Life after NaNoWriMo: How writers can keep the November momentum alive #WriteMo2025

Every November, countless writers have opened fresh documents, brewed extra coffee, and joined a global community all chasing the same goal—50,000 words in 30 days. For twenty-five years, the nonprofit behind National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) gave structure and camaraderie to this creative marathon. But when the organization officially shut down in April 2025 due to financial and operational challenges, many writers were left wondering: Now what?

The good news is that the spirit of NaNoWriMo doesn’t belong to any one website. It lives in the collective energy of writers everywhere who come together to create, share, and cheer one another on. November can still be your month to write boldly and build lasting creative habits—you just might have to do it a little differently this year.

Keep the momentum going

Losing the official NaNoWriMo platform may feel like losing a central hub, but it’s also an opportunity to reimagine what this month can mean for you. Maybe it’s less about hitting an exact word count and more about committing to a consistent daily practice. Maybe it’s about reconnecting with your local writing scene—or finding new digital communities that feel more personal.

The essence of NaNoWriMo has always been about accountability, connection, and creative freedom. Those things are still very much within reach.

How to track your progress and stay connected

Even without the NaNoWriMo site, there are plenty of ways to replicate the tools and motivation that kept so many writers going year after year:

• Track your word count independently. Use tools like Google Sheets, Notion, or Excel to build your own progress tracker. You can even add formulas to show your daily averages and goals—just like the old NaNoWriMo graph.
• Join or create local write-ins. Libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops often welcome writing groups. Post on community boards or social media to find other writers who want to keep the November tradition alive.
• Use online accountability spaces. Discord servers, Slack groups, or Facebook communities can recreate that sense of global connection. Look for “NaNoReimagined” or “WriteMo2025” hashtags that are already circulating.
• Set personalized goals. Instead of 50,000 words, aim for a smaller or more flexible target—like finishing a draft, outlining a novel, or writing daily for 20 minutes.
• Celebrate your milestones. Reward yourself when you hit key points in your project. The celebrations don’t need to be public—treat yourself to a favorite snack, a quiet day off, or a cozy reading night.
• Pair up with a writing buddy. Having one person to swap check-ins or word count updates with can make all the difference.

The writing community is still here

The end of the NaNoWriMo nonprofit doesn’t mean the end of collective creativity. If anything, it’s a reminder that the writing community has always been self-sustaining—built on shared encouragement, collaboration, and the joy of storytelling. Whether you’re writing a novel, revising old work, or simply exploring new ideas, you’re not alone.

This November, you can still open that blank page and say yes to the challenge. The infrastructure may be gone, but the passion that fueled millions of words each year remains—and that’s something no shutdown can erase.

What about you? Are you planning to write this November without NaNoWriMo’s official support? How are you staying motivated or connecting with other writers? Share your thoughts and strategies in the comments below—I’d love to hear how you’re keeping the tradition alive.

Now available in print and on Kindle!

Within these pages, you’ll encounter merpeople and vampires, terrifying nights in the wilderness, the quiet horror of domestic violence, poisonous plants, the extremes of human appetite, and all the small and large ways life can unsettle us.

From horror and speculative fiction to literary explorations of shadow and chaos, this anthology invites readers to step into the eerie, the strange, and the unknowable. Witness what rises with the bad moon—and confront the unsettling truths that linger there.

For fans of We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Push, and Baby Teeth.