The End of an Era: Moving Beyond NaNoWriMo

As the dust settles on the news of NaNoWriMo’s closure, many writers are asking the same question: What happens now? 

For two decades, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has been synonymous with November creativity, heartfelt community, and caffeinated writing sprints in dingy back bedrooms or moonlit kitchen tables. But while the non-profit that stewarded this movement has reached its final chapter, the spirit of NaNoWriMo is far from over.

If you missed the news, Kilby Blades—current acting CEO of NaNoWriMo—published a video to YouTube earlier this year announcing the news that NaNoWriMo will wind down and outlining the reasons for its closure. I won’t dwell on the reasons the organisation has had to close (there is plenty of that on the internet if you want to be part of that conversation), however, it is a big deal in the writing community and I wanted to talk about how that change will make waves for us, particularly come November.

Moving beyond the organisation

NaNoWriMo has always been more than just a website or a non-profit. In fact, I know writers who took part that didn’t even know there was an organisation attached. At its heart, it’s a simple yet powerful idea: dedicate one month to prioritise your writing and create a substantial piece of writing alongside thousands of others doing the same. This core concept transcends any single organisation and many writers who take part in November writing marathons have never even visited the official NaNoWriMo website or registered their novels. They simply know that November is when writers write.

From my years at Novlr, watching thousands of writers gear up for November each year, I’ve seen firsthand how the “write a novel in a month” challenge has become embedded in the writing world’s collective consciousness. The excitement in the lead up and the chatter on our forums as plans get underway is a chorus that we at Novlr HQ work along to as well, as Summer turns to Autumn. 

That begs the question, will we be singing the same tune this year?

A new November landscape

This November will certainly feel different. The absence of official word count validators, forums, and regional groups will create a void. But nature—and writers—abhor a vacuum.

What we’re already seeing is an organic redistribution of the community across various platforms:

• Existing writing communities: Platforms like Novlr, Scribophile, Jericho Writers, and countless writing Discord servers are becoming gathering places for former NaNoWriMo participants.
• Social media collectives: Writers are forming Facebook groups, subreddits, Threads, Twitter/X, and Discord communities dedicated to preserving the November writing tradition. Rogue Writers are a popular community made up of ex-NaNoWriMo participants, and started by Municipal Liaisons. 
• Local, in-person meetups: Many regional groups that formed through NaNoWriMo have existed semi-independently for years and will continue meeting at libraries, bookstores, universities and cafes. You can even start your own writing group!
• Word sprint groups: Writers are organising virtual writing sessions using video platforms and chat apps to recreate the accountability and camaraderie of write-ins. We even have a channel completely dedicated to writing sprints in our own Discord community, where you can join a scheduled one or start a sprint at any time. But any kind of timer will do!
• Tracking tools: We are working to refine the tools available in Novlr to specifically support monthly goals of all types. These will benefit writers year round but should also fill a void in NaNoWriMo tracking tools too. But for now, Trackbear is a free app that offers all the tracking tools you could possibly need, and while the NaNoWriMo servers are still up and running, you can even import your NaNoWriMo data from previous years.
• Learn at your own pace: Instead of focusing on pushing out words once a year, many writers are choosing to improve more gradually and taking things at their own pace. This is especially useful for those without the time to dedicate in November. While we love NaNoWriMo, it requires the privilege of time to tackle, which simply isn’t available to everyone. Self-guided learning opportunities are available year-round with workbooks like those from Scribe Forge, and from amazing teachers like Jessica Brody from Writing Mastery Academy and Char from The Plottery, which means you can write, learn, and grow in a way that works for you.

What we can learn from NaNoWriMo’s legacy

As we navigate this transition, it’s worth reflecting on what made NaNoWriMo so special in the first place:

1. Democratising writing: NaNoWriMo stripped away the mystique of novel writing and made it accessible to everyone with the time to dedicate to it.
2. Community power: The knowledge that thousands of others were struggling alongside you made the impossible feel possible.
3. Structured freedom: The challenge provided just enough structure (50,000 words in 30 days) while leaving everything else up to you.
4. Permission to write badly: Perhaps most importantly, NaNoWriMo gave writers permission to write imperfect first drafts. To—as we all need to at some point—just get the damn words out.

These principles don’t require an organisation to implement, they can live on in how we approach our writing and how we support fellow writers.

Moving forward

At Novlr, we’ve seen countless November novels start on our platform. Some became published books, others remained personal achievements, but all represented a writer’s commitment to their craft. While we sponsored NaNoWriMo for years and are saddened by the organisation’s closure, we remain committed to supporting the November writing tradition.

This November won’t be the same, but it will still be special. Writers will still write. Communities will still form. Novels will still be born. The essence of what made NaNoWriMo magical—the shared struggle, the collective enthusiasm, the permission to prioritise creativity in a very busy world—doesn’t disappear with the organisation.

So this November, whether you’re a veteran of many NaNoWriMos or a first-timer who never knew the organisation existed, know that you’re part of a tradition bigger than any single entity. The movement continues, evolving like all good stories do, finding new ways to inspire writers to put words on the page.

After all, that’s what November has always been about.