Participating in NaNoWriMo? Has Scrivener Got a Deal for You!

This a quick post for those of you who will be participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo to those in the know. We're planning a more in-depth look at the month-long marathon to a 50,000 word novel when the 'competition' begins in November, but suffice to say NaNoWriMo has gained in popularity over the last ten years.

According to Macworld, an innovative piece of Mac writing software called Scrivener seeks to capitalize the scores of people who will be spending untold hours typing away at their computers this November.
With used car salesman-like prowess, Scrivener is offering a special extension on its 30-day free trial. You can use the software for free from whenever you download until December 7th if you profess to be a part of NaNoWriMo. What's more, participants get 20% off the cost of a license, normally $39.95. But that's not all! If you're a NaNoWriMo 'winner', i.e. you make it to 50,000 words, you get 50% off the license.

If you sense some sarcasm in my tone, it's because I'm feeling a bit patronized by Scrivener's salesmanship. As we've discussed before, writing on a computer is often more distracting than its worth, and the best kinds of writing software serve to eliminate distractions. Scrivener is packed with features that many people swear by, but it seems that this deal is intended to snag unsuspecting, vulnerable writers who are straining toward a difficult deadline.

I appreciate the extended free trial, but isn't $39.95 far too much to pay for writing software? Even twenty or fifty percent off of that seems a little steep. It seems that the point of this deal is to snag writers with short-term free software when they need it, only to get them to overpay later. Software developers should be paid for their work, but the design of the program should match its price.

Writers have gotten along just fine with simple pen and paper for thousands of years.  Is it write to lure us in with software that may not be helpful or useful in the long run?

As always, I may be completely off base with my take on this. Is Scrivener worth its discounted price? Could many of you not make it through NaNoWriMo without this software? Am I blowing hot air as hard as I can? We want to hear from you!