So You're a NaNoWriMo Drop-Out?

If it’s possible for one to get a failing grade for participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), then put a big “F” on my paper, because that’s exactly what happened this year.

I’m guessing a lot of you are just like me. We sign up in October, hopes high, dreams full of 90,000-word novels which will be fresh and original. We won’t crank out a mere 3,600 words a day. No! We’ll be more prolific than Nicholas Sparks, churning out 6,000 emotion-filled words in a sitting! Months later, having ignited the enthusiasm of our dream agent, we’ll land a contract with HarperCollins, quit our day jobs, and never look back.

And if you are anything like me, we stumbled out of November only 7,036 words into a new novel.

I’m sure you can agree that writing is one of the most rewarding and maddening tasks we will ever do. While there are times the words flow from us, churning and tumbling like beautiful music, more often we stare at a blank screen, procrastinating on social media, convinced that if we just wait a little longer, the ideas will finally arrive in droves. The worst part is, though, that when inspiration fails to grace us with its presence, we become frustrated – tempted to give up on our writing projects.

Despite my shortcomings this November, I’ve decided that making the choice to enter NaNoWriMo means I didn’t fail. Sure, I only managed to write about three days a week. Even then, I was lucky to get in more than an hour of writing before the distractions started. But I wrote, and that, alone, is a success.

Any time we sit down to write, whether we crank out a measly 50 words or a mighty 5,000, we are doing meaningful work. Writing is hard. Writing is time-consuming. Writing takes persistence. But it is our passion, and we love every hard minute of it. Whenever we write, we take one more positive step towards our goal, and that’s what matters.

So take heart, fellow NaNoWriMo drop-outs. We may not complete the perfect novel in a month, but that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on our dreams. Keep those ideas coming, and keep writing, because even one sentence brings us closer to success.





Bethany Masone Harar is an author, teacher, and blogger, who does her best to turn reluctant readers into voracious book-nerds. She hopes you’ll join her in this lofty endeavor.