What It Is

I’ve written a number of novels doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month for the unknowing). Every day in November, participants pledge to write about 1,600 words for a monthly total of around 50,000 words, roughly equivalent to a novel. It’s a way for aspiring (and veteran) writers to buckle down and focus on banging out a novel. This organization supports and encourages writers, holding ‘write ins’ in various locations, hosts a communication system between participants, and even email blasts with useful and encouraging information.

However…

There is a lot of discussion around the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the creative world- being used to create art, book covers, stories, and even novels. The NaNoWriMo organization says that they “don’t explicitly support any approach to writing, nor does it condemn any approach, including the use of AI… We believe that to categorically condemn AI would be to ignore classist and ableist issues surrounding the use of technology, and that questions around the use of AI tie to the questions around privilege.” (See: https://nanowrimo.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/29933455931412-What-is-NaNoWriMo-s-position-on-Artificial-Intelligence-AI)

A more comprehensive article was done by the Washington Post. (See: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/04/nanowrimo-ai-writing-controversy-explainer) The NaNoWriMo organization, the Post reports, stated that writers could use AI in the creative process but that for using it for creating the entire novel “defeats the purpose of the challenge.”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/portrait-photo-of-woman-in-red-top-wearing-black-framed-eyeglasses-holding-out-her-hand-in-stop-gesture-3762802/

Hold On There!

By allowing the use of AI, I believe that NaNoWriMo does aspiring writers harm; should they submit their work to agents or publishers, they will be asked if they used AI in any part of their work. AND they will be required to attest to that in a contract. So now that their work in finished, no publishing house or agent will accept them. The only path to publishing left is self-publishing. Most aspiring writers will not be aware of this until after they start the submission process.

Also, by allowing the use of AI, board members and published writers have withdrawn their support of the organization, and organizations such as the Authors Guild have issued statements criticizing the use of AI.

While I enjoyed the challenges and learned a lot about writing consistently and making my writing a priority, I will no longer participate in nor recommend the organization.