November approaches! Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Are you considering it but aren't sure if it's worth your time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears? (Yes, it requires all of the above.) Have you had friends suggest it to you? Do you love to write but tend to lack the motivation?

There's still time to scrounge up a novel, a few characters, and at least a couple chapters worth of plot! Yes, NaNoWriMo is not for the faint of heart. HOWEVER. NaNoWriMo is definitely worth the effort, and here are a few reasons why.

1. IT'S A SUPERB MOTIVATOR

Even if you're not reaching for the goal of 50,000 words before midnight on November 30th, NaNo is a PERFECT time to jump-start your creativity and actually force yourself to do some work. I do recommend you TRY to reach the 50,000 words, though. You might doubt yourself now, but if you don't try at all, you can't succeed. So be daring! Give it a shot!

Also, you can use NaNo as motivation to build on an existing novel. You'll only be able to use what you write during November to count towards winning, though, so do keep that in mind.

2. YOU GET LOTS OF WRITING DONE

As with the previous reason, even if you end up falling short of 50,000 words, you've still accomplished a lot! Odds are, you probably did some plotting and learned a lot about your characters in a short period of time. Kudos to you! You can even try to keep up the pace of NaNo after the event itself is over, if you feel like it. It's not easy, though, and I for one tend to be kind of exhausted by the end of NaNo.

3. THE CAMARADERIE

When you make the plunge and decide to try your hand at NaNo, you join a HUGE group of writers from ALL OVER THE WORLD. Not to mention the fact that you may have at least one friend doing NaNo. When you each find out a friend is doing it, a fresh new bond forms between the two of you, since you'll be going on this adventure together! Now you can word war, be each other's sounding board for plot ideas, and get excited over all your characters! Also, it's helpful because you become accountability partners, making sure both of you stay on track. When you have at least one fellow Nanite (as I once heard us called), a whole new realm of motivation, fun, and possibility opens up for both of you!

I've won NaNo the past two years, and I intend to continue my streak this year. If I can win NaNo- and I'm the most easily distracted writer I know- you can definitely go the distance! You might be sleep deprived when your done. Your hands might hurt. You may not have come out of your cave - pardon me, bedroom- for a while. But you'll have accomplished something extraordinary that can take a lot of people years. YOU WILL HAVE WRITTEN A NOVEL.

Good luck to you! Happy writing!