By Koundinya, founder of Bunsho · 9 October 2026
NaNoWriMo Alternatives for 2026: 10 Ways to Write a Novel This November
NaNoWriMo is gone, but November is still November. Here are ten free ways to write a novel this month, with the dates, costs and the kind of writer each one suits, plus how to run your own.
What happened to NaNoWriMo?
On March 31, 2025, the nonprofit behind National Novel Writing Month announced it was shutting down. As Euronews reported, its interim executive director cited financial problems made worse by the controversies of its last two years. The challenge began with 21 writers in 1999, and in 2022 more than 413,000 people took part.
The website was never really the point. What writers lost was three things: a deadline everyone shared, a community writing alongside them, and a single number, 50,000 words, that turned “someday I’ll write a novel” into thirty days of work. I’m a novelist, and I know how much a shared deadline helps. The good news is that all three are still available this November, from several places.
A note before the list: Bunsho is not affiliated with or endorsed by NaNoWriMo, or by any of the other events below. We name NaNoWriMo only to describe the event that closed. Every date and price here was checked on each official site on 9 October 2026; confirm the details there before you sign up.
NaNoWriMo alternatives at a glance
| Option | Dates (2026) | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novel November | Prep from Oct 1, write Nov 1 to 30 | Free | The classic 50,000 words with a big community |
| NaNo 2.0 | November, sign-up open | Free | Longtime participants who miss the old spirit |
| Reedsy Novel Sprint 2026 | Nov 1 to 30, workshops from Oct 21 | Free (Reedsy account) | Writers who want prizes to chase |
| The 60-Day Novel Challenge | Plan from Oct 1, write Nov 1 to 30 | Free (extras need Dabble) | Planners who want lessons first |
| Novel 90 | 90 days from Oct 1 | Free | A slower pace with coaching |
| Rogue’s Amazing Word Rush (RAWR) | October and November | Free | Discord crowds and flexible goals |
| Scrivener’s Novel November offer | Trial from mid-Oct to Dec 7 | Free trial, then discounts | Novel November writers who use Scrivener |
| Draft to Done | Sign up now, write Nov 1 to 30 | Free | Checking the finished draft in December |
| A write-in at your library | Set by each library | Ask your library | Writing with people in the room |
| Run your own with TrackBear | Any time | Free | Your own group, your own rules |
The options, one by one
01 · ProWritingAid
Novel November
- What it is
- ProWritingAid’s free November challenge, launched in 2025 after NaNoWriMo closed, built around the classic goal of 50,000 words in 30 days.
- Dates
- Preparation (“Preptober”) starts October 1. Drafting runs November 1 to 30.
- Cost
- Free.
- What you get
- Word count tracking whether you write in Word, Scrivener, Google Docs or by hand, daily writing sprints, forums, badges and milestones, live workshops with published authors, and editing and publishing resources in December.
- Best for
- Writers who want the closest thing to the November they remember: one shared goal, a large community and plenty of structure.
- Official site
- prowritingaid.com/novel-november
02 · Community volunteers
NaNo 2.0
- What it is
- A free, community-led project run by an all-volunteer team that includes NaNoWriMo’s founder, former staff and longtime Municipal Liaisons. It is a new project, not the original nonprofit.
- Dates
- November, with registration open now. The classic goal is 50,000 new words by November 30, or any writing project you choose.
- Cost
- Free.
- What you get
- Pep talks, a word count tracker, badges, resources for young novelists, and Write With Us!, a kit of printable materials for libraries hosting write-ins.
- Best for
- Writers who did NaNoWriMo for years and want its spirit back, pep talks and all.
- Official site
- nano2.org
03 · Reedsy
Reedsy Novel Sprint 2026
- What it is
- Reedsy’s November challenge: write 50,000 new words in Reedsy Studio, its free online writing app, then enter your first chapter in a contest.
- Dates
- November 1 to 30 (Eastern time), with planning workshops from October 21.
- Cost
- Free with a Reedsy account.
- What you get
- Live workshops and writing sprints through October and November. Everyone who reaches 50,000 words in Studio gets three months of Studio’s premium add-ons and can enter a contest with prizes of $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000, each with a 30-minute literary agent consultation. The book has to be written in Studio: no pasting from other apps, and no AI-generated text.
