Nighthawk, if you're a slow writer like me, trying to write 50K words in one month can be an exercise in extreme frustration. It's only 1,667 words a day, every day, for 30 days, but I'm lucky if I get 500 words/day -
on a good day. And I rarely manage to write something
every day. So... I stopped doing this for the word count a long time ago.
50K is a lot of words, but there's more to NaNoWriMo than just the writing. I mean, that's an
important part of it (obviously!), but its value for me is found in connecting with other writers local to me, socializing with other writers - like you fine folks here on unFiction - and talking
about writing, about our projects, doing group brainstorming, cheering each other on to the word count goal, and all that good stuff. So, even if I don't write 50K this month, I'll still get a lot out of it!
Since 2002, I've only crossed the 50K line twice. But I had fun every single year, no matter what.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if 50K is daunting but you still want to participate, just put the word count goal aside, make a commitment to write as much as you can, and partake of the other benefits of the event. If you've never done this before, it's a great experience.
Miami Wrimos look to be pretty active, too, if you're interested in meeting folks in your area.


Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:15 am