If you’re like me, then when you first heard the term “NaNoWriMo,” you thought it was just one of those no-stakes challenges people take part in, no different from making a New Year’s resolution. I was introduced to NaNo by my eighth grade English teacher. He made it one of our assignments, but it wasn’t something we would be graded on; he just wanted us to have fun. And I did!
If it weren’t for that teacher, I doubt I would have developed a love for writing as early as I did (I say that about a lot of people, but it’s true).
In short, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual writing challenge where participants are encouraged to write the rough draft of a 50,000+ word novel during the month of November. Anyone can join whether they’re a seasoned author, they’re just starting out, or even if they’ve never written before. It’s a challenge, so it’s supposed to be difficult, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Countless writers, myself included, used this challenge to hone our skills, step out of our comfort zones, and share our progress with other participants. It’s a wonderful community-builder that spans globally.
S0, imagine my surprise when, 9 years after first hearing about NaNo, I found out there was a whole non-profit organization behind the challenge. Discovering this didn’t change how I felt about NaNo. Afterall, I’d been participating for years. Surely this November wouldn’t be any different… But then I saw the dreaded “NaNoWriMo Controversy” in an Instagram reel. My first thought was, “Why would someone cheat for an internet competition? That’s what the controversy is, right? Someone must have fudged their numbers in order to ‘win.'”
Wrong! The truth was nowhere near as innocent. I won’t go into exactly what happened, because it is a very uncomfortable subject, but if you want to seek the answer yourself, be warned!
After doing some research it turns out this non-profit, which also goes by the name NaNoWriMo, has had a lot of controversy over the years. Things like supporting scam publishers, making false promises to participants, discriminating against disabled volunteers, and not doing background checks on any of their volunteers which led to some safety issues. You can learn more from this video by Savy Writes Books, who interviewed former volunteers and participants of NaNoWriMo.
At this point I decided I wouldn’t be participating in NaNo for the foreseeable future, and then NaNo released a statement that cemented my stance. As a creative, one of my biggest fears is that someone will steal my ideas, but an even bigger fear is that AI will be the thief. How did AI get tangled up in a writing challenge? Let me break it down for you, dear reader.
One of NaNo’s sponsors is an AI resource called Pro Writing Aid, which NaNo actively encouraged its participants to use. One of PWA’s newest features is to generate text for its users, effectively writing for the writer. “But who cares?” you might be asking.
Maybe you don’t, but it matters a lot to writers. This is a challenge built off the honor system. If you’re just going to cheat your way through NaNoWriMo, then why are you even participating? With such AI resources, you could have a rough draft for a novel in minutes with little input from yourself. That is NOT writing. In addition, AI “learns” how to improve itself by studying the work of other writers, meaning AI is effectively plagiarizing, and so are you by using AI to write in your stead.
People were not happy with NaNoWriMo. If the organization had apologized and distanced themselves from PWA, they might not have such a big mess on their hands. But they decided to double down by releasing an article entitled “I can’t believe NaNoWriMo is endorsing a person/company who does _____!” This post is long enough, so I won’t get into it here, but if you want more insight, I suggest you check out this video by D’Angelo (I tried submitting quotes from the article itself, but NaNoWriMo edited it so heavily you cannot find any trace of their previous statements on AI users).
So, yeah, I’m not doing NaNoWriMo anymore, even if they go back on their stance regarding AI. I just can’t trust them, and neither can thousands of others. Now, you might have looked at the title and thought, “What is JaNoWriMo and why hasn’t Kass gotten to it yet?”
JaNoWriMo (January Novel Writing Month) is a lovely idea a writer friend of mine pitched on her Instagram. It is similar to NaNoWriMo, but instead of being a challenge to write 50,000+ words in a single month, JaNo focuses on writers building community with each other and sharing our stress-free writing progress.
JaNo is a time of inspiration, encouragement, advice, and cozy vibes. November is such a hectic month with Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas. Really it’s one of the worst months of the year to hold a writing challenge, especially since stress often gives me burnout and stumps my creativity. January, however, is after all the hustle and bustle of the previous year, and it marks the beginning of a new one! Why not start 2025 with something to boost community and creativity?
If you want to learn more, check out @rebekah.ackerman.writes, the wonderful writer who pitched this idea, on Instagram. She seriously deserves the engagement!
Thank you for reading, friends! Happy reading and happy writing, without AI, of course. 😉
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