The problem is that most people just fundamentally don't want to make art. NaNoWriMo is in many ways just an excuse to force themselves to do so "because they know they should".
Making art for most people is like exercise. It's good for them and once they get into it they like it, but there is an initial cost and your initial attempts aren't going to be very fulfilling and all that.
Almost everybody feels that surge of excitement in front of the potter's wheel. But, pots collapse, finding a teacher to mentor you is expensive, the people who want to start it have to start by researching clay and how you work it and can I use my oven as a kiln or do I need to buy a dedicated one and do I need glazing materials...
And then the same thing that killed exercise has killed the “artism” that we feel. People stopped going on daily constitutionals because of the TV, we made the TV more addictive and put it in your pocket and called it TikTok
I've seen people that normally wouldn't align with any sort of creative identity suddenly light up when placed in the role. Even more when their contributions are meaningfully acknowledged and dignified as valid creations.
Reminds me of the difference between learning piano from someone that's scolding you and smacking your hands, and someone that is encouraging you, starting from where you are, leveraging your innate interests, opening your eyes to patterns... when the gates are down, it's much easier to get in.
> most people just fundamentally don't want to make art
And they're right, because 99.9% of them would be bad at it. Probably it would not even have any therapeutical value for them, and the 0.1% of new artists discovered might not be a significant upside.
The name is terrible too, sounds like Orwell's Minitruth and similar 1940s abbreviations - "Hey, comrades, there is a dire shortage of blather, and the Great National Novel is nowhere in sight. Therefore our enlightened leadership has established a program with the catchy name NaNoWriMo, and all youth is enrolled."
It could be that type of target. It can also be a low commitment way for people who are on the fence to scratch a particular itch they are feeling. For some, the only "output" it produces may be, "I do not enjoy this."
Making art for most people is like exercise. It's good for them and once they get into it they like it, but there is an initial cost and your initial attempts aren't going to be very fulfilling and all that.
Almost everybody feels that surge of excitement in front of the potter's wheel. But, pots collapse, finding a teacher to mentor you is expensive, the people who want to start it have to start by researching clay and how you work it and can I use my oven as a kiln or do I need to buy a dedicated one and do I need glazing materials...
And then the same thing that killed exercise has killed the “artism” that we feel. People stopped going on daily constitutionals because of the TV, we made the TV more addictive and put it in your pocket and called it TikTok