Creative Writing (NaNoWriMo)

The challenge is to write a 50,000-word novel during November, which works out to roughly 1,667 words per day. Participants who hit 50,000 by November 30 are declared winners and get manuscript verification and a winner's certificate.

It began in 1999 when founder Chris Baty challenged a small group of fellow writers in the San Francisco Bay Area to each draft a novel in a month. The nonprofit ran the event for a quarter century, though it announced it was shutting down operations in 2025 — the challenge itself continues informally among writers.

Yes — the organization long ran Camp NaNoWriMo sessions in April and July with flexible, self-set goals, so you could target 10,000 words or a full revision instead of the standard 50,000. Many writers also simply run their own November challenge independently.

Some of the best-known examples include Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, and Marissa Meyer's Cinder, all of which began as 50,000-word November drafts before being revised and published. They're the go-to proof that a messy month-long draft can become a bestseller.