Since I have long participated in NaNoWriMo and wrote many of my novels during this November event, I feel the need to post my thoughts about the latest controversy.
Recently, the NaNoWriMo organization posted its stance on the use of generative AI in writing, which rightfully upset many people. Aside from the fact they won’t deem the use of generative AI to win NaNoWriMo as cheating, they went so far as to call the condemnation of generative AI as classist and ableist.
From what I could tell, it’s the statement on classism and ableism that truly angered people. It’s one thing to allow participants in a contest with no prizes to cheat by using AI to write their novels. It’s quite another to throw around labels and outright insult entire groups of people. Plenty of disabled and underprivileged people spoke out against this, and I have to agree this is probably the worst take I’ve seen related to generative AI.
Why is AI Where You Draw the Line?
While I agree that NaNoWriMo’s take on generative AI is bad, it surprised me how many people deleted their NaNoWriMo accounts over this. Why? Because I thought most people had already left after last year’s child grooming allegations. Not everyone had heard of these allegations, so that’s fair. However, for those who had heard them and continued to support the organization anyway, only to now protest against them feels disingenuous.
The news of the child grooming allegations came to light during NaNoWriMo in 2023, and many folks were probably not paying attention to the news, as they focused on finishing their novels. Usually, I’m pretty focused on my writing in November, but last year I wasn’t feeling very well and procrastinating more than usual. When I saw the allegations, I took some time to dig into them, to see if there was any truth behind it all. What I found was disturbing and that made me step away from NaNoWriMo, as I switched over to using an Excel spreadsheet to finish tracking my word count. I didn’t immediately delete my account, but I eventually did, realizing that no matter what they did, the event and organization would forever be tarnished.
I know many others followed suit, deleting their accounts last November or December. Yet, I kept seeing writers talk about their excitement for the upcoming Camp Wrimos that are held in the Spring and planning their next NaNoWriMo project. I questioned why they continued to support the organization and many of them brushed me off. I left a few social media groups over this because I didn’t want to associate with people who could condone what happened.
Yet, now I’m seeing many of these same people delete their NaNoWriMo accounts in outrage over this new stance on AI. Why?
I won’t argue the pros and cons of generative AI here. That’s another topic for another day. I know people view it as theft, both for the uncompensated use of people’s writing and artwork without their permission or compensation, and for the loss of income from future projects as more people turn to generative AI. There’s a lot of ethics to debate here, but is all of that really worse than NaNoWriMo allowing a moderator to sexually groom children on their forums?
As I alluded to earlier, I am not including people who were genuinely unaware of the grooming allegations before now. However, I am looking at those who were aware of the allegations and merely shrugged it off and continued to support NaNoWriMo anyway, making excuses that it was taken care of or even saying it’s none of our business.
Why Speak Up Now?
You might wonder why I’m speaking up about this now, when I didn’t post anything about it when it became news last year. Normally this is the kind of thing I would have blogged about as soon as I had enough evidence to show that it was a real problem. However, as I stated earlier, I wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t even complete my manuscript rewrite that I was working on for my NaNoWriMo project last year. In fact, I didn’t even finish it until June of this year. It took me eight months to complete because of my health. (Admittedly, it also became a 140,000-word novel, so that’s at least one good reason it took so long).
I’m speaking up now, because I wasn’t well enough or had enough energy to speak up then. I barely had the energy to work on my novel, much less to take on any other writing projects. However, I know I should have written something. While I agree that their stance on generative AI is misguided, at best, I wish more people had spoken out against NaNoWriMo last year. The organization should have crumbled into dust as soon as the allegations were verified. If it had, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation around their AI policy.
Leaving Behind a Tradition
My first NaNoWriMo was in 2015, when I wrote the draft of my first sci-fi novel. I was so proud of the story I wrote and the fact I won NaNoWriMo that year. I enjoyed the experience so much that I made NaNoWriMo part of my annual holiday traditions. The holidays for me began with Halloween, then diving straight into NaNoWriMo, before enjoying Thanksgiving, my birthday, the secular/Germanic traditions of Christmas, and topping it all off with New Year’s Eve.
I honestly thought I’d participate in NaNoWriMo until I was old and gray. So, I will admit to struggling with the idea of leaving behind the event that had become so near and dear to my heart. Could I still do something similar to NaNoWriMo in November, and just not use their website? Sure. However, the same thrill of trying to make my word count each day, before the clock ticked over at midnight, would be lost. It will never be the same. For me, it will be easier to just leave this tradition in the past.
Technically, I’ve outgrown the need for this event, anyway. I’ve written a couple of novels outside of NaNoWriMo. I know I can complete a novel without the adrenaline that comes from the pressure of a deadline. So, it’s a tradition I am leaving behind.