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comment by thenewgreen

I think it's a good idea to challenge yourself and occasionally force yourself to create; whether it be music, art, literature etc. However, if you do this expecting to have a work of art at the end, you're likely in for a shock. My guess is that it could bare fruitful ideas that are worth exploring in a more disciplined way, with no contest involved. I'd say "do it" but do it for novelty's sake and not as a new method or work process.





user-inactivated  ·  4066 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I agree with you, especially on this point in particular:

    agents are not happy at all about the alleged influx of bad novels they receive through December.

Anyone who thinks they can give the first draft of a novel that they wrote in the span of a month to an editor and think that things will go A-Ok are either clones of Ernest Hemmingway or highly delusional. This is in no way a slight to anyone who finishes a first draft - that is a great accomplishment and one that should be praised. But writing is a process that requires writing, writing, and rewriting. And that's before you even give it to an editor.

Overall, I believe NaNoWriMo is a great kickstart for a novel, but it is a novel that is a mould of lumpy clay. It needs time to be refined and reshaped and placed in the kiln before it can be taken any further.