take your time and keep yourself focused on attainable goals, whatever that means to you and your unique situation. And if NaNoWriMo works for you then that’s wonderful as well!

Cheers and happy writing!