Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
National Novel Writing Month AI simulator
(@National Novel Writing Month_simulator)
Hub AI
National Novel Writing Month AI simulator
(@National Novel Writing Month_simulator)
National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month, often shortened to NaNoWriMo (/ˌnænoʊˈraɪmoʊ/ NAN-oh-RY-moh), is an annual creative writing challenge that takes place in November of each year. Participants are tasked with writing a 50,000-word novel draft by the end of the month, aiming for an average of 1,667 words each day. Writers are instructed to prioritize speed and quantity over quality, with the 50,000 word count being the primary goal (although writers are free to edit their drafts after the competition). The U.S. based nonprofit organization that founded the project closed in 2025 due to scandals and financial issues, but the event lives on through community-led initiatives and alternative platforms like NaNo 2.0.[better source needed]
The project began in July 1999 in San Francisco with 21 participants. It snowballed over the next two decades, with over 400,000 people participating in 2022. In March 2025, the organization announced it was shutting down, with interim executive director Kilby Blades publishing a YouTube video citing financial struggles and "community vitriol" as the reasons for closure.
During the 25 years of the organization's existence, its website provided participants—called "Wrimos"—with an online community of support, information about local meetups, and tips for writer's block. Writers wishing to participate first registered on the project's website, where they could post profiles and information about their novels, including synopses and excerpts, and give each other feedback. Well-known authors wrote "pep talks" to motivate participants throughout the month. Regional volunteers, called "Municipal Liaisons," provided networking and advice, and organized in-person and virtual writing events for local writers.
Freelance writer Chris Baty founded the project in July 1999 with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2000, he moved the event to November "to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather." He launched an official website to promote the event, designed by a friend. That year, 140 participants signed up. Due to the increasing popularity, Baty formed a Yahoo! group to create a community for the writers. When group members inquired about the guidelines, he established the project's basic ground rules: the novel must be new, cannot be co-authored, and must be submitted in time to be verified by the November 30 deadline. Of the 140 participants, 29 successfully completed the challenge in time, as verified by Baty himself.
The following November, Baty expected similar numbers, but 5,000 writers registered, which he credits to the program being promoted by bloggers and news organizations such as the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. Although Baty was happy with the large turnout and popularity of the event, he and the organization were not prepared to manage that many participants. The website had several glitches, which almost led to the cancelation of the event that year. In the end, they were able to move forward with the program, but asked people to self-identify as winners on an honor system rather than having to manually verify each participant; 700 people did so.
2002 saw technical improvements and increased automation to the site. Media attention from National Public Radio and CBS Evening News drew increased attention and a participant count of 14,000. The next year, the NaNoWriMo team began the Municipal Liaison program, where volunteers could act as moderators in the forums as well as send out the first set of pep talk emails. Municipal Liaisons also acted as leaders for a specific region under their jurisdiction—organizing fundraisers and calling meetings for NaNoWriMo participants residing in their region. Baty also began work on his debut book No Plot? No Problem! during the 2003 NaNoWriMo, writing the NaNoWriMo guide concurrently with his own novel.
In 2006, NaNoWriMo was registered as a nonprofit organization due to the event growing strongly every year. The nonprofit was originally named The Office of Letters and Light.
In 2011, the NaNoWriMo website was given a new layout and forums. Baty announced that he would be stepping down as executive director in January 2012 to pursue a full-time writing career. Grant Faulkner took his position as executive director. The redesigned website moved from the web server Drupal to Ruby on Rails. During the first month after launch, the new website supported over 1,000,000 visitors and more than 39,000,000 page views.
National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month, often shortened to NaNoWriMo (/ˌnænoʊˈraɪmoʊ/ NAN-oh-RY-moh), is an annual creative writing challenge that takes place in November of each year. Participants are tasked with writing a 50,000-word novel draft by the end of the month, aiming for an average of 1,667 words each day. Writers are instructed to prioritize speed and quantity over quality, with the 50,000 word count being the primary goal (although writers are free to edit their drafts after the competition). The U.S. based nonprofit organization that founded the project closed in 2025 due to scandals and financial issues, but the event lives on through community-led initiatives and alternative platforms like NaNo 2.0.[better source needed]
The project began in July 1999 in San Francisco with 21 participants. It snowballed over the next two decades, with over 400,000 people participating in 2022. In March 2025, the organization announced it was shutting down, with interim executive director Kilby Blades publishing a YouTube video citing financial struggles and "community vitriol" as the reasons for closure.
During the 25 years of the organization's existence, its website provided participants—called "Wrimos"—with an online community of support, information about local meetups, and tips for writer's block. Writers wishing to participate first registered on the project's website, where they could post profiles and information about their novels, including synopses and excerpts, and give each other feedback. Well-known authors wrote "pep talks" to motivate participants throughout the month. Regional volunteers, called "Municipal Liaisons," provided networking and advice, and organized in-person and virtual writing events for local writers.
Freelance writer Chris Baty founded the project in July 1999 with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2000, he moved the event to November "to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather." He launched an official website to promote the event, designed by a friend. That year, 140 participants signed up. Due to the increasing popularity, Baty formed a Yahoo! group to create a community for the writers. When group members inquired about the guidelines, he established the project's basic ground rules: the novel must be new, cannot be co-authored, and must be submitted in time to be verified by the November 30 deadline. Of the 140 participants, 29 successfully completed the challenge in time, as verified by Baty himself.
The following November, Baty expected similar numbers, but 5,000 writers registered, which he credits to the program being promoted by bloggers and news organizations such as the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. Although Baty was happy with the large turnout and popularity of the event, he and the organization were not prepared to manage that many participants. The website had several glitches, which almost led to the cancelation of the event that year. In the end, they were able to move forward with the program, but asked people to self-identify as winners on an honor system rather than having to manually verify each participant; 700 people did so.
2002 saw technical improvements and increased automation to the site. Media attention from National Public Radio and CBS Evening News drew increased attention and a participant count of 14,000. The next year, the NaNoWriMo team began the Municipal Liaison program, where volunteers could act as moderators in the forums as well as send out the first set of pep talk emails. Municipal Liaisons also acted as leaders for a specific region under their jurisdiction—organizing fundraisers and calling meetings for NaNoWriMo participants residing in their region. Baty also began work on his debut book No Plot? No Problem! during the 2003 NaNoWriMo, writing the NaNoWriMo guide concurrently with his own novel.
In 2006, NaNoWriMo was registered as a nonprofit organization due to the event growing strongly every year. The nonprofit was originally named The Office of Letters and Light.
In 2011, the NaNoWriMo website was given a new layout and forums. Baty announced that he would be stepping down as executive director in January 2012 to pursue a full-time writing career. Grant Faulkner took his position as executive director. The redesigned website moved from the web server Drupal to Ruby on Rails. During the first month after launch, the new website supported over 1,000,000 visitors and more than 39,000,000 page views.