In November of 2024, a girl started a blog post.
This blog post.
However, unfortunately, she dropped that blog post after 3 paragraphs and got distracted.
Here’s what she wrote:
As you all know, I make it a yearly habit to join NaNoWriMo, or in other words, challenge myself to write 50,000 words or more in a month. I’ve been doing this for about eleven years, by my count (since 2014), so I try to do it even in months when it’s not ideal.
So you’re probably going, “Ah, yes, Kell tried to do too much, and it was a challenge. What a shocker!” I know, that’s basically my whole life. However, this time, NaNoWriMo was supposed to be easy. I’d had years I’d completed NaNoWriMo even though it was a challenge, even though it was the worst possible time to be writing a novel.
But this year? 2024? I had a plan.
- I completed 90% of my autumn deadlines in September and October.
- I did a lot of writing in September and October so other projects were out of the way.
- I went on vacation for over a week from all of my day jobs to intentionally have a writing retreat in the middle of the month.
So yeah, all the odds were in my favor.
I meant to go on to talk about how my 2024 NaNoWriMo went … interestingly … but was somehow still successful. Perhaps I was going to talk about what a struggle this was but how the “NaNoWriMo magic” (as I have often called it) carried me through, somehow, to 63,539 words written.
However, since then, NaNoWriMo has SHUT DOWN. They sent an announcement to at least part of their email lists (I never got the email; I just read it from screenshots!), never posted anything to their social media (that I saw, at least), and then just closed their website. Even the website said nothing 5 days before it shut down. I know, because I randomly hopped on and saved my stats before then, thank God!
Little warning was given. Users were barely warned. The organization pointed fingers everywhere but in the direction they should have pointed them.
You know, at the blatant mismanagement, pro-AI stances, ableism, alienation of various people groups, predatory/pedophilic behavior of authority figures going unchecked in their forums, moderator authority abuse … the list goes on. NaNoWriMo is an organization that has long been a mess. I’ve had some people say this wasn’t an issue until the last couple years, but I’ve experienced similar issues from this program since 2013, soooo … believe what you will.
But you know, really it’s the fault of “financial issues” (which is true but WHY) and “community vitriol” (which is true but WHY).
Regardless, there is no more NaNoWriMo. In case you don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and was a challenge, set in November, to write 50,000 words (or more!) in a month. It’s existed since 1999, so it did last 25 years before disappearing!
Literally disappearing.
Again, I’m not surprised, but I am a little … not even disappointed. I don’t let myself get disappointed by things that have consistently been disappointing since, you know, 2013. But I am a little … interesting-feeling.
I mean, I’ve won NaNoWriMo every year since November 2014 in additional to doing quite a few of their Camp NaNoWriMo challenges (so yeah, 11 times). I was a VERY active participant of the YWP program. I’ve joined dozens of challenges and groups and “camps.” In total, I wrote over a million words and 20+ different projects via this organization. (Stats, for reference.)
And now it’s over.
I have faced a little criticism for always doing NaNoWriMo despite the fact that in many ways, the organization was both radical left and anti-creative.
I don’t agree with many things NaNoWriMo has shared and done. I’m especially disappointed with their response to both AI and the forum scandals to do with child grooming, both of which are inexcusable. That said, as I’ve pointed out in the past, using their name and their word trackers is not necessarily “supporting them,” per se, and I haven’t used a forum created by them since I left YWP at 16 or 17.
All the same, I’m glad NaNoWriMo is no longer causing harm with its mismanagement, and in truth, the writing community will probably end up being a better place without them.
But it has me thinking back on my NaNoWriMo history.
November 2014 ~ the beginning
In November 2014, I wrote 51,348 words, mostly of The Dressmaker’s Secret but also with a touch of rewriting.
I was shook.
I hadn’t believed I could do it. I hadn’t believed it was even possible.
Suddenly, writing had changed for me. It was like the clouds had parted and golden light had streamed over the source of writing power, leading me, the intrepid heroine, to the Promised Land of writing excellence.
