Writing Challenges Every Writer Should Take

• Nov 17, 2025
• 6 min read

• Tags: Author, Writer, Writing Tips

Every November, thousands of writers around the world pick up their pens, crack their knuckles, and prepare to dive into one of the most widespread and steadily practiced writing challenges in the world—NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Meant to serve as a motivating and productive month for writers, the goal of this challenge is to finish writing a novel in the month of November.

If you’re looking for a challenge with a difference, worry not! There are several lesser-known writing challenges open to both amateur and professional writers that will help you tap your inner creativity. Here is a list of some of the coolest writing challenges for you to participate in this month:

One-month challenges

Here are some exciting one-month challenges you can try:

1. NaNonFiWriMo 

An alternative to National Novel Writing Month, NaNonFiWriMo is National Nonfiction Writing Month—a suitable challenge for all authors who want to write a nonfiction book. You can set daily word goals, say 2000 words a day, so that by the end of the month, you have a 60,000-word nonfiction book ready to submit to a publisher!

2. NaPoWriMo 

Usually held in April, NaPoWriMo stands for National Poetry Writing Month—a suitable challenge for all the poets out there. The goal is to write at least one poem per day, so that by the end of the month, you have a minimum of 30 poems that can be compiled into an anthology.

3. NaNoEdMo 

Usually held in March, NaNoEdMo or National Novel Editing Month is for all those aspiring editors to test their skills—this challenge allows you to edit one fiction manuscript in 30 days, testing your sharpness, efficiency, and time management.

4. November PAD challenge 

Similar to NaPoWriMo, the aim of the November Poem-a-Day or PAD challenge is to set (and achieve) the goal of writing one poem a day for the month of November.

5. FlashNano 

This is a challenge for writers who enjoy writing quick, fast-paced pieces of flash or nano fiction. The goal here is to write one work of flash fiction a day every day in the month of November.

Longer challenges (a few months to a year)

If you’re interested in committing to a longer challenge, here are some suitable options for you:

1. WriYe

The aim of the WriYe or Writing Year challenge is to set an annual writing goal and break it up into attainable goals for each month. This is suitable for writers who want to commit to a long-term writing project and wish to make daily writing a habit. Monthly challenges like NaNoWriMo can also be incorporated into this long-format challenge.

2. StoryADay challenge

Usually conducted from May to September, the focus of the StoryADay challenge is short stories. The aim is to write one short story a day from May to September. However, you can abbreviate the challenge to one month like NaNoWriMo if you wish.

3. MilWordy

A challenge not for the faint of heart, MilWordy is for writers who set the lofty goal of writing one million words a year. The key is to organise your goal into smaller, achievable daily and monthly word goals that add up to one million words a year. This challenge is usually taken up by seasoned writers who have mastered monthly writing challenges.

Support and accountability groups

Not sure if you will be able to meet your daily goals, or are looking for topics to write about on a daily basis? Here are some writer support groups you can join to help keep the creative juices flowing!

1. #5AMWritersClub

If you’re looking to set a daily writing routine, this club is perfect for you! It is a community on X (formerly Twitter) that encourages writers to begin their day by working on their writing project and get into the habit of scheduling their writing to be their first activity of the day.

2. The Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG)

This support group aims to help writers who struggle with writer’s block or are unsure about their abilities to take part in writing challenges to build their confidence. Participating in their challenges is a great way to boost your writing skills and get constructive feedback from like-minded individuals.

3. The Indie Author Project (IAP)

Essentially a collaboration between indie authors and libraries, this community aims to get books by lesser-known indie authors into libraries, thus building their reader base and reputation.

4. Pathfinders Writing Collective

The Pathfinders Writing Collective, or #PaWriCo aims to help writers pick their challenge, set their pace, and achieve their writing goals while being cheered on by fellow writers. Check out #PaWriCo25 for this year’s challenges that you can participate in. 

5. Heart Breathings Writing Community

Taking inspiration from the Pomodoro Method, which aims to help writers write in ‘sprints’ without any other distractions, the Heart Breathings Writing Community is perfect for those who want to livestream writing challenges on YouTube or Facebook that help them write for blocks of time uninterrupted, take a break, and then write again, thus maximising their productivity.

6. WriteMentor

As the name suggests, this support group offers mentorship to writers who want to complete their manuscripts and navigate the complicated and competitive world of the book publishing industry. It’s a great environment for newbie writers to interact with more seasoned hands and find their footing.

Now that you have a comprehensive list of writing challenges to take part in and support groups to join, it’s time to buckle down and get started!

We at PaperTrue offer expert, hassle-free self-publishing services that allow you to get your work edited and published by professionals. 

Happy writing!

Here are some more resources that may help you:

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Tanvi

With a foundation in Life Sciences, Tanvi enjoys curating technical writing tips tailored for ESL students. When she's not translating complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets, she can be found playing with dogs or painting landscapes.