What is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Originally started by a US-based nonprofit organization of the same name in 1999, it became an annual event in which people around the world participated. The goal was to write a 50,000-word novel manuscript during the month of November, and participants had the opportunity to join in on local write-ins or access the NaNoWriMo forums for resources, daily encouragement, and advice from authors.

After financial issues and managerial mismanagement, the official organization unfortunately closed in April of 2025.

Why 50,000 words? Can we write more?

You can definitely write more than 50,000 -- and most novels are longer than that -- but 50,000 words is a manageable length for a short novel and can help get a raw first draft onto the page.

Ultimately, this write-a-thon is more about creating a consistent writing habit than it is about the exact word count. For example, to complete 50,000 words in 30 days, you would need to write an average of 1,667 words per day or find a way to spread out the workload over whatever time you do have to write during the week. If nothing else, it will help you to get started, maintain momentum, and help you make progress on that project you've been meaning to write forever!

Do I need to track my word count every single day?

Nope! TrackBear allows you to backdate entries, so you can log once a week or however often you feel like doing it. Just make sure to actually put your totals into TrackBear, otherwise we can't get you your hard-earned prizes.

What if I don't like any of the prize options?

We hope that's not the case, but if that does happen, we may be able to get a few other options for you. Just shoot us an email and we'll see what we can do!

Do I have to attend the events?

You don't have to attend, but we encourage you to at least attend the kick-off event and the completion celebration so you can get your prizes and celebrate all the hard work you've put into your writing for the month.