How NaNoWriMo Destroyed Its Own Writing Community
- Yassie
- Mar 17
- 4 min read
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), once a beacon for writers worldwide, now grapples with significant challenges and allegations that have fractured its community and tarnished its reputation.
Photo by cottonbro studio from Pexels
NaNoWriMo has been a staple in the writing community across the world since it surged in popularity back in 2001. It is an initiative and platform combined into one that encourages writers, both hobbyists and professionals, to embark on the ambitious goal of writing 50,000 words in a month.
The Principle and the Platform
NaNoWriMo began as a fun challenge among 21 friends in the San Francisco Bay Area wherein founder Chris Baty saw November’s “miserable weather” as the perfect excuse to stay indoors and write. What started with 140 participants in 2000 exploded to nearly 165,000 by 2009.
NaNoWriMo described themselves as:
“a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people use their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.”
The growing community and support launched an official NaNoWriMo website and online forums, which became a gathering space for writers where encouragement were fostered, creativity flourished, and advice and common writer struggles were shared among the space. As the community grew globally, the need for governance in managing regional spaces for events became evident, which led to municipal liaisons (MLs) being introduced, helping create a structured, volunteer-led support system.
Becoming a Movement
Beyond its unforeseen growth, its success led to the formation of a nonprofit in 2005 called The Office of Letters and Light, supervising the expansion and launching new initiatives, including the Young Writers Program, which encouraged students to dive into creative writing.
By the 2010s, NaNoWriMo was an event that transformed into a movement for those who wanted to tell a story, inspiring thousands of writers worldwide. But as it grew, so did the challenges ahead.
At its peak, NaNoWriMo gained mainstream recognition with features on NPR and CBS Evening News. The challenge produced notable novels like Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, proving its influence beyond just participation. Local and regional write-ins, workshops, and events strengthened the sense of community.
The Allegations
Prior to the AI controversy, NaNoWriMo has been facing compounded internal issues that began to erode the trust within the community. In 2023, allegations surfaced against a volunteer moderator responsible for overseeing teen participants on the NaNoWriMo forums, accusing them of inappropriate behavior, including child grooming. The organization's perceived inaction and hostility toward members raising these concerns led to widespread dissatisfaction.
In response to these allegations and broader community concerns about forum safety and moderation, the NaNoWriMo Board of Directors launched an investigation and placed the forums into read-only mode. The investigation revealed issues such as overpromising, lack of transparency, and an overextended staff, resulting in several staffing changes, including the replacement of Executive Director Grant Faulkner by interim director Kim "Kilby" Blades. As of May 2024, the forums remained closed, further alienating community members who relied on these spaces for support and collaboration.
Additionally, discussions on platforms like Reddit and regional Discord servers have highlighted frustrations with the organization's response to these issues with some users expressing their decision to disengage from NaNoWriMo activities. Additionally, the organization's choice of closing the forum threads discussing these issues further alienated members and silenced important conversations.
Creative Betrayal
NaNoWriMo thrived and underscored authentic creativity; purely human-driven literary works were only ever produced and written. However, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) rising, pervading creative spaces such as NaNoWrimo itself, the very idea of human-driven literary works is now in question.
The organization came under fire in 2024 when their stance on the usage of AI in writing was stated on their website. Their statement ignited controversy and heavy backlash as they claimed that condemning AI had “classist and ableist undertones.”
Criticism erupted across the writing world, questioning NaNoWriMo’s authenticity as a community and platform for writers as they stayed neutral with the use of AI in writing but endorsed a generative AI platform called ProWritingAid. It was further argued that the use of AI-generated work undermined the spirit of the event, which was designed to challenge writers to push past self-doubt and produce original work. It also weakens the core challenge of NaNoWriMo to write 50,000 words as a personal creative achievement since AI has the ability to generate large amounts of text within minutes. Moreover, ethical concerns also arose as many AI tools are trained on existing literature without consent, threatening the rights of authors.
Shortly after, sponsors and partners distanced themselves from the organization and prominent board members, including Daniel José Older and Maureen Johnson, stepped down in protest.
As a result, participation declined with fewer writers signing up and engagement dropping. With its relevance now in question, NaNoWriMo faces an uncertain future in a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
The Future of NaNoWriMo
With declining trust, key leadership losses, and unresolved ethical concerns, NaNoWriMo faces an uncertain future. Will the organization revise its stance on AI? Will they be able to regain and rebuild their trust and reputation in the writing world?
For now, many writers are looking elsewhere—forming independent writing communities that stay true to the human-centered values that NaNoWriMo once championed.
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