NaNoWriMo - What's the Point?

I'm feeling adventurous this month. I've not only created a blog for the first time, I've also signed up to participate in NaNoWriMo this year.

I told my mother I was thinking about joining. I explained it as a sort of competition to get a rough draft of a novel written – or at least the first 50,000 words of it – within a 30 day period. I also told her that it was free to "enter", though there would be no prizes because it wasn't a real contest.

"No prizes?" she wrote back. "Then what's the point?"

I didn't know how to reply at the time. The cliché "because it's there" was the first thing to come to me, but that was after the conversation turned to other topics.

So, what is the point of writing 50,000 unedited words in a month?

To get the words out.

First drafts are the hardest parts for me. My favorite part of the writing process is thinking about the story, the characters, and the events. This sort of pre-writing creation happens so frequently I could make a full-time job of it. I even find rewriting and editing enjoyable.

But first I need something to work with.

NaNoWriMo gives me an excuse and a reason for a period of no-holds-barred manic writing. I can choose one of the long-feeling story ideas from the very long list of stories I've been meaning to write, and create a wonderful mess I can shape into a proper story.

At least, this is my hope.