I don’t know how this worked. I’m shocked I didn’t just waste time on the forums, but I didn’t. Instead, I wrote a whole book! (It was only about 38,911, so I have no idea what the 51,348 words were except perhaps rewrites I also counted? I’m not sure.)
But I was glowing with accomplishment. I decided then that I could write dozens of books a year and publish most of them.
Honestly, I wasn’t far off.
Anywho. *shoves proud Kell aside* It was great.
Interestingly enough, just about the only thing that hasn’t changed about TDS from draft 1 to draft 234 (slight exaggeration) is the first line:
“I knew that she must be home by now, which made sitting so still even more agonizing.” (Draft 1)
“Alice knew her mother must be home by now, which made sitting still even more agonizing.” (Final Published Version)
November 2015 ~ the continuation
Another year, another project that went swimmingly! Version one of Ivy Introspective came to 50,122 which is again confusing because I only saved 32,585 of the first draft, lol, but again, I transferred all this over from YWP in 2016 and my writing process was a little different, so I don’t know. I believe I probably wrote most of draft 2 in November, too, because I very quickly realized some elements weren’t working (mainly, not introducing McCale House until the last two chapters!).
By then, I’d written quite literally dozens of drafts of The Dressmaker’s Secret. Though I wouldn’t necessarily recommend every young writer rewrite and rewrite the same story, it worked for me because I rapidly learned exactly what I wanted to communicate and how to hone said messaging.
Ivy Introspective – then called Ivy Inquisitive – was a more solid draft. I still remember moments of struggle in NaNoWriMo 2015, but by then, I was outlining, I was prepping, I was dialed in. And I loved it! My first book was coming out in January of that year (*sad maniacal laugh*), and I was riding high.
November 2016-2017 ~ the secret sauce
This is when NaNoWriMo fell into a good rhythm for me. Both At Her Fingertips and Beyond Her Calling flew off the page! I ended NaNoWriMo 2016 with 65,978 and NaNoWriMo 2017 with 71,588 words.
I outlined pretty heavily, especially in November 2016, which helped me a lot. I spent most of my prep time in 2016 trying EVERYTHING, from character charts to color-coding to meticulous research notes. In 2017, I focused more on the things I had referenced the most, further hashing out my outlining process and keeping only what worked.
November 2018 ~ the miracle
2018 was a rough year for me. My grandfather died in October. I honestly didn’t think I could write in November.
As it turns out, grief is a great motivator for drafting. I was so lost and so broken-hearted. I barely wanted to be alive at that point for a number of reasons. So … I wrote. In total, I drafted 118,322 words in November 2018, more than I’ve ever written in a single month since.
They weren’t all good words, and honestly, some of the stories I drafted in that month (Souls Astray, a new draft of The Lady of the Vineyard and Flowers in Her Heart, etc.) still show the marks of my mental space at the time. But I’m glad I did it, and I do think it helped me work through some feelings.
November 2019 ~ the struggles begin
In November 2019, I wrote a mix of Ivy Introspective (from-scratch rewrites for the final publication) & A Broken Loyalty (a WWII thriller I got 58k of, all told, which, for reference, I cut down to 42,985 literally last month because I decided to do some quick edits). This was a weird year for me. Though I got 83,292, a respectable word count, I felt like I was let down by the quality of what I wrote. I was also trying a couple new techniques with A Broken Loyalty (turning all my text white and “writing blind” was one of them, along with a blatant use of WriteorDie), and it did teach me to consistently write 1,000 words in 10 minutes over and over again, but other than that, I don’t recommend it. Like I said, writing 58,497 to only keep 43,241 just doesn’t work for me. I also never finished that book, in part because until this year, I lacked the energy and objectivity to finish it!
That said, I feel I was less than objective in my feelings about this November. I mean, again, I did really well in terms of word count! I just wanted to do more.
