End of an Era

I've been a supporter of National Novel Writing Month for the past twenty years, and in the beginning it was a wonderful resource for novelists and writers. I donated, bought their merch and promoted them on my old web sites. I was active in the forums and even joined a group one year to help cheer on my fellow writers. I wrote several first draft novels during the years I participated, and sold one to a major publisher, so I was one of their success stories. It was a great thing.

Only then -- rather quickly, in fact -- it wasn't. I noticed the site began pushing for donations -- really pushing -- and they sent countless e-mails trying to wheedle more money out of yours truly. I made a decent donation every year without being asked up to that point. They also began endorsing sketchy products and services that were geared more toward profiting off dreams than helping fulfill them. Proving that you actually wrote a novel during November was one of the important points for me as a participant; they stopped doing that a few years back. It became more and more commercialized and less about actual writers and writing. I quit participating and donating when I surmised it was no longer something I wanted to endorse, but I never spoke out against NaNoWriMo. I hoped eventually things would improve.

They didn't. This year the folks at NaNoWriMo advocated using AI to write novels for their annual challenge. They wrapped it up nicely in saying it was helpful for disabled and marginalized writers, but come on. I'm a disabled writer, and I don't use it. The only reason a writer would use AI is because they're not a writer but they want to be perceived as one, or they think they can produce a bunch of books with no effort. NaNoWriMo can and will profit off psuedo writers using AI, too. That's disgusting.

Since I've left the industry to work for an independent publisher I don't have a lot of sway anymore, but I want to put this out here as a professional writer. Effective today, I cannot support, endorse or recommend being involved in any way with National Novel Writing Month.