List of timed artistic challenges

NaNoWriMo has inspired many timed challenges within and outside of writing. Except as noted, all challenges are unofficial and not sanctioned by National Novel Writing Month.

Active challenges

Year-round

These challenges happen throughout the year and are not a year in length.

• A Round of Words in 80 Days: Write to your own goal, update your blog with your goal and progress and update the community on Twitter using #ROW80. Each 'round' is 80 days, and there are four per year, but you can join at any time.
• 24 Hour Writing Contest: Compose a short story associated with the given prompt and within the word count. $5 entry, token cash prizes available, and publication on the site. Note: link expired.
• 48 Hour Film Project: Make a film in 48 hours. The 48 Hour Film Project team tours different cities year-round. There is a fee to enter officially.
• Book in a Week: Participants write a book during the first full week of each month.
• National Novel Writing Day: Write a novel in a day. Self-organized, but people have done it.
• National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo): Post in your blog every day for a month. Originally in November, but now you can participate year-round. Note: link expired.
• Album-a-Day: Write, perform, and record a musical album in a single day.
• Script Race: Write a script in a month. This happens every month. Note: link expired.
• SongFight!: Write a song with the given title. Listeners vote, the winner gets bragging rights. New title posted every ten days or so.
• SongFu: Write a song based on monthly prompt. The deadline is two weeks from the prompt posting.
• Steve The WriMo Forum: Do a NaNo-style challenge every month for writing, planning, plotting, editing, etc., and hangout/have fun with fellow writers. The *new home* of FebNoWriMo, MarchNoWriMo, National May Writing Month (NaMayWriMo), SeptNoWriMo, and NaNoPlotMo. Note: potentially a retired forum.
• Write-a-book-in-a-day: Write, edit, illustrate, and bind a children's book in 12 hours. There is a fee to enter officially.
• National Journal Writing Month: Write a journal entry every day for a month with optional extra challenges. Takes place in January, April, July, and October.
• Draw 100 Somethings : Create a series of 100 different concept drawings/illustrations of one subject (boats, planes, robots, aliens, etc.).
• FaunaFocus: Create artwork inspired by the featured animal of the month. Includes a competition; entries are judged live on Twitch.
• Drawn & Quarantined: Spend up to one hour drawing online from a prompt. Two prompts are given daily.

Year-long

These challenges start at various times throughout the year and last for a full year.

• WriYe: Write several novels in a year, often involving setting your own goals.
• 6 Months, 6 Novels: Write a novel every other month, starting in January.
• The 365 Project: Take a photo every day for a year.

January

• Historical Novel Writing Month (HistNoWriMo): Choose any word goal write a historical novel in one month. Many different genres available.
• Random Genre Month: Write a 50,000 word novel of a randomly chosen genre.
• January Animation Month: Create 31 animations in January
• Fantasy Novel Writing Month: Choose your own word count goal and write a fantasy novel in January.
• Choose-Your-Own Novel Month: Create and finish a choose-your-own-adventure or interactive fiction game in January.
• January Novel Writing Month (JanNoWriMo): Write 50,000 words (or another goal) in January. Note: This is the resurrected JanNoWriMo forums, open as of November 30th, 2016. The old, no longer accessible forums, was here.

February

• Thing A Day: Participants make a thing a day in February and post it to a collective blog.
• February Album Writing Month (FAWM): Write fourteen songs in the month of February.
• February Novel Writing Month: Write a novel in February. Set your word count goal. Write a new novel or work on a WiP. Challenge has moved to Steve The WriMo Forum, but old data is still accessible at February Novel Writing Month.
• RPM Challenge: Record a ten-song or 35-minute album in February. Writing is encouraged to happen in February.
• National Haiku Writing Month: Write a haiku every day in February.
• Lettermo: Write and mail 24 physical letters in the month of February. (Why 24? There are four Sundays and one US holiday in February.)
• Wikiwrimo Writing Month: Edit thirty pages on this wiki during the month of February.
• Faeriefeb: Create one drawing/sketch/illustration of a Fairy every day in February.
• National Model Horse Painting Month (NaMoPaiMo): Paint a model horse, or any three-dimensional model equine, in February.

