NaNoWriMo: a novel writing month

The girls participate in the month-long "NaNoWriMo" novel writing event throughout November. They do not "do" English in a regular sense throughout November: no grammar, no analysis, no focused reading. They write for an hour everyday as a part of the "NaNoWriMo" contest; sometimes, they revise but the main aim is to be able to focus their minds on a single story or plot and develop it. Laura Miller has written an interesting blog on the uselessness of such an activity (http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2010/11/02/nanowrimo). Miller's main point is that the act of novel writing is defeated by the reality of the lack of readers. Everyone has something to say, few have a willingness to listen (or read). Of course, she is right. But, that does not mean the activity is pointless. My girlfriend is an adult literacy tutor; most of her clients have come through the education system, graduated, but still cannot read. Despite the fact their reading sessions are held in the library, very few of my friend's clients ever check out a book. I know of homeschoolers who argue systems of various sorts are prejudiced, discriminate against minorities, but, then, they, themselves, do not have books in their home or take their children to libraries. Many of these people have something important to say, sometimes people, like me, listen to them or read their blogs; more often than not, however, I don't. What Miller indicates is that of the many that try to communicate, only a few are read; ultimately, if one doesn't read well, one doesn't write well. I like the NaNoWriMo contest because it gives my daughters a chance to take their writing seriously; only one of them writes when she doesn't have to do it and the others need to feel a value to self-expression. The activity reveals the importance of being able to communicate well. It also validates their reading time; the girls read a lot, probably an average of four (4) hours a day--sometimes more, sometimes less. And, the interconnectedness of the two activities is displayed in this NaNoWriMo. And, that makes it worthwhile.