Tobias Buckell’s analogy of NaNoWriMo writers being like the crowd of guys with new gym memberships on January 2 is very good. But I’d like to qualify it just a bit. As a year-round gym user, I like those guys.
Yes, the gym is a bit crowded for a few weeks, but they’re mostly gone by February—while the dues those guys pay help to keep the gym open the rest of the year.
Maybe the analogy breaks down at that point, but maybe not. Anybody who tries to write a novel in a month is going to learn something about being a writer. Maybe they’ll learn it’s hard work, and come to have a little more respect for the people who succeed at it. That’d be good. Even better, maybe they’ll find it’s easy and natural, and the world will gain another great writer.
Whatever they learn, I expect the world is a better place for them having learned it.