What’s the point of NaNoWriMo?

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen essay season comes about, thousands of students all over the world spend all night frantically typing and cramming all their thoughts into a Word document. At least, after that dreadful all-nighter, it’s done.

But what if it wasn’t? What if you voluntarily tried to do this over a whole month, writing nearly 2,000 words a night for fun? I have two words for you: November 2015.

For the month of November, thousands of aspiring novelists will take to their laptops in a race against time. Their only goal is to finish the month with more than 50,000 words, along with their (non-literal) blood, sweat and tears.

NaNoWriMo, as it is conveniently abbreviated, is exactly what many writers need to consolidate their dream. It pushes them to forget about man-made obstacles, and only think about the sole goal of writing.

It  is exactly what many writers need to consolidate their dream

Needless to say, not all of those who completed the task have become famous overnight, but there are a few of superstar fame: Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants and even Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

The site has had its fair share of criticism, with scholars urging people to not participate. Even editors groan when November comes around, thinking their December will be filled with horrible manuscripts!

But NaNoWriMo isn’t meant to lead to New York Times Best Seller novels; in fact, it’s not meant to lead anywhere. It’s a fun exercise that is meant to challenge you. It messes with your head, your deadlines and maybe even your social life. You’re supposed to think about quitting – more than half do of participants do.

But if you stick with it, let me tell you, it means you’re a writer.

Image Credits: Header (Image Catalog/Flickr), Image 1 (unleashthebeauty/Flickr)