What Comes After NaNoWriMo? 0 ▲ Words Deferred 1 hour ago · Writing · hide In previous years, this was a question people would ask about December, but that changed in 2025 when NaNoWriMo, or at least its parent nonprofit, The Office of Letters and Light, shut down. It was a strange saga. What started as a goofy yearly event became, by some measures, the biggest annual writing event in the world. A formal organization was founded, with increasingly grand plans to change the world, and increasingly significant funding needs. It all ended in tears and acrimony, and some frankly bizarre issues over potential grooming on the forums and bad takes on AI-written fiction by people who really failed to read the room. I’ve been an intermittent participant in NaNoWriMo, and I while I think the whole event and organization ended up way too far out over its skis, I do think the idea itself had value. Critics argue that it encouraged bad first drafts and nothing else. I’d argue that bad first drafts were being written well before NaNoWriMo, and they’ll continue being… Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town
