Let’s start with what it’s not. This site is not affiliated in any way with the defunct non-profit that encouraged people to hang out in coffeeshops talking about writing, donate to pay for their overhead, participate in fundraisers, buy writerly merch, chat in (what turned out to be poorly moderated) forums, and last (and by the end, certainly least) attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in November. Or sometimes April, and occasionally July.
This site is run by a grumpy writer with a few completed (and published) novels under their belt. Who participated in National Novel Writing Month several times. Who got not just sad but ANGRY watching what it became. What started out as a fun, chaotic, creative experiment in tackling the common goal of writing a novel turned into a big, bloated mess that left a lot of people hurt and discouraged.
If you want to write a novel, there’s nothing stopping you but you. The goal of this site is to help you get out of your own way, and prevent you from talking yourself out of actually doing it. That’s it.
I’m not gonna tell you what to write.
I’m not going to tell you how to write.
I’m not gonna tell you when to write.
All I’m going to do is ask you to dedicate 30 days towards a goal that gets you closer to writing that damn novel. That 30 days is your Novel Writing Month.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does this work?
I’m going to set this up so that you can subscribe and get pep talks emailed daily for 30 days. Eventually, I might get fancy and let you choose different themes, but for now – you sign up, I kick your writerly ass by email every day for the 30 days you have designated as your Novel Writing Month.
At some point, I’ll figure out how to make the 30 days non-consecutive, but that’s a technical issue, not an ideological one. A month is 30 days. If you’ve gotta spread them out over 15 weekends, I respect that – I just don’t know how to set it up (yet).
Does it have to be in November?
Hell, no. November is an awful time for a lot of people to add writing a novel in a month to their plates.
If it works for you or you just enjoy the nostalgia, that’s fine, but otherwise pick any month you want. Start on the 15th of the month or on the new moon.
Start on May the 4th so you can write powered by The Force. Start on Towel Day if Douglas Adams is your literary hero. Plan it around your vacation to Antarctica.
I. Do. Not. Care. I just want you to write the damn book.
Can you do more than one Novel Writing Month in a year?
I dunno. Can you? I mean, I’m not gonna stop you from signing up repeatedly.
Can I invite some friends and do it together?
I mean, it’s not like I could stop you. But I would like to remind you that unless you’re Ilona Andrews or James S.A. Corey, writing a novel is not a group project. If it helps you get the novel written, great. If it’s just another way to avoid writing it… maybe don’t.
And so help me god, if anybody asks me if I’m creating a Discord, a Facebook Group, or for fuck’s sake FORUMS… No. No we will not be doing that. Ever.
Start your novel writing month.