NaNoWriMo: An Inspirational Utopia, or a Devilishly Attractive Stress Party?!

There is a lot of buzz about this NaNoWriMo going around the blogging world. National November Writing Month is a pretty popular thing (like No-Shave November, but less gross), and I kinda wanted to chat about it with you.

I’m not a regular NaNoWriMo participant. Let me just make that clear. Writing an entire novel (50,000+ words) in 30 days is just too crazy for me to try right now. I really applaud and revere all the people who do sign up for this challenge, because their bravery is greater than a medieval knight’s. Like Cait from Paper Fury. She’s writing a novel about sushi and dragons and an EPIC heist. It will be gloriousssss.

But one question is always in my mind. Is NaNoWriMo really helpful? Does it make a difference? Or is it just an insane contest that will freak everyone out? Let us discuss this together.

I’m an extreme worrywart. I worry about everything and stress out needlessly at all hours of the day and night. And I know that there are tons of other people out there who feel the same way. #stressaddictsjoinforces

So, NaNoWriMo is really quite scary to me. It’s like a gigantic frost monster, out there in a foggy night, waiting for me to make a move. I’m not a huge writer, either, so… that doesn’t help. I prefer to write (mostly fanfiction, I’m not gonna lie) in small chunks, to be published in chapters on my blog and Fanfiction.net. I absolutely love to brainstorm plot ideas and come up with story plans; but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, I am waaaaaay too much of a perfectionist. Which is why writing 2,000+ words a day, in a willy-nilly fashion, is horrifying.

Now, I’m all for coming out of your shell and trying new things. I’m not a very ‘bold’ person, but I like to stray out of my comfort zone every once in a while. But if I decided to do NaNoWriMo, would it really be helpful?

So here is a pro/con list, because lists are a blogger’s best friend:

♦ Bragging Rights: “Hey, I wrote an entire draft of a novel. What did you do this month?”

♦ YOU WROTE A NOVEL: That sense of accomplishment. Seriously, tho. How amazing would that be?

♦ It’s a Personal Challenge: If you’re a competitive person like me, then you have beat all the damn records. Hell yeah, you can write a book in one month! Let’s do this!

♦ Story Draft: Too much writer’s block? Get all that goopy stuff out, and come into December with a fresh new draft for a possible story.

♦ Excuses: You will literally have an excuse for everything. Can you take out the trash? No, you’re writing. Can you go to the club? No, you’re working on your novel. Who can stand up to that kind of sophistication?

♦ Insanity: You will most likely turn into a freaking lunatic because you’re writing insane amounts of words every day.

♦ Stress & Anxiety: Is my WIP going well? Are there plot holes? Am I on schedule? Am I making enough time for my writing?

♦ Dormant Competitiveness Flares: You may have thought you were a calm, chill person. But then you decided to write 2,500 words a day for 30 days. AND there was also a prize involved if you wrote the ‘best’ story.

♦ *Possible* Depression: That story wasn’t finished. You didn’t have enough damn time. And now you are lost in the darkness. *waves farewell*

In conclusion, I don’t really know what the answer is. It could go both ways. But all I know is that it scares the living sh*t out of me.

So, are you doing NaNoWriMo? If so, are you surviving? Can you relate to any of my fears? 

~Grace.