Why do you NaNo?

[technoglobe]

Why do you commit to this crazy journey that is NaNo?

For me, I've been doing it for about three years because of the accountability. I know this isn't true for a lot of people, but I work best on a deadline. I was also lucky enough to be put in a great camp NaNo cabin that turned into a year-round writing group for two years now. I love the community its given me, especially since I don't have writers I live around to kick me into gear when I need it.

[ElaineA]

I do it because it's a valid excuse to tell my family to leave me the f*** alone so I can accomplish something. They don't--quite--, but it's better than non-NaNo time.

[Mary Love]

Same. Motivation. The week since I've finished has been so much tougher--I'm so distracted and have little motivation. Waah.

[Carrie in PA]

I like the challenge.

I like that I *must* move WRITING to the forefront of my life.

I like the community interaction with NaNo, especially the in-person write ins. (It sucks that they're all an hour away from me, but they're worth the effort and gas money.)

I like that it gives me a concrete writing goal.

I like that it gives me the OK to abandon whatever project I'm sick of and work on a whole new shiny. (Then I get sick of it and Dec 1 go back to the other project. It's good for my ADD. LOL)

I like that I have (almost) a whole brand new book to work with at the end of 30 days.

I like that my non-writer friends are super impressed by the idea of writing a book in a month. (Except my one lovely friend who thought that since it only takes a few hours to read a book, it surely doesn't take much longer than that to write a book...)

I like that it's near-instant gratification, seeing the word count rising at a rapid pace.

I like the badges.

And t-shirts. I love t-shirts. I once did a 5K solely for the t-shirt. And I *love* the collegiate sweatshirt. I love that there's a special Winner t-shirt. That means I pre-order it and then I MUST finish, because I couldn't wear a winner t-shirt without winning. It would just feel wrong.

[Maggie Maxwell]

I like having a little bar graph that holds me accountable as well as a few dozen people able to see if I'm not making that bar graph go up. I work best with a not-set-by-me deadline, but since no one is yet hiring me to write for them, I have to depend on NaNo to keep me going.

[JulianneQJohnson]

I needed a kick in the pants. I have this wonderful opportunity to have more time for writing, and I was not taking advantage. After a month of Nano, I'm in the habit of daily kicking the words butt, and I hope to continue with it.