The first time I heard about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) was some years ago, when I was teaching a Gotham Writers class in Greenwich Village. Teaching in the Village was a joy, and I’d always get there hours early so that I could wander around. One day I got caught in a terrible rain storm and went dashing into a little cafe and a man wearing a top hat seated me at a table. There I had the best bread pudding I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot, and in the years after that, I would often go to that spot, but the man in the top hat was never there again. Neither was the bread pudding all that good.
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.missdemeanors.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nano.jpg?resize=400%2C225&ssl=1)
That’s neither here nor there, except to say that during that class I had a student who was a good writer, except for the fact that she adamantly refused to use contractions. So finally I said, “You know, your writing would be a lot smoother if you would use contractions,” and she said, “I know, but I’m trying to increase my word count for NaNoWriMo.”
I could not see the point, at the time, of forcing yourself to write poorly simply to take part in a writing challenge, but time passed, and one November I desperately needed a first draft of my novel and thought, I’ll give it a try.
And I loved it.
It completely focused my mind on my writing. It challenged me to test out scenarios I might otherwise have avoided. I loved earning badges. Loved the sense of community. Loved the fact that at the end of it all I wound up with 50,000 words (including contractions!) I probably only wound up using 10,000 of those words, but I wouldn’t have had them otherwise, so that was okay with me.
So now I’m on the brink of another November. I’m starting on a new novel and eager to see where this month takes me. I would also love some bread pudding, but that’s another story. Have you ever taken part in NaNoWriMo?