Last month, the NaNo 2.0 team participated in a “planning retreat” over a series of three days to think about what we wanted to accomplish in 2026, and how to realistically make those things happen.
While we would have preferred to all meet up in some sort of cozy writer’s cabin in the woods, we had to settle for a Zoom call, given the fact that we’re scattered all over the place and all have full time jobs. But for the purposes of this blog post, just imagine we made all of these decisions you’re about to read about in a place like this.
So! What was the outcome of the retreat? I’m so glad you asked.
First off, I am happy to announce that NaNo 2.0 will happen again! That much we unanimously agreed on.
Of course, the best part of the retreat was brainstorming. If we had all of our ways, the next NaNoWriMo would take place on an all expenses paid shuttle around the moon, and you’d all be invited! However, the other thing our group agreed on is that we need to stay focused. We need to make incremental improvements to our site and programs, and every new thing we take on should be intentional, realistic, and community-driven. Unfortunately, that means we had to punt the moon idea down the road a ways.
Our biggest goals were: supporting writers at every stage, reaching more people, and continuing to make the experience of participating in National Novel Writing Month inclusive, fun and sustainable.
So how will we do that?
Leaning into Community + Connection:
- NaNo 2.0 blog, newsletter, and social media: We’re keeping the conversation going across all our usual spots. The blog will continue to be home to fun, helpful content year-round, and the newsletter isn’t going anywhere—we’re aiming to make it more interesting than at least 50% of the other emails in your inbox (hey, we’re setting achievable goals). Over on social, both Instagram and Bluesky will stay active: Bluesky will be the main hub for official word sprints, while Instagram will echo highlights and content from the site.
- Guest pep talks: While I personally wouldn’t mind if Chris Baty sent me a pep talk every day of my life, I imagine he would appreciate some help in keeping our community inspired this year. Because of that, we’re aiming to bring more voices to our pep talks in 2026.
Site improvements + glow up:
- A more useful, engaging site: It was a feat in itself to stand a site up in time for November of 2025, but this year, we want to do more. NaNo2.org feels too static right now, and we’re cooking up some improvements to make it feel more engaging and representative of our vibrant community.
- Updated site goodies: 2026 will bring a new winner’s certificate and some additional writing badges, to keep everything feeling fresh and new.
- Validator improvements: The ability to validate your word count is another one of those experiences that feels like a rite of passage for NaNoWriMo participants, and we’re working to make the functionality even smoother.
- Word count tracker: This is the big one! The feedback we heard over and over last year is that people missed having a tracker baked into the NaNo site. We heard you loud and clear, and are working on one as we speak. More updates will be coming soon, but this is something the team is really excited about.
Young Novelist Challenge:
Our top priority for the Young Novelist Challenge in 2025 was to get classroom resources published and freely available on our site for all interested adults and students, and share pep talks and classroom strategies in our blog and newsletter. Our hopes for 2026 are to:
- Organize the YNC page so that you can search resources by grade level
- Add more variety of resources, like videos and collections of teacher tips
- Provide a way for students to track their progress online without creating accounts
- Share data on the impact of the novel-writing challenge for students
- Recruit more classroom teachers to share strategies and pep talks.
Please contact us if you have classroom tips to share and if there are other ways we can support you adults working with young writers!
Whether we’re supporting young writers or adults, the NaNo 2.0 team is committed to making the novel-writing journey a little bit easier, and a lot more fun. And we’re just one of many communities supporting writers during NaNoWriMo! As we continue to grow, we look forward to shining a spotlight on the other great groups planning cool things in November.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the direction for 2026, and always welcome feedback. We’re so excited about where this project is going, and are so thankful for every note, every share, and every vote of confidence we hear from the community. More soon!