It’s the end of my first official Hacktoberfest! While I’ve been a working dev for years, I’ve only made a few OSS contributions. I wanted to rectify that and this seemed like a great way to do so!
However, I failed! Miserably! Not a single pull/merge request was submitted, much less accepted.
What happened?
I got off to a great start! I assembled a list of repos, spooled up the projects and familiarized myself with ‘em, like unwrapping a present!
Some project’s ‘good first issues’ were mired in history and far too daunting, so I’d poke at a few others.
Then I’d flit to another project; rinse and repeat until …crud, it’s November 1st.
Hacktoberfest isn’t my first month-long community writerly endeavor. I’ve been an avid National Novel Writing Month participant for years.
If you’re unfamiliar with National Novel Writing Month/NNWM, you use November to write a 50,000 word novel (or writerly endeavor). I didn’t even come close with my first manuscript attempt, penning less than 10k words.
(I’m using the acronym NNWM instead of NaNoWriMo because of issues with the NaNoWriMo organization].
I attempted NNWM the following year and crossed the finish line! I did the same the year after that. The year after? I revisited my initial manuscript and finally willed its 50k words into the world.
I’m proud of my followthrough for self-imposed projects, however, I see that I failed my first Hacktoberfest in the same way that I failed my first NNWM.
What went wrong?
My prep work was too little, too late
Everyone’s approach to undertakings like these are different, but with NNWM I always sketch out the time and place, principle characters, the beginning, middle and end, as well as a few major beats.
Despite having read quite a bit of advice about how to approach and prep for Hacktoberfest, it was not enough as I didn’t have enough in the way of fallbacks and wasn’t as familiar with matters as I’d like.
I had too few guiding progress markers
NNWM requires 1,667 words a day to meet the 50k goal. It’s a simple metric, one that allows you to easily suss out how far you’re falling behind. I failed to create definitive daily Hacktoberfest milestones and, as a result, didn’t have a good grasp on my lack-of-progress.
I hid from external accountability
I didn’t tell anyone I was attempting it, didn’t keep folks updated, so I failed silently. (Well, at least until now.) With my NNWM stabs, I let folks know about my progress, and my project details, status and word count are publicly visible.
The timing wasn’t as advantageous as I’d hoped
November is a terrible month to write a manuscript, with all of pre-holiday work crunch and end-of-the-year prep. October? Sorry, but I’m preoccupied with Halloween shenanigans. Why not Hackuaryfest or Harkchfest, when folks are hibernating and aren’t nearly as stressed? Or just skip the cute names all together?
(Arguably, the fact that you’re able to make an effort under a busier-than-normal month is a testament to your willpower, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!)
I was intimidated.
Unlike NNWM, you don’t have to share your messy drafts with others. Even though I’ve been a web dev for years and have been responsible for a number of successful projects, I am a shy dev at heart. Consequently, I tend to hide my work for my own selfish purposes when I can, and that’s partially what happened with Hacktoberfest.
What will I do about Hacktoberfest 2025?
While trying to correct all of the above, I will rectify the ‘prep’ and ‘timing’ issues first-and-foremost.
I’ll use the rest of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 to dip my toes into projects and communities I’d like to work with (if they’ll have me). Then I’ll take assign myself a February faux-Hacktoberfest.
If I’m brave enough, I’ll tackle the ‘intimidation’ and ‘accountability’ issues by posting about it here and elsewhere.
I realize these projects are first-and-foremost ways to ease you in to a writing routines and their communities, but they also serve to push you out of your comfort zone.
Despite the fact that I write practically every day — code, fiction, essays and the like — I learn something new each time I participate. Hopefully, next year, I’ll learn more -and- be able to revel in the accomplishment of four October OSS contributions.
Have any advice on overcoming Hacktoberfest stumbling blocks? Thinking of doing your own faux-Hacktoberfest? Inquiring minds want to know!
(Yes, I realize this is far too late for the Hacktoberfest 2024 Writing Challenge! So it goes!)
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