The Fall of the House of NaNo
NaNoWriMo? Not anymore. Reflections on what went wrong and moving on.
This one breaks my heart y’all, in ways that have had me drafting and rewriting this post pretty much since January. But this coming November, which would have been my twentieth year participating in the annual writing challenge that is National Novel Writing Month, is the time in which I am finally moving on and saying my goodbyes.
Anyone who knows me, particularly through the internet, knows that NaNoWriMo has spent the last 19 years of my life as my own personal most-wonderful-time-of-the-year. November is my favorite month because of it. It has shaped my belief that stories are forged in the cooling of Autumn’s leaves and the warm lattes I sip into the long hours of the night. Magic to me is a room of keyboards clacking and pens scratching, as a tight knit group of friends come together to spin tales of fanfic, write original novels, and focus on dissertations. Between its ties to NaNo, November 1st has become a sacred day for me, even being the day I chose to publish my first YA novel. The unbound joy November has held for the last two full decades of my life is what I’ve fallen in love with, not this lifeless shell of an organization that NaNo has become.
I won’t spend my time here going over a list of grievances, because honestly, I don’t know what I can say on the shit show this has been that has not already been said by others. And for those curious what the hell I am even talking about, even a cursory glance through this document outlining the Fall of the House of NaNo can give you an idea of the number of ways this community has been let down by the ones we trusted to lead it.
I didn’t want it to be this way. I wanted to finish out my tenth year as an ML, but I can’t in good conscience be part of this organization anymore. This past year, I’ve watched as execs shirked responsibilities, have seen new management treat lifelong volunteers who have changed thousands of lives for the better like we’re a thorn in their side, and most recently, had to witness the very org that TAUGHT ME how much our stories all matter actively defend AI as a creative tool. I feel like that GIF of Padme saying, “You’re breaking my heart, Anakin.”
But as a fellow-former-wrimo said best in her own NaNo-break up blog post…
“Given the choice between the NaNoWriMo organization and the NaNoWriMo community, I’ll choose the community every time.”
-sushimustwrite
And so of course, I will still write. November will still be for the late night writing and reaching word goals, not because of some badge I get on a website, but because god dammit I love writing so much. The friends and I who have led Philly’s region for the past ten years will remain what we have always been—a tight knit community of scrappy writer friends who love the written word and each other. I’ll still be working on my books this month, because I’ve been writing year round for a decade now. No one will ever take the incredible memories I have of these NaNo days gone by, but the org simply cannot be part of my experience anymore.
It’s time to step out onto my own road. It’s time to take my experience, compassion, and dedication and forge a new path. I don’t yet know what that path will look like, but I also didn’t know in the early hours of November 1st twenty years ago that I was taking the first steps of the most miraculous, heartbreaking, character building adventure. Let’s hope the next twenty are full of just as many incredible memories, but ones that my friends and I write on our own.
Photo by Pop & Zebra on Unsplash