What is It about NaNoWriMo That Entices People to Participate?

[queenoftheskies]

What is it that entices those of you who participate to join in during the month of November?

The challenge?

The comraderie?

Something else?

It's really cool to see people getting excited.

I'm excited.

I just wondered why others participated.

Comments

[terri-osborne.livejournal.com]

In my case, it's the challenge. I use it to challenge myself to hit a particular word count every day, which I'm not really that good at.

I'm a slow writer, and that's been to my detriment over the years. It's a time to try to speed up, and be accountable for it in the process. :)

[lanyn.livejournal.com]

I join simply because it forces me to actually write 50,000 words in a month. And do it with company, which gives me people to complain to/with, and people who inspire me when I think I'm not going to make it.

I could never write that much in a month with my full-time job otherwise.

[canadiansuzanne.livejournal.com]

For me it's a combo thing.

First, it's a goal, and I like goals so I know that I will do my best to write 50K words in a month.

Second, it's the challenge. I always sink my teething into a good challenge.

And third, it's the comraderie. I'm excited too. Though I have absolutely no outline or even an idea yet.

[ckocher.livejournal.com]

I think the overall reason is the sheer insanity of it. And while I have 'won' once, I also don't feel it counts because I think that the last 15 thousand or words were just stream of conscious crap that I churned out just so I could hit the 50k mark. So I want to win it with a real novel that has a chance of being edited into something I can be proud of, even if I never submit it or show it to another person.

Insanity and the challenge. And knowing that there are so many other equally insane people out there sharing the journey.

[hkneale.livejournal.com]

The deadline. I work best with a deadline. This deadline will give me a valid motivator to get the rest of this third book done. Then I will have what I need to know to go back and tweak the first two with their subtle clues and correct worldbuilding errors.

I've done projects for people in the past and when I ask them when they need it by, they say, "Oh, whenever." And I'm like, "No, gimmie a deadline." Otherwise, there's a very good chance that I'll slack off and it won't get done at all.

I love deadlines. Unless, of course, they're unreasonable.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

bull-headed stupidity.

and masochism.

but mostly stupidity.

: D

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I originally joined for the challenge, the drive to make me actually get the words out. And then I discovered a wonderful, amazing group of friends who live locally and do this every year. I'm a huge slacker when it comes to being social and going out, so NaNo forces me to have a life, sort of. I like that I get to see my friends once a week, every week, for a couple of months.

And I still like the writing challenge.