10 on Tuesday: reasons to participate in NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is nearly here again, and it's time to start planning!  You can register on the site beginning on October 1st, and on November 1st, the sound of thousands of writers scribbling will be heard across the globe!

If you're on the fence about whether or not to participate in NaNoWriMo, here are some reasons you should.  And after you read this list and decide to join in the craziness with me, don't listen to Dana.  She'll tell you you're crazy.  Just ignore her.  She'll have tequila shots lined up for us on December first.  That's when we can listen to her again.

1. It makes "someday" today.  How many times have you said, "I'll write a novel...someday"?  And there's always been a reason not to do it.  Well, NaNoWriMo is just the motivation you need to actually do it.
2. A little healthy competition is good for people sometimes!  In addition to battling the clock to hit that magical number, you can use the website to check your progress against other writers or check your region against other regions.
3. What else do you have to do?  Sure, your life is busy, but you can spare a couple of hours a day, can't you?  That may be all you need to crank out 2,000 words.  So you miss a couple of episodes of Snapped.  They'll be on again, I'm sure.
4. It can be a good excuse.  If you're looking for a way to duck out of lunch with an annoying coworker, or you'd like to slip away from the family on Thanksgiving, you can use your WriMo status as a reason to be alone.
5. Coffee!  Even the most casual coffee drinkers turn into jittery java junkies (like the alliteration?) during November.  So if you love coffee, what better excuse to load up than staying up late to write?
6. It brings people together.  If you've participated in NaNo, and you see someone on the street wearing a NaNo shirt, or you see the logo on someone's blog, you feel a connection with that person.  You know what they went through in November.  And you feel their pain.
7. You'll never know if you can do it until you try it.  Can you write 50,000 words in a month?  Can you finish your novel?  November gives you the chance to find out!
8. What will you do in March if you don't write in November?
9. It can be a great refresher for your normal writing life.  If you can find time to write a novel in November, why can't you make time for your other projects?  Maybe NaNoWriMo is just what you need to remind yourself that, yes, you can be a writer no matter what else is going on in your life.
10. Who else is going to tell your story?

p.s. This is my 500th post.  Coolio.