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NaNoWriMo is the easy way of saying "National Novel Writing Month". The goal is to write 50,000 words of a brand new story during the month of November, about 1,667 words a day. The general consensus is that at 50,000 words a book turns from a novella into a novel, even though most traditionally published fiction books hover around 80,000 words.
I've attempted NaNoWriMo every year for the past nine years (since freshman year of high school!) with varying degrees of commitment and a 100% failure rate.
In 2011, I wrote 20k words of a horrible cheesy Prince/commoner romance, obviously influenced by the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
In 2016, I wrote 30k words of a murder mystery campus novel set in Scotland (a place I wouldn't even visit until the year after). My pace started off strong but the post-election depression hit me HARD and I lost all interest in life aside from Parks & Rec reruns.
Last year, in 2018, I gave up after 6,000 words.
I never expected to actually complete NaNoWriMo. It was always one of those lofty goals that sounds nice to achieve but I didn't think I had the discipline or talent.
But guess fucking what? I actually did it this year. The first 30k flew by joyfully. I ended each day feeling satisfied and proud of myself. But my motivation jumped off a cliff once I hit word #30,001.
I dragged myself through the last 20k, bitching and moaning the entire way.
There are plenty of "shortcuts" people take to stretch out their word count, but I didn't want to write complete shit knowing I'd have to just edit it later. I can honestly say that I'm proud of all 50,004 words. They need HEAVY editing, but I'm glad I finally have something to edit.