Every November, the same thing happens.
Thousands of writers lock themselves in, crack their knuckles, and commit to writing 50,000 words in thirty days. For more than twenty-five years, NaNoWriMo turned that impulse into a worldwide event.
The nonprofit behind NaNoWriMo closed its doors in 2025 — and writers have already built new communities to keep the November tradition going. (TechCrunch)
I love the energy.
I love the deadline.
I love anything that gets writers to stop thinking about writing and actually write.
But Christian nonfiction writers have a problem no word-count challenge can solve:
Speed cannot rescue the wrong book.
You can write 1,667 words every single day in November and still arrive at November 30 holding a manuscript you don’t know what to do with.
Not because you failed to write.
Because you started writing before you’d settled what the book actually was.
A few weeks ago I wrote that you don’t have a clarity problem — you have a finishing problem. November is where that distinction gets expensive. A fast writer with a fuzzy book doesn’t finish faster. She just gets lost at higher speed.
So before you commit to 50,000 words, run one test. A single sentence:
Who needs this book, and why?
Not “Christian women.” That’s a demographic, not a reader. Not “people who need encouragement.” That’s a wish, not a need.
One sentence. One specific woman. One real reason. “A worn-out mom who hasn’t prayed in a month and feels guilty about it.” “A woman caring for an aging parent who is angry at God and won’t admit it.”
If you can write that sentence, you have a book. If you can’t — if every version comes out vague — you don’t have a writing problem. You have a deciding problem. And no word count on earth will decide it for you.
Count the cost before you build
Jesus said it plainly: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28)
He wasn’t talking about books. But He might as well have been.
Thirty days of writing is a tower. And the cost was never the words — words are cheap in November. The cost is a month of your life spent building something you hadn’t designed yet.
The decisions are the book. The words are just the evidence.
Your diagnosis
Here’s your assignment for the two weeks between now and November 1:
Don’t write a single word of the book. Write one sentence instead.
Who needs it, and why.
If you can write that sentence and mean it, November will be the best writing month of your life. If you can’t, it’s a mercy to find out now — before the word count starts.
You don’t need a faster November. You need a truer one.
Your next step
If you’re ready to stop circling your idea and start getting real words on the page, I’ve created a free guide for you: 10 Ways to Write Your Book…in Just Days.
It will show you the exact system I’ve used to write more than 30 books — how to move out of endless planning, build momentum fast, and finish what you start.
I’m cheering for you — and I can’t wait to see what God does through your obedience.
Love & Prayers,
Donna