Novel November: Writing, NaNoWriMo, and Why It Matters
Novel November: Writing, NaNoWriMo, and Why It Matters
For many across the northern hemisphere, November is a time for food, football, and waiting until the shining lights of December illuminate the darkness, a time of sluggishness, hibernation, and cold. For others, including myself growing up, November held a different connotation as National Novel Writing Month challenge, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo. The challenge aimed to get participants to write 50,000 words, the start or completion of a novel in the 30 darkening days of November.
NaNoWriMo encouraged people to get words on a page, even if they weren’t good, because often the hardest part of writing is getting started. Editing and revision could come in December. My favorite part of the program was the online forums, where writers could commiserate with peers from around the globe. The author pep talk segments offered tips on how to fight the dreaded writer’s block that struck far more often than inspiration. Despite its notoriety, many don’t know the origin of this event, nor why their mission to get people writing matters. The 26-year history of NaNoWriMo and its rebirth across the internet as Novel November depicts the widespread love of writing and how the written word can make an impact, small and large.
A Short History of NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo began originally in July of 1999 with only 21 local writers in the San Francisco area. Chris Baty created the program, and it grew rapidly in the following years, jumping up to 5,000 participants in 2001 and over 400,000 in 2022. Over those years, the program began to include more ways to connect with others. The forums launched with the original website in 2000 and would go on to serve as a hub of connection with an ever-expanding pool of writers.
Additionally, 2003 saw the first “pep talks,” in which authors offered guidance and motivation to writers. There were also offshoot programs such as the Young Writers’ Program, which started in 2004, and was aimed at kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Instead of the standard 50,000 words, the young participants could choose the number of words they wanted to write.
Jumping to 2024, NaNoWriMo’s controversial stance on the use of AI drew heat online and a mass withdrawal of support for the platform. NaNoWriMo encouraged people to write, no matter the form or tools used. They believed that if you, the writer, believed you were writing a novel, then you were, whether that was fanfiction or a scientific thesis. Their stance on AI followed this line of thinking, neither condoning nor promoting it. Various authors, such as Daniel José Older and Maureen Johnson, resigned from their respective boards due to NaNoWriMo’s statement. The program closed its doors in March of 2025, citing financial issues as the main reason, though many speculate the AI discussion also contributed to its closure, among other issues. Though the official website and challenge have now been decommissioned, the challenge survives in various forms across the internet, most commonly under the name of Novel November.
NaNoWriMo and the Power of Words
The strong community NaNoWriMo developed had a lasting impact on many. But why is writing important? The written word has been around for millennia, changing the world through Hammurabi’s Code of Ethics, MLK Jr.’s I Have A Dream speech, and the blog posting platforms of the World Wide Web. For every inspiring piece that has stood the test of time, there has been an equal or greater amount of words that have been lost to us, whether intentionally or not.
We’ve seen all too often how the word of the people has been suppressed, for those in power know the importance of words. Time has proven over and over how writing changes the world, from calling out corrupt governments to inspiring individuals to change their ways. For example, in high school, I read Cinder by Marissa Meyer for a competition. I fell in love with Meyer’s voice, and it inspired me to want to be a writer.
Even though it has been years since my first read through, and my days have gotten much busier since then, I still flip through that book whenever I need a reminder of my dreams. While conducting research for this article, I found out that Cinder exists because of NaNoWriMo, among many other well-known books like Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. My personal story is just one of many that speak to the importance of writing. But to make a change, one must begin with a single word.
How To Make Your Words Heard
If the 50,000 words called for by the NaNoWriMo challenge seem like a lot, don’t worry, making a change with your words doesn’t have to come in the form of a novel. There is a wide variety of options to get your message out there. Poetry, informative articles, allegorical short stories, and many more. Let’s dive into a few of those options.
Poetry
Poetry has been around for as long as humans have been writing. As an expression of the heart and soul, poetry can be an excellent outlet for one’s emotions. And it doesn’t even have to rhyme! There’s blank verse, utilizing Shakespeare’s favorite iambic pentameter format without the rhyme, or the haiku, which focuses on syllables and is the shortest poetic form in the world.
Words can also be considered poetry by the way they’re formatted on a page; they don’t have to sound lyrical at all. The work of e e cummings is famous for innovative word arrangements on the page. His poem “r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r” (read “grasshopper”) is a strong example of this. Elizabeth Acevedo is a wonderful example of a spoken word poet and uses the music of words to emphasize the message. Her performance of her poem “Afro-Latina” for a beautiful example of spoken word.
Poetry can have a profound impact on both the poet and the readers, highlighting the unseen feelings that are rarely discussed. To break into poetry, Haikus can be a good place to start due to their length, or you can just throw words on a page in a shape and see what sticks!
Article Writing
If carefully selecting and playing with words doesn’t pique your interest, never fear! Nonfiction articles, no matter their length, can make just as impactful a change. Diving into a subject and writing about it can be rewarding and helpful. Illuminating a topic that isn’t discussed in major media can bring awareness to the issue and encourage critical thinking in readers.
Think about something you’re really passionate about. Maybe it’s knitting, soccer, or even pencils. Have you ever wondered about its history? How is it made or where it comes from? Within that community, are there debates or arguments? Exploring the nuances of niche communities and histories can open our eyes to further possibilities and inspire others to do the same. If you’re interested in things like politics, climate change, or any other hot issue, learning and writing about these can help clear up misinformation surrounding those topics and encourage readers to make changes in their own lives for the better.
Short Stories
Allegorical short stories can help break down bigger topics into a more digestible format, or even help a reader shift their perspective on an issue. This takes us back to English class, when the specific mention of the blue curtains meant impending sadness awaited our daring heroes. Though you don’t have to go that deep with it, picking one symbol to focus on and putting in the time to expand that thought can have just as profound an impact.
This format can also be useful in those moments where speaking directly about a topic is taboo. For example, deforestation is prevalent in the media and discussed with controversy. Delivered straight, this can alienate viewers due to their lack of understanding or turn some off from empathizing. But if delivered in the form of a mythical beast human girl fighting other warring humans to protect the forest, we get something like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke. Now, allegories can be up for interpretation and vary depending on the reader, but this interpretation still leads to the desired discussions.
All of the Above!
And finally, come write for Catalyzer Media! We are a group of young individuals passionate about making a change, and one way you can use your words to make a difference is to submit a piece to us. We’ll work with you to get your voice out there to our readers. You can choose any or none of the formats I have previously mentioned to get started. Getting your voice out there can make a change, so submit your piece, and let’s get your voice heard!
Final Thoughts
The written word surrounds our daily lives. The power of NaNoWriMo came from a group of people who were passionate about writing, people who wanted to change the world through their words. Even if a majority of people never “won” the challenge of 50,000 words in a month, the sheer number of participants shows the value of a community that rallies around writing. So this month, set a personal challenge to write. Maybe it’s a haiku, or a scathing allegory about the high egg prices, or even a script that’s been bouncing around your head for months. Whatever it is, just start. You’ll be surprised at where your pen may take you.
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