My Goodbye to NaNoWriMo

Root 39 - And my thoughts on generative AI

Intro/outro sound is Prime Light Harp Melody 165 BPM.mp3 by snikpohneb — https://freesound.org/s/173463/ — License: Attribution 3.0

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For the uninitiated: NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November, writers from around the world unite (online and at local in-person chapters) in their personal attempts to write 50k words of a new novel in 30 days.*

*Unless they’re a NaNo rebel, and aren’t following these rules exactly. Writing something other than a novel, writing a second draft, etc.

It’s a giddy cocktail of elation, anxiety, and burnout. There’s one big thing to be said for NaNoWriMo. It’s a kick in the pants to get writers to actually do it; sit down and write. But as much as this is a noble goal, there’s a lot to be said for the drawbacks of it as well.

If you are not used to making a good habit of writing (as is the assumption, the very purpose for the event), then writing 1,667 words a day is really hard. Personally, I’ve learned that I don’t do well with a word count goal. I’m much more prolific with a word count limit. 😅 That goal haunts me. With every writing sprint, I check how many words I’ve written, then calculate how much further I have to go. Each time I get disappointed with how little I’ve actually written compared to how much I feel as though I’ve written, and this discouragement begins to strangle my creativity over time.

On top of this sheer mental barrier, a lot of writer’s block is a product of poor outlining leading to hitting a plot hole. You know what makes that more likely? Rushing to write as fast as possible, with no time set aside to chew on an idea. Like during NaNoWriMo. So then (as I struggle to dig my way out of the plot hole), I get stressed about meeting the daily quota, which prompts me to rush more, which leads to me getting even more blocked up… It’s a vicious cycle.

Sketch by Lorelei Jonason

It especially doesn’t make sense to me that NaNoWriMo overlaps with Thanksgiving, one of the most family-oriented holidays. It’s a time where you’re supposed to reflect on what you’re thankful for, and spend time with your blood or chosen family. During this time, participants of NaNoWriMo are either ignoring their loved ones to cram their words in, or spending time with these loved ones but sporting a thousand-yard-stare, imagining how very behind they’re getting.

NaNoWriMo buys into and preys upon our culture’s fixation with productivity, in a way that isn’t all that effective at boosting it. The fact that I’ve failed at the goal of NaNoWriMo most of the times I’ve participated has done a lot to weigh on my confidence as a writer. It’s done a lot to contribute to the many things that cause me to doubt myself.

Truly, there’s many reasons to say, “You know what? I’m not going to do this anymore.” But it’s October, and the fall weather is making me think I should start something new. I should get ready for NaNoWriMo.

But earlier this year, the NaNoWriMo leadership put out a statement saying that those against the use of generative AI are ableist and gatekeepers to creativity.

Let’s put a pause on thoughts about the ethicality of using generative AI at all. Given the context, my very first thought when I read this statement was specifically about using generative AI to participate in NaNoWriMo. To me, this feels a bit like putting your FitBit on your dog; the steps aren’t yours, and now the numbers are meaningless. I don’t know if it’s good for us to be counting the numbers to begin with, but if we are… Counting the number of words your prompt got a computer to write for you? Really?

If we get into the ethics of generative AI, I am against it. I see training generative AI off the work of those who haven’t consented to this use (which is almost all the work they’re trained off of) as a breach of copyright law. I know the government doesn’t seem to see it that way. They follow the money, and there’s a lot of money to be made ripping off the work of others.

Some sites, like Substack, let you toggle whether it’s easy for AI trainers to use your stuff (whether it’s easy, not whether it’s possible; and saying you don’t want this makes your discoverability plummet because the algorithm HATES people who want basic rights to their own work). But many giants, like Google Docs and Adobe, simply write it into their use agreement that by using their product you agree they get to use your work to train AI. Good thing they at least paid for one copy of your writing. Lol, jk, they didn’t.

Almost makes me want to put “train your generative AI off someone else’s writing” every third line in my posts.

In response to the NaNoWriMo stance, that being against generative AI is ableist: being for generative AI is an exploitative, capitalist machine stance. There’s big money in generative AI, as long as those who train them don’t have to pay artists for their work while doing so.

It should be no shock to anyone that NaNoWriMo is funded by a company which profits from generative AI. If their statement were a research paper, they’d be obligated to disclose that bias. If they were a lawyer, they’d have to recuse themselves due to a conflict of interests.

Maybe this will be the push I need to say goodbye to NaNoWriMo once and for all. There are so many better ways to prompt me to sit down and write. Shut Up and Write, for one. There’s no word count goal, but a time period within which you’re supposed to do nothing but write. Posting on Substack has helped to keep me regular(ish), as I attempt to keep up with my publishing schedule. Having some non-word-count goal, like writing at least a sentence a day, or scheduling writing time at specific times on specific days. If none of these get me to 50k words in 30 days, that’s fine. Productivity can be measured in other ways. And also? NaNoWriMo didn’t get me there, either.