I’m a Novel November ambassador

The truth about fast drafting nobody seems to understand.

NaNoWriMo is no longer running (which I’m actually happy about since I didn’t support the organization due to their controversy). However, many writers are feeling the loss of that annual challenge to stay motivated and accountable.

If you’re one of those writers, fear not. A solution has come.

This November, ProWritingAid is launching Novel November — a free month-long writing challenge designed to help writers turn blank pages into finished drafts.

I’m delighted to be a Novel November Ambassador for their inaugural launch.

The challenge itself remains the same: 50,000 words in 30 days. About 1,667 words daily. It’s ambitious, sometimes brutal, occasionally transcendent. There will be daily writing sprints, live workshops and a community of writers all chasing the same deadline. Participation is free, and your words support Room to Read, a literacy nonprofit bringing books and education to underserved communities worldwide.

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In addition to hanging out in the community and performing my ambassador duties, I’ll be teaching a workshop in December for their “What’s Next?” series.

Workshop title — The Post-Draft Reset: Reflection Before Revision.

Here’s what I know to be true from hands-on experience editing and guiding writers (especially those doing a challenge like this): everyone obsesses over crossing the finish line, but nobody talks about the crucial pause that must come after.

You need rest and reflection before diving into revision. Not a race to immediately “fix” your manuscript while your creative body is still recovering from the sprint.

But before I get into the deets about my workshop, let’s talk about what’s happening right now in these final days of October.

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The Preptober Frenzy

Every year in October, the writing world explodes with Preptober content. Elaborate plotting workshops. Complex character development systems. Detailed worldbuilding frameworks. Scene-by-scene breakdowns mapped to spreadsheets color-coded by subplot.

It’s a lot.

And for many writers — especially if this is your first rodeo — it can feel overwhelming to the point of paralysis. You start October excited about your story idea and end it buried under so many systems and structures you’ve forgotten why you wanted to write this thing in the first damn place.

If you’re familiar with my teachings, then you’ll know I have a unique way of viewing writing and storytelling. I see it through an energetic lens. Novel November is no different. Fast drafting is an energetic challenge that requires both practical planning and nervous system support.

Let me say that again because it’s important.

Fast drafting is an energetic challenge.

Thirty days of sustained creative output at this intensity isn’t simply about knowing your plot points. It’s about managing your creative fire so it burns bright without burning you out. It’s about staying connected to your story’s emotional truth when you’re exhausted. It’s about maintaining the structural clarity that keeps you oriented when you’re writing tired. And yes, you will be tired.

It’s about Air, Fire, Water and Earth working together to support your creative body through an ambitious task.

Most Preptober workshops focus exclusively on Earth — structure, craft, plotting mechanics. They’ll teach you story beats and character arcs and three-act structure until your brain feels full. But they ignore the other three elements that actually determine whether you’ll finish this draft feeling energized or depleted.

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What Fast Drafting Actually Requires

After watching countless writers attempt and often abandon this challenge every year (only between 10 and 15% actually finish - this is an average), I’ve identified what actually matters for successful fast drafting. Not the elaborate systems. The essentials.

Air Element: Clarity on your story’s true north

You don’t need a 50-page outline. You need to know what your story is really about beneath the plot events. What truth is trying to emerge through this work? What makes this story yours to tell?

When you’re 20,000 words in and suddenly have no idea where you’re going, Air clarity is what guides you back. It’s your story’s magnetic north, the fixed point you return to when everything else feels uncertain.

Fire Element: Sustainable creative energy

You don’t need to plot every scene. You need to understand your natural creative rhythm and design a writing schedule that works with it, not against it.

Some writers blaze hot — they thrive on intensity and need to write in long, immersive sessions. Others burn steady — they do better with shorter daily sessions that don’t deplete them. Neither approach is superior. Both can complete 50,000 words in 30 days.

But if you’re a steady burner trying to force yourself into multi-hour writing marathons, you’ll flame out by week two. And if you’re a hot burner trying to restrict yourself to 30-minute increments, you’ll feel frustrated and constrained.

Water Element: Connection to what you’re creating

You don’t need elaborate character backstories for everyone. You need to care deeply about your protagonist and understand the emotional truth you’re exploring through their journey.

When writing gets hard — and it will get hard — Water connection is what keeps you returning to the page. It’s why you’re willing to wake up early or stay up late or skip social plans to spend time with these characters and this story.

Earth Element: A structure that supports rather than restricts

You don’t need a rigid scene-by-scene outline. You need enough structural clarity to orient yourself without feeling trapped by predetermined choices.

Think of it as having a map that shows major landmarks without dictating every turn. You know where you’re starting, where you’re heading and a few key points along the way. The specific route you take between those points can emerge as you write.

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The Self-Care Nobody Talks About

I’m different from most writing teachers. I’m a priestess first. Which means I know and understand that your creative work doesn’t happen separate from your physical body, your nervous system or your spiritual state.

You can’t sustain 30 days of intensive creative output if you’re running on adrenaline and anxiety. You can’t channel story magic if you’re depleted. You can’t write transformation if you’re not tending to your own wholeness.

Most Preptober advice treats writers like productivity machines that just need better systems. I treat writers like human beings with bodies that need rest, nervous systems that need regulation and spirits that need nourishment. Your humanity matters more than your word count. Always.

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Fast Drafting Isn’t For Everyone (And That’s Sacred Too)

Before I go further, I need to say something clearly: if the intensity of this challenge doesn’t serve your creative rhythm, you don’t need to force it. You don’t need to participate simply because this event is trending (I just checked… there are over 20k people signed up).

There is no single right way to write. Your slower, more contemplative approach is just as valid. Your need for extensive pre-writing before drafting is just as legitimate. Your preference for revising as you go rather than fast drafting is just as worthwhile.

The writing world sometimes treats this yearly challenge like a rite of passage every writer must complete. It’s not. It’s one approach among many, and it works beautifully for some writers while feeling torturous for others.

If fast drafting doesn’t align with your creative truth, that’s not a failure. It’s self-knowledge. Honor it and stand ten toes down on it.

But if you are someone who thrives on intensity, who finds liberation in permission to write messy first drafts, who discovers your story through the act of drafting rather than before it or genuinely just wants to try it — then November might be exactly what your creative practice needs.

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What Comes After

Like I was saying at the beginning of this piece, in December, I’m teaching The Post-Draft Reset: Reflection Before Revision as part of Novel November’s “What’s Next?” series.

I came up with this because I’ve seen too many writers finish their November drafts and immediately dive into revision while they’re still creatively exhausted. Or worse, abandon their drafts entirely because they don’t know where to begin with revision and the overwhelm paralyzes them.

We’ll use elemental reflection and tarot guidance to process your drafting experience, identify your manuscript’s strengths and challenges, and create a simple revision roadmap. So you can actually rest without the “where do I even start?” anxiety.

Rest isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.

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The Invitation

If you’re joining Novel November, I’m here to support you. Not with overcomplicated systems or rigid rules, but with elemental wisdom that honors both excellent craft and sacred creative practice.

Join Novel November (free): https://prowritingaid.com/novel-november

My December workshop details will be available soon.

And if you’re not joining November’s challenge? I see you too. Your creative path is valid exactly as it is.

With love and elemental wisdom,
Lakeisha | High Priestess of The Story Temple

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Are you joining Novel November? What element do you need most support with during fast drafting — Air clarity, Fire sustainability, Water connection or Earth structure? Share in the comments.