Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/31050
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As a past "winner" of NaNoWriMo, I can tell you what this did for me.

1. It set a lofty yet achievable writing goal for me to reach for
2. It forced me to write, even when I didn't feel motivated (or when my inner-muse decided to sleep in)
3. It put me in a community of others who were pursuing the same goal. This provided both support and encouragement.
4. It provided me an excuse to write.
5. It helped me as a writer, turn off my critical editor and to write, by imposing a looming deadline. Often, when writing smaller blocks, I would word-smith it to death and never finish.
6. It lightens up the work of writing by infusing it with an air of excitement and fun.
7. It built up my confidence by me writing that many words in such a short amount of time.

**Edit**

I thought of a few more.

1. Having a defined goal made it more difficult for me to quit, especially after I told my friends I was doing it.
2. It made it easier to take time to write away from my family because they knew it was a real thing AND that it was time-limited.
3. It made me write past writer's block and continue to do the hard work of writing in order to make the goal.
4. It made me become disciplined with my time in order to have time to write.

Original score: 13