: Re: What's gained from NaNoWriMo? Generally, I understand NaNoWriMo to have the goal of writing a complete novel (at least a first draft) during the month of November. To reach "novel" word count,

@Sarah872

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I've never personally participated in NaNoWriMo --like you, I don't find it of personal benefit --but it has been immensely helpful to many people.

It's essentially a (voluntary) psychological tool to help people overcome writer's block, fear of inadequacy, the intimidation of tackling a full-length work, the tendency to let writing be prioritized right our of our lives, and a host of other mental obstacles. If those aren't problems for you, or if you're already writing at your own peak efficiency, NaNoWriMo probably won't add anything to your life.

For many people, the concrete realization that they can produce a novel's worth of writing in a finite span of time is liberating and existentially empowering. It also gives an achievable goal outside of publication, which can be very important. If it does not work for you, there's no stigma attached to not participating. But your list of reasons for not participating actually reads to me as like a list of reasons this might actually be helpful to you --if writing is in fact something you are deeply committed to. But, to echo FraEnrico, and many other writers throughout time, if you don't feel driven to write, don't do it. Most writers are people who can't help but write.

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