What I loved about NaNoWriMo

An ode to a fabulous idea

I learned about National Novel Writing Month not long after it began, about 25 years ago. The idea of “NaNoWriMo” was simple: writers would commit to writing a 50,000 word novel over the course of the 30 days of November. Those who finished would get bragging rights and sometimes little prizes like discounts.

The organization that managed NaNoWriMo disbanded earlier this year for several reasons. There was some controversy with AI (is 50,000 words of AI-composed work a NaNoWriMo novel?). Maintaining a non-profit through multiple directors is also challenging in general.

But even if there is no official NaNoWriMo anymore, I still love this idea, for several reasons that are key to getting anything big done.