NaNoWriMo and the Myth of the 50K Novel

National Novel Writing Month is fast approaching. The question remains whether I will officially participate this year. Those who know me already know the answer. Still, during the pandemic, I thought that joining the movement would prove beneficial not from a writing aspect, but from building book awareness and gaining potential readers. Indeed, not for altruistic reasons. I certainly wasn’t joining to meet other authors to talk about our respective stories. I was a participant for 20 days...

There’s a website where writers can sign up and post their progress as a motivational tool. If I remember correctly, you can even get awards or virtual stickers for each stage you complete. At first glance, it seemed like fun, as though posting my daily word count was a badge of honor. Truthfully, when I’m in a writing groove, 50,000 words in thirty days is a joke. That’s not meant to be a flex; it’s simply a fact that once the characters start talking and dictating the story, the writing becomes easy. 

Even now, in the midst of writing Double Cross, I’m around 52,000 words in 25 days. The word total should be much more, but I’ve purposely set a minimum goal each day and stuck with it, because I want to enjoy the writing process, not just grind through pages.

Back to NaNoWriMo, there are plenty of blogs discussing whether to do it or not. Personally, I get a kick out of the bloggers who are telling you it’s a flawed challenge because who is to say 50,000 words is enough for a proper story, let alone a novel? How is it fair to have people write 1667 words a day for a month, when that takes time, depending on your ability to craft the words? The fact that people feel it’s necessary to judge whether it deserves merit or not is ridiculous. 

I would group this challenge as similar to what people who are setting out to train and complete a marathon face. Some do it for bragging rights. For others, it’s a life goal or something on their checklist that they want to accomplish. Then there are the real runners — yes, I went there — who have done enough marathoning that it’s no longer about the marathon, but the process. The training, the act of getting up, building a base, and completing something to fruition, is the real reason. Again, it’s not even about the marathon or setting a date to complete the race; it's about the daily runs that create the real value.

With this perspective, NaNoWriMo can be viewed in the same vein. Storytellers want to craft, they want the toil. They don’t need a word count, a time frame, or anything else to share a proper story. The last time I checked, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe had a word count of around 37,000 words. Would that not count for the challenge? The Great Gatsby is at 47,000 and Little Women (both parts) a meaty 190,000 words. 

Does it really matter when you write your story or how long it is? As for the challenge, if you are at that life stage that needs validation, have at it, but you might be missing the point of why you are writing and telling the story in the first place. I, for one, will just keep plugging away, seeing where Russell takes me.

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