March

• National Novel Editing Month (NaNoEdMo): Edit for at least fifty hours in March.
• March Novel Writing Month (MarNoWriMo) : Set your own goal to write or rewrite in March. Challenge has moved to Steve The WriMo Forum, but old data is still accessible at MarchNoWriMo.
• March of Robots : Create one robot drawing/illustration every day in March.

April

• Camp NaNoWriMo: Write a 50,000 word (or other goal) project in a month. Run by National Novel Writing Month.
• April Fools: Set your own goal to write in April. Any form of writing is accepted.
• National Poem Writing Month (NaPoWriMo): Write a poem a day for the month of April.
• Refrigerator Poetry Writing Month (RePoWriMo): Write a poem using refrigerator magnets every day in April.
• Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Blog thematically through the alphabet posting every day in April except Sundays.
• AprilArtJourney: Draw or choose a tarot card on 22 days of April to inspire a sketch, drawing or painting.

May

• May Novel Writing Month (MayNoWriMo): Write 50,000 words in May. A spinoff of NaNoPubYe.
• National Epic Poetry Month (NEPMo): Write a 5,000-line epic poem in May.
• Story-A-Day in May: Write a short story every day in May.
• Noveldom and Beyond (No&Be): Read over 10,000 pages in 93 days; No&Be starts on May 1st and continues until July 31st.
• National May Writing Month (NaMayWriMo): Write a novel in May. Set your word count goal. Write a new novel or work on a WiP. Challenge has moved to Steve The WriMo Forum, but old data is still accessible at NaMayWriMo.
• Mer-May: Create one drawing/illustration of a mermaid every day in May.

June

• NaNoMangO: Participants draw thirty pages of sequential art. The June challenge is for those who want the extra challenge or can't participate in November.
• Solo Photo Book Month (SoFoBoMo): Take at least 35 photos and create a photo book in a "fuzzy month". SoFoBoMo 2010 goes into July, depending on when you begin.
• JuNoWriMo: Write a novel of at least 50,000 words in June.
• Kaijune: Create one drawing/illustration of a monster every day in June. (Kaijū 怪獣)

July

• Camp NaNoWriMo: Write a 50,000-word (or other goal) project in a month. Run by National Novel Writing Month.
• LoCoWriMo: Write a sizable piece of original fiction in a conlang. LoCoWriMo started in October 2009, with the second and third LoCoWriMos taking place in July.
• July Novel Writing Month (JulNoWriMo): Write a novel of at least 50,000 words in July.
• The 50/90 Challenge: Write fifty songs in 90 days, usually between 4 July and 1 October.
• Art Fight: A month-long event in which you earn points for your team by drawing other peoples' characters.

August

• August Novel Writing Month (AugNoWriMo): Set your own prose writing goal for August.
• National Noir Writing Month (NaNoirWriMo): Write a 50,000 word novel of dark fiction or in the mystery genre during August.
• 31 Plays 31 Days: Write 31 plays in August.
• Smaugust: Create one drawing/illustration of a dragon every day in August.

September

• 24 Hour Writing Contest: Compose a short story associated with the given prompt and within the word count. $5 entry, token cash prizes available and publication on the site. Saturday, September 27th, noon, CST.
• Three-Day Novel Contest: Write a novel in three days. Conducted on Labor Day weekend. There is an fee to enter officially and have a chance for publication because of the contest.
• September Novel Writing Month (SeptNoWriMo): An offshoot of the original SeptNoWriMo. Participants set their own planning, writing or editing goals for September. Challenge has moved to Steve The WriMo Forum, but old data is still accessible at September Novel Writing Month.
• NaNoPlanMo [1] : Plan your NaNo Novel for 25 hours. September 1-October 20.
• Sketchtember : Create one digital or traditional sketch every day in September.
• Shiptember: A recent challenge that started in 2016, it encourages participants to draw a ship per day through the whole month of September. Prompts were just included in 2018.