November 2020-2021 ~ the rebound
In November 2020, I wrote 64,589 on The Duke’s Twin, which though smaller than previous wins, got me a decent first draft (though I still need to do major revisions but shh). I felt a little more steady on my feet. 2020 in general hadn’t been a bad year for me, despite all the mini personal tragedies and the big exterior nonsense going on … okay, it had been a bad year in some ways, but writing was going well. *shrug* This was my first Author Conservatory project, and I underwrote it. When I finish it, this is gonna be a 100k book, I swear.
In 2021, I also did super well, though more in the “I wrote way too much” way. I had less work to do at that point, since I was on a break from several of my jobs and living in a tiny apartment with my new husband, and I wrote 124,450 on After Our Castle and … other stores. *squints* After Our Castle is complete at 81,801, so I went digging through my blog posts to figure out what I wrote, and it turns out it was some wrapup for A Prayer Unanswered, but I know there was something else, too. My Fair Marchioness? I kinda thought it was that, but I didn’t mention it.
November 2022-2024 ~ the final trilogy of struggling
THE HILTON LEGACY, MAN! THESE BOOKS!
Literally all 65r8439058324906890 drafts (that’s a number right) and all of them TERRIBLE, BUT I HAVE CONQUERED THIS STUPID TRILOGY.
Every time, I struggled to write. Every time, the story ran off and did its own thing. Every time, I finished the book some time in January. Every time, I barely squeaked by with the words I wanted.
The November word counts were:
68,610 (Like a Ship on the Sea)
51,757 (Like the Air After Rain)
63,539 (Book 3)
Having completed them all some time in the year AFTER I was supposed to complete them, and then done copious revisions on all of them, I’m currently at:
96897
93473
93856 (… and growing)
ASK ME WHY I HATE THIS TRILOGY.
GO ON.
I DARE YOU.
*spits, kicks, and throws a general tantrum*
Okay, but seriously, the Hiltons are going to send me to an early grave.
But I’m almost done. Whew.
Anyways, I do think NaNoWriMo is still helping me even in this season of difficulty writing, and I also think that a lot of my mental health has not helped the situation. Plus, NaNoWriMo feels less fun than it used to. Partly because I’m way too busy now to give the community the same mind I used to (despite wanting to), and partly because I always have something come up (sickness, job difficulties or simply busy seasons at jobs, mental health issues, the Hilton siblings, did I mention the Hilton siblings).
I’m not mad; I’m just disappointed.
But I wish I knew 2024, my 11th NaNoWriMo, was my last one, technically.
Because now … it’s over.
November 2025 …? ~ and onward
Or not?
I don’t know, honestly.
I’m curious to know WHAT I’ll do in November 2025. Presumably KDWC and similar camps will still exist, so I may join one of them, but sometimes I struggle to handle the chaos. I’ll really miss NaNoWriMo’s specific word count tracker, so I’m on the lookout for an alternative (let me know if you know one that’s easy to use and shows a bunch of different stats) or else I’ll make my own. That may be the best alternative, honestly – I’ve become spreadsheet-savvy-ish. Sort of.
Anywho.
Slight update after abandoning this blog post.
No, it didn’t take me long.
Do you like it?
So I guess I have that now.
NaNoWriMo has nothing on my ability to find random Reddit threads that tell me how to do things (this is not a skill I have on my own haha). This is probably more useable than their dumb website that crashed on me every sixteen seconds and never loaded when I had 2 minutes to go until midnight.
In all seriousness, I am going to miss that stupid glitchy website, as you know I’ve never been a huge spreadsheet person (lol), but life moves on.
I say that but my spreadsheets have actually become a joke to my friends, hence:
You know how Lorelei is Type B in every way except the two ways she decided to be Type A for fifteen minutes every day?
… yeah. That’s me.
Anyways, I thought this belonged on the blog because NaNoWriMo has been so discussed on this blog!
TTFN!
~Kell~
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