How NaNoWriMo Works for Families

In 2024, we changed our policy around allowing non-credentialed adults to sign up as "educators" in our Young Writers Program. Prior to this year, any adult could create what we call an educator account. The intention of this account type had been to give any adult in a position to supervise student writing projects—such as teachers, librarians, or parents—purview into their work. We stopped the practice of offering unverified educator accounts for two reasons: 1) calling them educator accounts when not all account holders were confirmed educators was misleading, and 2) our new standards around community safety warrant tighter controls. 

Based on these new guidelines, if you are a parent who wishes for your child to participate in NaNoWriMo, your new options are as follows:

  • Homeschool parents may sign up for educator accounts. All educator account holders will be asked to provide licensure information (as teachers can provide), professional credentials (as librarians can provide), or proof that they have established a home school (such as a private school affidavit or whatever homeschool paperwork is required in your locality).
  • Parents of children who are 13+ may participate on NaNoWriMo.org. This is our main website, not our Young Writers Program website. Writers who are 13-17 can create accounts that are specifically designed for minors. They have less visibility than adult accounts (e.g., accounts for minors are no longer searchable/findable) and fewer permission than adult accounts (e.g., minors no longer have access to social features that would expose them to strangers). If you would like to participate as a family, we recommend 1) having each family member create a separate account on NaNoWriMo.org, 2) becoming a buddy of every participating member of the family, and 3) having the parent create a family writing group. This will give you access to a social space to discuss your projects. Plus, you will be able to see the progress of those in your buddy group and cheer them on. 
  • We do not currently have a specific offering for parents of children under 13. That is to say, we don't currently offer a mechanism that will allow parents of younger children to establish accounts for themselves and their children, and to serve as administrators who supervise their childrens' work. However, there are many ways to unofficially participate in NaNoWriMo, and to take advantage of the resources we offer. Even if we don't have an active participation mechanism for your young learner, please know that you can still access all the resources you need to help your young writer be successful.  

If you are a parent whose child is participating in NaNoWriMo through some other mechanism (such as through their library or their school), we recommend that you familiarize yourself with who we are and what we do. NaNoWriMo can be a rigorous, time-consuming challenge for students. We want you to understand the event and to be in a position to provide support for your child’s creative efforts. These are a few suggested steps.

1. Permission

Are you an educator working with young writers? Consider sending home our "How NaNoWriMo works for Families" letter in English or Spanish. We also have a YWP Website Permission Form if your district requires you to obtain parent permission. 

2. Understand what your child is working on this November.

 

3. Be aware of our site’s legal terms, and how your child is protected.

IMPORTANT DETAILS: A parent or educator must review the Terms & Conditions before a child may establish an account.
 

4. Check with your child’s educator to understand the structure and expectations of NaNoWriMo in their classroom.

Some questions to ask:

  • What is my child’s word-count goal? How was it chosen?
  • Will my child write primarily in class? If not, how can I best support their writing at home?
  • What do you hope my child will get out of this challenge?

  • How will my child be graded? (We do not recommend grading quality of writing in November - first drafts are supposed to be messy!)

 

5. Talk to your child about their novel.

Some questions to ask:

  • What are you writing about? Tell me what happened in your story today!
  • What's your main character like? 
  • What's the most exciting part about writing a novel?
  • What's the most challenging part about writing a novel?
  • How can I help you finish your novel this month?

 

6. Consider joining up.

Incredible things happen when families make things together. Try writing your own novel as part of our NaNoWriMo adult program! Or sign up with an educator account here on the YWP site to write in a classroom with your child. 

 

Read more on our Help & FAQ page.

A PROGRAM OF NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH, A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT THAT BELIEVES YOUR STORY MATTERS.