Grant Faulkner took his position as executive director. Baty announced that he would be stepping down as executive director in January 2012 to pursue a full-time writing career. In 2011, the NaNoWriMo website was given a new layout and forums. In 2005, NaNoWriMo was registered as a nonprofit organization due to the event growing strongly every year, which became the Office of Letters and Light. Baty also began work on his debut novel 'No Plot? No Problem!' during the 2003 NaNoWriMo, writing the NaNoWriMo guide concurrent with his own novel. Municipal Liaisons also acted as leaders for a specific region under their jurisdiction - organizing fundraisers and calling meetings for NaNoWriMo participants residing in their region.

The next year, the NaNoWriMo team began the Municipal Liaison program where volunteers could act as moderators in the forums as well as send out the first set of pep talk emails.

Ģ002 saw technical improvements and increased automation to the site, and media attention from National Public Radio and CBS Evening News drew increased attention and a participant count of 14,000. Though Baty was happy with the large turnout and popularity of the event, it almost did not happen, as the website had a number of problems leading to participants being asked to post themselves as winners on an honor system in the end, 700 people would do so. The following year, Baty expected similar numbers, but 5,000 participants registered, which he credits to news of the event being spread by bloggers and later being reported on by various news organizations including the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. Of the 140 participants, 29 completed the challenge as manually verified by Baty himself. Baty launched a Yahoo! group to facilitate socialization between participants and, after the posters began asking about guidelines, he set most of the event's basic ground rules: the novel must be new, cannot be co-authored, and must be submitted in time to be verified. That year 140 participants signed up for the event, including several from other countries. In 2000, it was moved to November 'to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather.' and launched an official website, designed by a friend of Baty's. Regional volunteers called 'Municipal Liaisons' help connect local writers, hold in-person and virtual writing events, and provide encouragement.įreelance writer Chris Baty started the project in July 1999 with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. Writers wishing to participate first register on the project's website, where they can post profiles and information about their novels, including synopses and excerpts. In 2019, 455,080 participated in the organization's programs. The project started in July 1999 with 21 participants. Focusing on the length of a work rather than the quality, writers are encouraged to finish their first draft quickly so it can be edited later at their discretion. The website provides participants, called 'Wrimos', with tips for writer's block, information on where local participants are meeting, and an online community of support. Well-known authors write 'pep-talks' in order to motivate participants during the month. Its flagship program is an annual, international creative writing event in which participants attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript during the month of November. National Novel Writing Month (often shortened to NaNoWriMo / ˈ n æ n oʊ ˈ r aɪ m oʊ/) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes creative writing around the world.

May writing challenge