October

• Spectober!: A mixed bag writing and NaNo prep challenge .SpecNoWriMo - Write any type of speculative fiction during October. Any goal. NaNoPrepMo - A whole bunch of fun activities and challenges to help you prepare for NaNoWriMo during October! Spectober 2014 is now up!
• 24 Hour Comics Day: Create 24 consecutive comic book pages in 24 hours. 24 Hour Comics Day will take place on October 5, 2013.
• Gothic Novel Writing Month (GothNoWriMo): Write a novel of the gothic literature genre in October. Participants set their own word count goal.
• October Poetry Writing Month (OctPoWriMo): Write 31 poems in October.
• Inktober: Create one ink drawing every day in October.
• Drawtober: Create one digital or traditional drawing every day in October.
• Drawlloween: Create one digital or traditional Halloween drawing every day in October.
• Goretober: Create one digital or traditional gore themed drawing every day in October.

November

• National Novel Writing Month: Write a novel of at least 50,000 words in November. Run by the Office of Letters and Light.
• National Playwriting Month (NaPlWriMo): Write a play of at least 75 pages in November.
• National Solo Album Month (NaSoAlMo): Write, play, and record an album of at least 29:09, though participants can set their own goals.
• The original NaNoMangO challenge: Draw 30 comic pages/strips/panels in 30 days
• NaNoDrawMo: Draw 50 pieces in a month.
• 30 Characters Challenge: Design 30 new characters in 30 days.
• National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo): Publish one post on your personal website or blog every day.
• National Nonfiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo): Complete a work of nonfiction in 30 days.
• National eBook Writing Month (EBookWriMo): Write an eBook in 30 days.
• Slowvember: Work on one piece of artwork over 30 days.
• Mapvember: Draw a fictional map ever day.
• Huevember: Create one drawing a day with a main hue per day in november.

December

• National Novel Finishing Month (NaNoFiMo): Write at least 30,000 words and to finish a novel in progress in December.
• International Plot Writing Month: Participants write a plot in December.
• International Story a Day Group: Participants write a story a day for the month of December.
• Drawcember: Create one drawing/sketch/illustration every day in December.
• dELFcember: Create a drawing/illustration of an Elf every day in December.

Defunct and retired challenges

• National Novelists Exercising Month (NaNoExMo): Exercise for at least ten minutes a day in December. Appears to be defunct.
• World Poetry Writing Month: Write a poem every day in February. Appears to be defunct (site no longer exists).
• Script Frenzy: Write 100 pages of script in April. Run by the Office of Letters and Light. Retired after the 2012 event.
• National Novel Continuing Month (NaNoCoMo): Continue a novel you've started. (site not found)
• Southern Cross Novel Challenge (SoCNoC): Write 50,000 words in June. Run by Kiwi Writers. Appears to be defunct.
• Write a Damn Novel in June: Write a 50,000-word novel in June. Appears to be defunct.
• Science Fiction Writing Month (SciFiWriMo): A set-your-own-goal challenge for science fiction and fantasy writers. Appears to be defunct. Site no longer exists.
• Write Here Right Now: Write a novel in a month. This challenged happened with BBC Radio Scotland from 2006 to 2008.
• National Novel Publishing Year (NaNoPubYe): Prepare and submit a novel for publication in a year. Appears to be defunct as of October 2015.
• Milwordy: The quest to write a million words in a year. Appears to be defunct. Site not found.
• Story-driven Game Writing Month (StoGaWriMo): Write 20,000 words of rules, worlds, and flavor text in a game in the month of January. Link leads to error page.