- Best for
- Writers who like a prize on the line and are happy to draft in Reedsy’s editor.
- Official site
- reedsy.com
04 · Dabble
The 60-Day Novel Challenge
- What it is
- Dabble’s two-month challenge: plan your novel in October, then draft it in November.
- Dates
- A kickoff workshop on October 1, weekly lessons from October 4, and drafting from November 1 to 30.
- Cost
- Free to join, with no Dabble account needed. The challenge template, built-in goal tracker and participant theme work inside Dabble, which has a 14-day free trial.
- What you get
- Weekly lessons on planning and drafting, live Q&As, and moderated writing sprints three times a day in November in the Dabble community. Reaching 50,000 words earns 40% off Dabble for a year.
- Best for
- Planners who want a month of guided preparation before the first word.
- Official site
- dabblewriter.com
05 · AutoCrit
Novel 90
- What it is
- AutoCrit’s 90-day challenge to finish a novel of 50,000 words or more. Novellas and story collections are welcome too.
- Dates
- Starts October 1 and runs for 90 days, through December.
- Cost
- Free, with no AutoCrit membership or card needed.
- What you get
- Coaching from bestselling authors in planner, plantser and pantser teams, writing sprints, live group sessions, templates, and a dashboard for daily word counts, streaks and a leaderboard.
- Best for
- Writers who find 30 days too tight and would rather finish in three months with a coach.
- Official site
- novel90.com
06 · Rogue Writers
Rogue’s Amazing Word Rush (RAWR)
- What it is
- An annual challenge from the Rogue Writers community: build a world and finish a writing project in 30, 31 or 61 days.
- Dates
- October and November. October is mostly for planning and worldbuilding.
- Cost
- Free.
- What you get
- Five goal levels, from 25,000 to 100,000 words or more, or a custom or time-based goal. Group tracking on TrackBear with October, November and combined leaderboards, word wars on Discord, and digital certificates.
- Best for
- Writers who want a lively online crowd and a goal bigger or smaller than 50,000.
- Official site
- roguewriters.net/rawr
07 · Literature & Latte
Scrivener’s Novel November offer
- What it is
- Not a challenge of its own, but a companion offer for Novel November writers who draft in Scrivener.
- Dates
- An extended trial from mid-October until December 7.
- Cost
- The trial is free. Code NOVEMBER26 gives 20% off Scrivener until December 7, and writers who verify 50,000 words through ProWritingAid get 50% off a standard licence (normally $59.99).
- What you get
- An extended trial that works even if you’ve used Scrivener’s 30-day trial before, and a “Novel in November” project template with a 50,000-word target.
- Best for
- Writers doing Novel November who want to draft in Scrivener.
- Official site
- literatureandlatte.com/novelnovember
08 · Bunsho
Draft to Done
- What it is
- Our own free November challenge. Sign up with your email and a word goal, then draft in Bunsho.
- Dates
- Sign up any time before November 1 (late joiners are welcome). Drafting runs November 1 to 30.
- Cost
- Free. Bunsho is a free download for Mac and Windows.
- What you get
- Bunsho’s free goals, streaks and reminders all month, and writing is never metered. Finishers get 50,000 bonus credits that never expire, added to their Bunsho account in December: enough to read a full novel and check about 90 chapters after that. Everyone else who signed up gets 20% off their first month of Storyteller.
- Best for
- Writers who want to draft in November and check the whole draft for continuity in December.
- Official site
- bunsho.io/draft-to-done
09 · Your local library
A write-in at your library
- What it is
- A session where local writers sit at the same tables and write. Libraries hosted November write-ins for years, and NaNo 2.0 now offers them a free kit of flyers, bookmarks and table tents for the month.
- Dates
- Set by each library. Ask at the desk or check its events calendar in October.
- Cost
- Ask your library.
- What you get
- Company, a table, and a deadline that isn’t only in your head. If your library doesn’t run one, the kit is a good thing to show them.
- Best for
- Writers who work better with other people in the room.
- Official site
- NaNo 2.0’s Write With Us! kit
10 · Independent developer
Run your own with TrackBear
- What it is
- A free writing tracker built by an independent developer and supported by donations. Community challenges, RAWR included, use it for their leaderboards.
- Dates
- Any time you choose.
