This past November I came to the realization that while writing 50K words in 30 days had gotten me a whole lot of first drafts, a lot of them were so messy that revision seems overwhelming. So the next first draft I write I'm going to be trying to figure out a better process for myself.

Interesting to hear your ideas on the ebbs and flow of energy during the year and how it effects your writing schedule.

I've loved NaNo for ten years because it pushed me to write more than usual, even when I'm not going by the "traditional" goal.

I've had a few successes with chunks of first drafts via NaNoWriMo, but mostly... the time of year is always horrible, and it leaves me feeling disappointed in myself for not "winning". I do much better with self-directed writing time. Picking which months work best for you based on personal habits/energy levels/etc is a good way to go about it!

I appreciate you talking about this. I have been trying to figure out myself what I want to do without NaNoWriMo. I still want something to give me a big push of motivation like that....but I don't know what that will look like yet.

Thank you i didn't know there was an issue at NaNo. I always thought November was i silly month to hold it as there is always so much going on for Christmas, Plus July for Camp. I was moving Camp to June anyway this year. I do hope there will be other communities that will develop writing challenges, as doing NaNo 3 times a year made me write. oh well need to find more motivation elsewhere. xx

I also did my first NaNoWriMo in 2004. As a hobby writer, I find it a particularly helpful distraction during election years ;) But I have to admit that I haven't really used the forums or groups in many years. I'm still kind of bummed that I can't do a special "return" for my 20th year.

I gave up on NaNo about five years ago when they did a major website redesign. Before that, I did their events religiously every year for over a decade. I had to leave when the alphabet people hijacked not only the region but the national organization as well. They were very homophobic and more concerned about pronouns rather than genres. It's been like watching a car crash in slow motion as they put more and more resources into younger writers and coddling newbies at the expense of supporting people actually trying to write novels. They abandoned their core mission a long time ago so the demise was inevitable

I don't know anyone using vella as a reader. So it might not be worth it for you.