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Hi writer,

A week ago, we were lounging at NaNoWriMo’s midpoint, idly chucking Hot Pocketsat bears and deciding which path to take for the long journey home. 

Now we’ve blinked and November’s almost over.

We’ll soon be back in our normal lives, with all those unwatched Netflix shows and unwashed dishes. Surrounded by family, friends, and autograph-seekers—all of them eager to learn how our month of writing went. 

If you’re already dreading those conversations because you’re worried you didn’t accomplish enough, please don’t.  

Whatever your word count, you’ll return home triumphant. In a busy month, you’ve managed to conjure entire worlds and bring a cast of unique characters to life. Even if you can’t see it from here, you’ve also learned valuable lessons that will serve you well in this story and the countless others ahead.

Welcome to NaNo 2.0 Week Four of noveling abandon! Looking for continued support as you sail into success on your writing challenge, be it 50K in 30 days or a rebel project? You’ve come to the right place. This is what Captain NaNo has pirated away for you this week: 

Bluesky Word Sprints (times are PST)

• Mon., Nov. 24, 10-11 AM with Tavia Stewart, Noon-1 PM with Laura Bradley, 1-2 PM with Kristina Horner, and 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Tue., Nov. 25, 10-11 AM with Tavia Stewart, 1-2 PM with Kristina Horner, and 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Wed., Nov. 26, 10-11 AM with Tavia Stewart, 1-2 PM with Kristina Horner, and 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Thu., Nov. 27, 10-11 AM with Tavia Stewart and Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Fri., Nov. 28, 10-11 AM with Laura Bradley and Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Sat., Nov. 29, Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Sun., Nov. 30, Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe

Posts Coming Up:

Background

I have fond memories of the NaNoWriMo Validator. Back in the day (my first NaNo attempt and win came in 2003), to officially be declared a winner, you had to copy/paste the text of your novel (or use a text generator to produce the text to be counted) into a text area box and press a button. NaNoWriMo would count the words and, if you had at least 50,000 words, you would be declared a winner and allowed to download a printable winner’s certificate (that you could fill out yourself).

I found the process validating–it was like some external entity saw the words I pulled out of my mind and my heart in November and said, “You’ve won!”

Welcome back for another writing community roundup! As we mentioned in our last post, writing is not a solitary endeavor. It is easier, more beneficial, and infinitely more rewarding to find a community to write with (and it’s particularly fun if those communities host challenges!) .

We’ve rounded up another bunch of communities worth exploring below. While we’ve included some information on missions, age restrictions, and cost, we encourage you to do your due diligence to find ones that are right for you.

Onward, in no particular order:

I might be the writing teacher, but sometimes the best writing advice comes from my 8th grade students themselves. We had talked about creating conflict with a fish-out-of-water situation, and the next day a student came running into class, waving his notebook over his head. 

“Mrs. Bradley! Conflict! I got the best conflict scene!” He told me that his mom had been planning their family’s Thanksgiving dinner and was worried about the disagreements she knew would come. 

Hi Writer,

Do you hear that chiming sound?

That’s the NaNoWriMo Midway Clock, whose noble bells mark the conclusion of the first half of November. We’re now— 

Sorry? What’s that?

It’s not the Midway Clock?  

Could you wait here for a second? 

Okay. So you were right. I guess the Midway Clock went off a few hours ago. The chiming sound was actually coming from the NaNo 2.0 microwave, letting me know my Hot Pockets were ready. You mind if I eat while we talk? 

Welcome to NaNo 2.0 Week Three of noveling abandon! Looking for continued support for your writing challenge, be it 50K in 30 days or a rebel project? You’ve come to the right place. This is what the writing doctor has prescribed for you this week: 

Bluesky Word Sprints (times are PST)

• Mon., Nov. 17 from 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Tue., Nov. 18 from 10-11 AM  with Laura Bradley and 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Wed., Nov. 19 from 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Thu., Nov. 20 from Noon-1 with Laura Bradley and 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Fri., Nov. 21 from 5-7 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Sat., Nov. 22 from 5-7 AM with Gertrude Daly and Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe
• Sun., Nov. 23 from Noon-2 PM with Ansley Ashe

Posts Coming up:

Jane Rawson is a wildly inventive writer whose books Formaldehyde, From The Wreck, and A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists began as NaNoWriMo manuscripts. I called her at home in Tasmania, Australia to get her tips on Week Three.

Okay, we’ve crossed the halfway point of NaNoWriMo. What challenges are you typically facing at this point?  
By Week Three, I’m definitely behind on word count. And I’m at the point where I’m like, “I could just stop now and this could all be over. I’m too far behind and it’s not worth pressing on.”

The challenge is saying to yourself, “Well, you know what? You’re halfway there. You can endure this for another couple weeks.” Because it’s not really that long, is it? That’s kind of what’s great about the whole premise is you’re putting yourself through this painful but also amazing thing. And the amazingness will probably start to happen as you get towards the end of this week.

I am a proud NaNoWriMo rebel, and I am finally here to admit I’ve been this way since my first NaNo in 2006. Now, I can more proudly say that I have written around seven very bad first drafts of short story collections and one a non-embarrassingly bad apocalyptic RomCom (if you all remember Script Frenzy #RIP). So 50,000 words, yes! Book-length storylines, not so much. 

Dedicated to you, my fellow rebels, is this list of other free writing challenges where you can find resources and community to write your poems, songs, scripts, and short stories.

Welcome to Week 2 of your novel writing adventure! If you’re like us, you had lots of writing energy and excitement during Week 1. Your characters had plenty to say and places to go, you introduced important details of your setting and plot, and ideas were popping into your head like popcorn. But then Week 2 arrived.

Week 2 can bring what we call the Week 2 Blues: the excitement that kept you writing last week has faded, the words aren’t flowing so easily from your fingertips to the keyboard, and your characters are starting to bore you. How can you turn those blues into the music of your story being written?