R.H. Walker, Author

A disclaimer: though I am a previous participant, I am not affiliated with NaNoWriMo, nor do I agree with their recent statements concerning the use of AI. The use of generative AI is antithetical to the art of writing, and it is actively harming artists, consumers, and the environment. I firmly believe that generative AI has no place in the writing world. After all, if it isn’t worth writing, it isn’t worth reading. (I am aware of their various other scandals as well, if you’re curious Savy Leiser made an excellent video collecting the history of NaNo here.)

So why choose to read and review the book at all? To start, the author, NaNo founder Chris Baty, stepped down from leading the organization in 2012/13 to pursue a career in writing. Additionally, this book was initially published in 2004, a year before the org even applied for nonprofit status.

All this said: I think the advice Baty gives is good.

Much like what we’ve read from Lamott and Bradbury so far, Baty’s biggest goal is simply to get you out of your own head. He gives a dearth of practical advice for an intense draft: lock up the editor in your head, let your characters drive your plot, give yourself permission to let the first draft be a first draft (i.e., bad). (Reader beware: if you’re allergic to the casual, millennial-cringe tones of our former reads Romancing the Beat and Story Genius, much of the same language is present here).

The biggest lesson in this book is also the biggest lesson I learned this year: at some point you really do just need to . . . do it. You have to shed the fear of failure, you have to sacrifice your time and your attention to your crazy projects, you have to lean on the people who will support you and ignore the people who will try to dissuade you. But the rewards you get for your efforts will be worth it: even if you’re never published, you’ll know you can do it. That itself makes it a worthwhile endeavor.