The rise and fall of NaNoWriMo, and a disabled author’s take.

NaNoWriMo? More like NaNoNoMo. At least, that’s what a lot of people seem to be saying this November.

If you’re just now finding me, let me take a moment to give you a quick rundown on why this is so important to me. Short version? “Hi, I’m Erin, a fantasy romance author, who also happens to be a Christian, disabled, and weaves romantic themes into her stories!”

Long version? Read on, my dears.

For the uninitiated, I’m a 10-year veteran participant of the writing event known as National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo for short. The goal of NaNo is to create the rough draft of a “novel-length” work (50,000 words) in the month of November. Participants are encouraged not to edit their work during this time and can “win” discounts on different tools for writers by reaching the goal.

This is going to be my last year doing the official event. There are many reasons why, from allegations of grooming in past years, to implied shots taken at disabled writers.

My personal journey with NaNo goes back many years, to attempting it as a child in middle school. I’ve officially participated on the website for 11 years. When I began taking my writing seriously a few years ago and working toward becoming a professional author, I used it to further the writing momentum and work on projects for the writing program I’d enrolled in, which encouraged us to view the event as a tool (but not the be all, end all).

I quickly learned that for me, 50,000 words does rarely a complete first draft make. (The first novel I actually completed with intent to publish still sits at over 102,000 words. Good thing I have a little flexibility writing fantasy, and that book is actually the third in the series).

I stuck with it through the grooming allegations and was advised by friends in the writing community that the organization was doing the best it could to restore faith. I prayed and felt God telling me to stay in the interest of being salt and light.

Now, even some of the people in my region who volunteered are stepping back. I am attempting to continue doing 50,000 words in November, but it’s been hard to find motivation. As a person with a disability who’s also dealing with a healing injury right now, I don’t really know what to do. I’ve prayed again and haven’t yet gotten an answer. I’ve settled on, ‘I’ll attempt it, but what happens, happens.’ I know I’ll be working after the month ends anyway.

You can check out https://www.creativindie.com/the-fall-of-nanowrimo-ai-controversy-resignations-and-relevance-in-2024/ for a complete rundown of what’s happened so far.

One of the things that was posed to me when I debated participating last year was “What comes out of this event? Is it God-honoring?” While not all of the content is, I and many other participants are Christians. There was once (I don’t know now because I am too old to be allowed to access it if there still is) a hangout on the forums for Christian writers in their teens.

Now there is controversy over Pro Writing Aid being promoted as one of the sponsors of NaNo due to their use of AI tools. NaNo quickly condemned the prohibition of AI as “classist and ableist”. The statement backfired heavily with the org itself being branded [rightfully so, in this blogger’s mind] as ableist for an implication that disabled authors cannot write without AI, and that AI is nothing more than a helpful tool for those who cannot afford most of the tools that creatives use.

Fans even hit out at other sponsors like Scrivener for their failure to condemn the AI stance of the organization, and their continued sponsorship. Scrivener themselves have come out with an anti-AI stance, but made clear they didn’t believe it was fair to punish the writers who still participate in NaNo for the organization’s sins. [Coincidentally, I finally got Scrivener after my first NaNo completion, and it’s been invaluable to me.]

Will NaNoWriMo survive? Unclear. I’m still wrestling with my own feelings on it. I’ve found another organization called the Novel Quest Writing Community that I believe Christian authors should look into as a potential alternative. Their website is https://www.noquwrico.com/.

Do you NaNoWriMo, or are you looking for alternatives? Let’s talk in the comments!