Hello, dreamers. It’s November 30, which means as of tonight, NaNoWriMo 2025 has ended. Pencils down.

This was the first year I’ve participated without the original NaNoWriMo organization running the show, but it’s been years since I’ve had this much fun. A longstanding concept is finally coming together, and writing along with my new critique group made things that much better. Plus, as of Friday night, I hit my goal: 50k words. I did it.

There’s always a lot to say after NaNoWriMo. I could go on for hours about the ins and outs of my writing process over this past month. But over the past weeks I’ve seen and heard a lot on a surprising subject: is NaNoWriMo actually useful for writers? So, as this latest NaNoWriMo draws to a close, I’d like to share my own feelings on this.

The Value of NaNoWriMo

For starters, the primary criticism I’ve seen on NaNoWriMo has to do with expectations. The stated goal of NaNoWriMo is, of course, to write a novel in one month. And I’ll admit that’s a valid criticism, for several reasons:

Nobody’s publishing a 50,000-word novel

Literary agent Cee Cee Lyra pointed this out: NaNoWriMo defines a novel as 50k words, but the truth is there’s no market for a novel that short in the current literary industry. Self-pub authors might be able to get away with it, but no agent will consider repping a novel just 10k north of novella length. In short, amid the current realities of the literary market, most writers who participate in NaNoWriMo can hit or even exceed the 50k goal and still not have a complete novel. And that brings up the next problem…

It takes more than a month to write a complete novel

Another common criticism deals with what’s considered a completed novel. Any writer who’s finished at least one novel knows the initial draft is only the first step. It’s an important step, but only the first of many. It’s entirely possible to complete a first draft in a month, but as I always say, writing a novel isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. The novel I’m currently querying, Seven Days on Samarkand, was originally a product of NaNoWriMo. But the version of it I’m sending off to agents couldn’t be much more different than the first draft. A lot has changed through round after round of editing, rewriting, editing again, etc. To be fair, when I finished NaNoWriMo 2018 I really believed I had a great novel in my hands. Looking back, I wasn’t even that close. All told, I’d say one year is a reasonable timetable for a novel to actually be query-ready.

Despite all that, however, I still see immense value in NaNoWriMo. It’s a motivational device, helping aspiring writers to learn to budget their time and set goals. It introduces you to fellow writers, helps to form connections and foster a sense of community. I’ve met some of my best critique partners through the event, and my current critique group was actually formed specifically for NaNoWriMo.

In the end, that’s the true value of NaNoWriMo: learning how to establish a writing routine and stick to it, work under a deadline, and collaborate with other writers. Those skills are key to becoming a successful author. So if you’re a writer reading this and didn’t participate in NaNoWriMo this year, I strongly suggest you do so next year. But if you do, there are a few tips I’ve gathered over now three successful events:

Pace Yourself

If there’s one good thing about the NaNoWriMo organization being gone, it’s the loss of their word tracker feature. While logging words on the website, each day it would display the average daily word count you’d need going forward to hit 50k by November 30. And it was anxiety-inducing. It used to make me feel incredibly guilty for going just a single day without writing.

Now, it’s up to individual writers to come up with their own routine, which I think is both less stressful and more valuable. First step in a successful NaNoWriMo: come up with a daily word goal. Don’t feel like you need to hold yourself to it, but consider it a benchmark.

Write Along with Friends

As I said earlier, one of the best parts of NaNoWriMo is meeting people. Without NaNoWriMo’s built-in community features, it is now up to us to find our community and forge bonds. Talk to other writers. Reach out. Support them as you go, and allow them to support you in turn.

Don’t Sweat It If You Fall Behind

This took longer for me to learn than it should have. Always remember that NaNoWriMo isn’t a hard deadline. If you start to fall behind, don’t get discouraged, and don’t give up. When coming up with your daily word goals, consider building in days off to recharge. You’d be surprised how much it helps.

With all that said, it’s time to bid NaNoWriMo 2025 a fond farewell. I still have a lot of work to do on OctoWIP. At present, I doubt I’m even close to halfway through. And I still have decisions to make regarding my writing direction over the coming, final month of this year. But overall, the theme of this NaNoWriMo for me has mirrored the theme of the past year on the whole:

After years of toil and frustration, at last, hope.

I have much to do over the coming month. The holidays always make things more difficult in writing. But I’m determined to end 2025 with a bang. And I’m glad to have you along with me. Until the next NaNoWriMo, as always, dare to dream. – MK