NaNoWriMo: Now you too can be a writer! Yep, another elitist person. I noticed that in the bio, the author of this essay is a microbiologist. Well, as a microbiologist myself and participating in this "self-delusional" endeavor, I'd have to disagree that it is diminishing in any way the accomplishments of "real" writers. If anything, NaNoWriMo is more of a support group for writers. Plenty of "real" writers think this is a good idea. There are also a number of published authors participating. Science is also a lot like this--there are plenty of professional scientists who get paid for what they do but they are by no means demeaned by all the kids who work on science projects or people who serendipitously stumble on a discovery. A microbiologist, of all people, should understand that.
