#11: If you write in November, are you pro-AI? (Um, no)

Now.

For those amongst us who are interested in the literary tea, NaNoWriMo is not just a month of locking in. It’s also an organisation.

Earlier this year, the organisation NaNoWriMo released a statement about the use of AI tools in writing. The initial statement asserted AI can be a useful tool for those who are disabled or from marginalised communities who would otherwise not have access to the inner circle of the publishing industry. After backlash, they amended it to say there are “bad actors in the AI space” but that they find “the categorical condemnation for AI to be problematic”. It has been updated again to remove the latter comment and instead states, “AI is simply too big and too varied to categorically support or condemn.”

Those previously involved with the organisation had none of it. That people with disabilities would replace accessibility tools with a plagiarism machine was offensive. That people from marginalised communities needed to copy published authors’ homework to get their own books published was offensive. That anyone could simply ignore the “bad actors” involved in the development and rollout of AI was offensive. There had been scandals associated with NaNoWriMo before – with mods on their forums, with their children’s program, with managing games and local events, with promoting vanity presses – but this was the final straw.

Writers agreed to take their accounts off NaNoWriMo forums and set up their own communities. But can a community which still celebrates NaNoWriMo the month truly take meaningful power and resources from NaNoWriMo the organisation? How close can you stay while still ‘distancing yourself’?

I mean, you can’t ignore the bad actors, right?

Those who broke away will argue one organisation does not get to dictate what we do with our time over a month, and writers around the world can still lock in together and find community without them.

On the NaNoWriMo subreddit, writers are still using the term to describe the month while sharing alternate sites for tracking their progress. I’m not especially interested in things like this, but if watching number go up was a big thing for you in previous years maybe consider Trackbear or Write November.

There’s an argument to be made that using the term NaNoWriMo tacitly endorses the organisation. I mean, their website is the first result when you search for the month. But like those breakaway writers, I refuse to let them take away our community activity – I would much rather take the community away from them.

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