I’m on the NaNoWriMo site as butterflyprism (formerly known as TessD1891), and I’ve participated in NaNo since 2007. I won in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
These links are in no particular order, just added at the bottom of the list as I find/think of them. Almost every website or program I add is FREE to use, so if you notice a broken link or something that is now charging, please let me know.
Kalindria has TONS of great resources on this page. The one that I found in NaNovember 2012 that helped me greatly is Outline 50K 20 Chap, which is an awesome guide to writing a novel with 50,000 words and 20 chapters.
NaNo for the New and Insane by Lazette Gifford is an e-book I found in 2007 and it is a great introduction for NaNo Newbies.
Write or Die is a site that I don’t use, but many wrimos swear by it. You write in the text box on the site, but if you get distracted, you get a mild punishment. You can edit the settings for the punishment, but beware: if you choose kamikaze mode then when you stop typing, your words will erase themselves! Note: This site will not save your work when you leave the page, so be sure to copy/paste it into your novel.
WriteTrack is a great calendar/wordcount site that I’ve used during NaNoWriMo since it was started in 2010. Set a target word count, and the site tells you how many words per day you need to write. Then… you write. And tell the site how many words you wrote today. It will automatically adjust the wordcount for the remaining days based on how much you have written. You can also note what days you have less (or no) time to write, and it will adjust the wordcount to take that into account as well. If you put your NaNo username in your WriteTrack profile, you don’t even have to put in your wordcount, because the site will retrieve it [I haven’t checked to see if this feature will work on the new NaNo site].
Writers’ Cheatsheet is just plain cool. The site it’s on is called no whitespace, and that’s exactly what this is: “Plots are covered on page 1, characters on page 2, and lots of tips to fill the whitespace.” The text is small and covers the entire page, front and back. If you’re stuck, chances are this will give you some ideas.
K. Kitts – Downloads is full of great resources from NaNoWriMo participant Apollo16. I really like the NaNoWriMo Preparation Sheet and the accompanying NaNoWriMo Instruction Sheet.
Novel Writing Resources is a nice list of things that are super helpful for people running NaNoWriMo events, like MLs and librarians. There are printable handouts with basic info and progress charts, but there are also fun things like printable stickers and plot ninjas.
Writer is an online “typewriter” where you can write with typewriter sounds (choose from manual or electric). You can create an account that saves your work so you can type anywhere with internet access (although of course it’s best to save your work in multiple locations during NaNoWriMo). I haven’t tried the mobile site, so I can’t speak for that, but I do like that you can print or create a PDF from the site, which is really cool.
Babynames.com is great for getting names for characters. Sometimes it’s fun to pick names to fit the character or with some hidden meaning.
Dictionary.com and its sister site Thesaurus.com make my hardcover Merriam-Webster and Roget go drinking together since I don’t need them anymore.
Coffitivity is a website that offers audio tracks you can listen to while you write to make you feel like you’re in a coffee shop. It’s nice to have background noise that is not music – which can be distracting, especially if it has lyrics. There’s an app too.
Eva Deverell has a lot of great writing worksheets to help with planning (or revising) your novel. She also put together the Novel in a Month Notebook, which you can use before, during, and after November to keep track of the important facts of your novel, as well as for motivation and tracking your progress.
Is It NaNo Yet? is a super basic site by long-time NaNo participant sushimustwrite. It is exactly what it sounds like. It tells if it is NaNoWriMo time and either a countdown until it starts, or a countdown until it ends.
Okay, I lied. This one is not free, but I love it so much I’m including it anyway:
Dabble Writer is my current go-to place to write my novel. I used it in 2018 and fell in love with it. I signed up for Lifetime access because it’s worth it to me. You can sign up for a free trial, then you can pay monthly or yearly. If you participate in NaNo you may get s discount, and if you win NaNo, you may get a bigger discount (I last checked for this in 2020, so it may not still be offered). There are just enough bells and whistles to make it worth it for me to pay for it, but not so many that I’m overwhelmed. It’s a great place for plotting and writing a novel, and I love that I can use it anywhere I have a computer.
*This is not an official NaNoWriMo site, and the content has not been reviewed by National Novel Writing Month. For more information on National Novel Writing Month, visit www.nanowrimo.org.
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A Desire to Get Creative 