It’s October! Guess that that means?

Halloween? Well, yes. Pumpkins! Apple picking! HAY RIDES!! SWEATER WEATHER!

Okay, yes, all those things (unless you live outside the U.S., sorry). It’s also one month closer to National Novel Writing Month—November, in which thousands upon thousands of literary maniacs take on the challenge of writing 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days or less.

What’s that? You’ve never tried NaNoWriMo before? No judgment here, it’s not for everyone. But we are going to do everything in our power to convince you to change that regardless. There are plenty of reasons to try a WriMo. We’ll give you four.

You should give NaNo a chance this November if …

… you’ve never written a novel before, but have always wanted to

Have you always said, “I want to write a book someday” but someday has never come any closer? November 1 might be your day! NaNoWriMo can help you start writing your first book, or your next book, even if you don’t end up finishing. Sometimes starting is the hardest part, and the nice thing about NaNo is, you won’t be starting alone.

… you want to practice sticking to a daily word count 

On a typical day in NaNo land you’ll write an average of 1,667 words per day (50,000 words divided by 30. Yeah, I mathed). You can write less on certain days and more on others, or more in the beginning and less toward the end—how you break it up is really up to you. But participating, and making the commitment to try, is a great way to train yourself to write a little bit every day even when it’s a struggle.

… you need a measurable writing goal to work toward 

“I’M GONNA WRITE A BOOOOOK!!!” AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! But writing a book is a big project to take on no matter how experienced you are, and as the experts say, you’re more likely to succeed if you break a big goal into a bunch of tinier ones. Writing 50,000 words in a month still sounds like a lot, but a number might be easier for a newer novelist-to-be to inch toward. 

… you’re in need of a new kind of writing challenge

31 Days to Build a Better Blog? Been there, done that. Writing challenges are everywhere, which you might already know if you’re part of some kind of online writing community. NaNo is a writing challenge like no other: you’re asked to write a novel and hold yourself accountable for your daily progress. You’re expected to accept that you’re not perfect—that’s not an easy thing to do. But NaNo verterans will tell you: it’s worth the thrill, whether you do it once, twice or 10 times.

If you have questions or want to know more, the NaNo site will be back up shortly (they’ve taken it down today to get it ready for this year’s endeavors—which you could be a part of!). Check there, or ask Meg (@MegDowell) or just give it a go. Jump in before you find a reason not to. DO IT!

Image courtesy of Novelty Revisions.