- Cost
- Free.
- What you get
- Track words, chapters, pages, scenes, lines or time across projects, set goals, and make a leaderboard your friends join by link.
- Best for
- Running your own challenge with a writing group, a Discord server or one accountability partner.
- Official site
- trackbear.app
How to run your own November
You don’t need an organization to write a novel in a month. NaNoWriMo’s rules were simple enough to keep on an index card, and they still work.
Pick your number
50,000 words in 30 days is about 1,667 words a day. If that’s too much, 25,000 is a real draft of a short novel, and nobody is checking but you.
Count the days you’ll actually write
Take out the days you know you can’t write, then divide. 50,000 words over 25 writing days is 2,000 a day. A plan with slack in it survives a bad week.
Write the dates down
November 1 to 30 is the tradition, but any 30 days work. What matters is a start, an end and a number you’ve told someone about.
Find your people
A writing friend, a group chat, a Discord server, a TrackBear leaderboard or a library table. The deadline was half of NaNoWriMo. The other half was knowing other people were writing too.
Track every day in one place
Log your words daily, even the bad days. A streak is easier to keep than to restart.
Decide now what December is for
Don’t edit in November. Plan a read-through in December instead, so you’re not tempted to fix chapter 3 while you should be writing chapter 12.
For any goal and deadline, the word count goal calculator gives you the daily number. And for why the daily number isn’t the whole story, read the 1,667 problem.
Where Bunsho fits
Bunsho is a manuscript editor, so we run our own November challenge too: Draft to Done. It isn’t the biggest event on this list, and it isn’t trying to be. If you want the largest community, Novel November and NaNo 2.0 are where the crowds are. If you want prizes, Reedsy has them.
Draft to Done is for what comes after November 30. A fast draft is the right way to get a book down, and it is also how a dead character speaks in chapter 12 or a hero learns a secret two chapters early. So the reward for finishing is the means to check: 50,000 bonus credits that never expire. Writing in Bunsho is never metered, and a check runs only when you ask for one, with the cost shown first.
You can do Draft to Done alongside any other event here. Write wherever you like in November and bring the draft to Bunsho in December.
Frequently asked questions
Why did NaNoWriMo shut down?
The nonprofit announced on March 31, 2025 that it was closing. Its interim executive director cited ongoing financial problems, after years of struggling to stay afloat, made worse by reputational damage from controversies over its handling of a 2023 complaint about a forum moderator and its 2024 statement on AI.
Is NaNoWriMo coming back?
As of October 2026 we haven’t found any announcement that it is. The nonprofit closed in 2025. The November challenge itself lives on in other events, including ProWritingAid’s Novel November and the volunteer-run NaNo 2.0, whose team includes NaNoWriMo’s founder, but neither is the original organization.
What is the best NaNoWriMo alternative?
It depends on what you miss most. For the classic shared 50,000 words, Novel November or NaNo 2.0. For prizes, Reedsy’s Novel Sprint. For a month of planning first, Dabble’s 60-Day Novel Challenge. For a slower pace, AutoCrit’s Novel 90. To check your draft afterwards, Bunsho’s Draft to Done.
Are these November novel challenges free?
All ten are free to join. Some come from companies that sell writing software, so a few extras, such as Dabble’s template and tracker or a Scrivener licence, need the paid product.
Can I join more than one?
Usually, yes. Most of these count words you write anywhere, so the same draft can count for two events. Reedsy’s Novel Sprint is the exception: it only counts words written in Reedsy Studio.
How many words a day is 50,000 words in November?
About 1,667 words a day for 30 days. If you plan days off, divide 50,000 by the days you’ll actually write: 25 writing days is 2,000 words a day.
Is Bunsho affiliated with NaNoWriMo?
No. Bunsho is not affiliated with or endorsed by NaNoWriMo or by any of the other events on this page. We name NaNoWriMo only to describe the event that closed.
Pick one and start
Any of these will give you a deadline, some company and a number to chase. The one you’ll actually stick with is the best one. Choose before November 1, tell someone, and write.
More posts on the Bunsho blog.
Write your novel this November
Bunsho is free to download for Mac and Windows, with free goals, streaks and reminders, and writing is never metered. Join Draft to Done, or just set a goal and write. Write fearlessly.