Novel November 2026: ProWritingAid's Free 50,000-Word Challenge, Explained

Novel November, or NovNov, is a free challenge run by ProWritingAid, the writing software company, to write 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30. ProWritingAid ran it in 2025, the year NaNoWriMo's nonprofit closed, and it's now the largest November challenge that publishes participant numbers.

The name gets used in other ways too. A volunteer-run site at novel-november.com hosts its own challenge, and some libraries and writers say “Novel November” for any month spent drafting a novel. This guide covers ProWritingAid's event first, then the others. Details were checked on October 24, 2026.

At a glance

• Dates: prep from October 1, writing November 1–30, editing and publishing help in December.
• Goal: 50,000 words, or 1,667 a day.
• Cost: free. You need a free ProWritingAid account.
• Where you write: any app. Word counts sync from Word, Scrivener and Google Docs, or you type them in yourself.
• Size: more than 70,000 writers took part in 2025. ProWritingAid is aiming for 100,000 in 2026 (BookFunnel).

What you get in Novel November

ProWritingAid splits the season into three parts (ProWritingAid).

During November there are daily writing sprints, discussion forums, networking events and more than 150 live workshops across the season. Writers are also grouped into Writers' Circles by genre, so the people keeping you accountable are writing the same kind of book. Guest sessions in 2026 include Jessica Brody, author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. Badges mark milestones along the way.

Sponsors run their own sessions and offers inside the event. The 2026 list includes Scrivener, Kobo Writing Life, IngramSpark, Kickstarter, Spotify and BookFunnel. BookFunnel, for example, gives every participant a discount and adds $50 in account credit for anyone who finishes 50,000 words. Literature & Latte extends Scrivener's free trial to December 7 for participants and offers a novel template set to 50,000 words (Literature & Latte).

ProWritingAid sells editing software, so expect its own tools to come up in workshops. On its FAQ page it says the text you write for Novel November stays yours, is never sold or shared, and is never used to train algorithms.

How to join

1. Create a free ProWritingAid account, or sign in if you have one.
2. Register on the Novel November page. Registration is free.
3. Connect where you write. Word, Scrivener and Google Docs send your count automatically. If you write anywhere else, or by hand, log the number on the dashboard each day.
4. Pick a Writers' Circle and a few sprint times that fit your week.
5. Verify your 50,000 words before November 30 ends to be counted as a winner.

You don't have to write in ProWritingAid's editor. That's the main difference from Reedsy Novel Sprint, where every word has to be typed in Reedsy's app.

Novel November vs NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo ran from 1999 until its nonprofit closed in 2025. Novel November keeps the same dates and the same 50,000-word goal, with a company in place of the nonprofit. Our NaNoWriMo guide covers what happened and the other challenges running this year.

If you liked NaNoWriMo for its volunteer spirit and local groups, NaNo 2.0, run by NaNoWriMo's founder and former volunteers, is closer to the original. If you want classes and structure, Novel November has more of both.

Other events called Novel November

novel-november.com is a site built by volunteers and led by Bethany, a developer in Australia. It's a separate project from ProWritingAid's event, with its own forums, daily tracker, badges and custom goals. Its rules differ in two ways (FAQ):

• The novel has to be new. You can plan ahead, but you can't use the month to finish a book you've already started.
• No AI-generated text. In the site's words, it's “a writing challenge, not a text generation challenge.”

The same site runs the 80 Hour Edit in January and a shorter challenge, The Mid-Year Novelette, in July.

Libraries and writing groups also use “Novel November” as a plain name for the November challenge, as in the Westport Library's guide. If a local group invites you to Novel November, ask which one they mean.

A plan for 50,000 words

50,000 words in 30 days is 1,667 a day. November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, and Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26.

If you fall behind, divide the words you have left by the days you have left instead of trying to catch up in one sitting. Weekday-only and weekend-heavy schedules are in our NaNoWriMo guide.

Writing your Novel November draft in TypeTak

TypeTak is an AI writing editor where you write alongside an agent. For Novel November, it's for knowing your real count each day and keeping 30 days of story straight.

• The number you log is the number you typed. TypeTak isn't one of the apps that sync with Novel November, so you enter your count on the dashboard yourself. Set a daily goal of 1,667 words, and the row below the editor shows what you typed today, like 1,240 / 1,667. Text the agent wrote, pasted text and applied revisions aren't included, so you can copy that number as it is.
• The whole draft has a finish line. Give the manuscript a goal of 50,000 words, and the manuscript card shows how far along the draft is.
• Day 22 still knows what you decided on day 3. Keep your characters and places from Preptober in one place, and ask the agent when you can't remember a name. It checks your notes and the chapters you've written.

Novel November has no rule on AI on its page, while novel-november.com bans AI-generated text. Either way, the goals work the same if you never open the agent.

FAQ

What is Novel November?

A free 30-day challenge from ProWritingAid to write 50,000 words of a novel from November 1 to November 30, with workshops, sprints and word count tracking. NovNov is its short name.

Is Novel November free?

Yes. You need a free ProWritingAid account to join, but the workshops, community events and tracking cost nothing.

When does Novel November 2026 start?

Prep begins October 1, 2026, writing runs November 1–30, and editing and publishing resources follow in December.

Is Novel November the same as NaNoWriMo?

No. It uses the same dates and goal, but ProWritingAid runs it. NaNoWriMo's nonprofit closed in 2025, and NaNo 2.0, run by its founder and former volunteers, is the closest successor.

Do I have to write in ProWritingAid?

No. Word counts sync from Word, Scrivener and Google Docs, and you can log your count by hand from any other app or a notebook.

Can I use AI in Novel November?

ProWritingAid's page doesn't set a rule. The separate novel-november.com challenge doesn't allow AI-generated text. If you're also entering a contest or another challenge, check its rules.

Sources

Novel November

ProWritingAid·Literature & Latte·BookFunnel sponsor announcement

novel-november.com

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Libraries

Westport Library, Novel November