I absolutely resonate with this. Without Nanowrimo I would still be someone who couldn’t get more than 10% of the way to a novel. Last year got me writing longform fiction for the first time, after years of procrastination. But the very high word count does encourage you to burn out and doesn’t incentivise considered prose or effective structuring.

This year, buoyed by my previous success at NaNo, I began writing at the start of October and I’m now 95,000 words into a much more compelling story. Aiming for an achieveable minimum word count and allowing myself nights off has helped me avoid burnout and given me a less vomity first draft, that I feel confident I can improve.

But that doesn’t take away from the fact that NaNo basically made me a fiction writer. I recommend it to everyone I meet who wants to write fiction.

Great article — I’m glad it’s not just me that feels this way!