The end of Nanowrimo

So, how does one become a writer ? Well, by writing. This was the main principle of Nanowrimo, the shorthand for "National Novel Writing Month", an online workshop initiated in 1999, at a time where internet did look nothing like what it is now. To take part in this workshop, you’d pledge to write a 50000-word novel in 30 days, in the month of November.

I took part in Nanowrimo for the first time in 2004, and this helped me write my first novel - in the sense of finishing writing it, instead of procrastinating. I then participated semi-regularly, in 2005, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and finally in 2023.

Of course writing 50000 words in 30 days does not make for a good book - but you’d end up with raw material to refine, in this sense, it was a real "enabler" for wannabe writers. And it was also a good opportunity for real-life encounters with other participants - I was able to join meetings in Dublin and Stuttgart.

The non-profit managing Nanowrimo had its ups and downs, and over the last few years, it seems that it got overwhelmed by the management of the forums, internal dissents, and financial struggles. There was some drama on the way and some serious scandals, so in the end, the news of the closure is not totally a surprise. But it’s a 25 year old monument of the early internet that disappears - a dinosaur from a time where we would believe in the power of collaboration and where everything was not immediately turned into data and fed into AIs.

Well, I will miss you Nano ! I would have gladly taken part in the 2025 edition... it’s a bit saddening. Still, c’est la vie.