Online writing challenges — write together, not alone
Writing is lonely. Group writing goals and community writing projects are why platforms like NaNoWriMo grew. WritersAlley brings that spirit back: join the global challenge every month, or create your own and invite friends. A virtual writing marathon with real support and shared success.
Community challenges: shared goals, not solo sprints
Our community challenges give you two ways to write together. Join the monthly goals with writers worldwide — a global challenge with a leaderboard and shared momentum. Or start your own writer's group: create a challenge, invite friends, and hit a shared goal as a team. Collaborative writing with real accountability and support.
Monthly global challenge
Every month we run an online writing challenge for everyone. Set your monthly goals, log your words, and see the community move forward together. It's a virtual writing marathon with a leaderboard — you're not writing alone. Join as a community hero and feel the shared success of hitting goals together.
Join the monthly challengeCreate a challenge — invite friends
Create your own community writing project and invite friends. Set a group writing goal (e.g. 50,000 words as a team), choose a deadline, and track progress together. Your private writer's group with shared goals and real accountability. Collaborative writing that feels like a team, not a competition — support and shared success in one place.
Join & create your challengeWhy and how community challenges help you finish your novel
Writing a novel alone is hard. Community challenges turn that solo grind into shared momentum — and that directly supports completing your book.
Why challenges help you complete your novel
Accountability: When you're in a challenge with others, you're more likely to show up. Knowing that friends or the community are tracking progress (and that you have a shared goal and deadline) reduces the urge to skip days. That consistency is what gets first drafts done.
Visible progress: Challenges give you a clear word-count goal and a finish date. You see your progress next to others on the leaderboard or in the group. That visibility turns "I'll write someday" into "I'm writing today to stay on track."
Psychological pull: Shared goals and a bit of friendly momentum make writing feel less like work and more like a collective sprint. You're not just writing for yourself — you're part of a writer's group moving toward the same kind of win. That pull keeps you going when motivation would otherwise dip.
How it works in practice
Join a monthly challenge or create one with friends. Set a goal (e.g. 50,000 words for a novel draft), log your words each day in WritersAlley, and watch the group progress. The app tracks your total, your streak, and your predicted finish — so you always know how close you are to completing your novel. Challenges don't write the book for you; they give you the structure and support to show up until the draft is done.
How to create your own community challenge
Creating a challenge is a supporter feature. Once you've joined and unlocked the full version, follow these steps — they match exactly what you'll see in the app.
-
Join the community and unlock the full version.
Creating your own challenges is available to supporters. Register, then upgrade so you can create challenges and invite friends.
-
Open your dashboard and go to Challenges.
After logging in, find the Challenges section on your dashboard. Click "Create Challenge" or "Create your first challenge".
-
Enter a title.
Give your challenge a name (e.g. "NaNoWriMo 2026" or "April Sprint"). Use only letters, numbers, and spaces — no hyphens or special characters.
-
Add a description and goal.
Optionally describe what the challenge is about. Set the goal word count (e.g. 50,000 for a novel sprint) and choose a start date and end date. You can pick a cover color for the challenge card.
-
Create and share the link.
Click create. You'll get a unique shareable link. Send it to friends — they can join the challenge and track progress together with you.
Join a writing group — or start one
Whether you want to join writing group events or run your own, WritersAlley is built for community writing projects. No lock-in, no AI on your data. Just group writing goals, a leaderboard when you want it, and the support of writing alongside others. Online writing challenges 2026 that put writers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Are writing challenges free to join?
Yes. You can join the monthly global challenge or any challenge you're invited to for free. Just register and start logging your words.
-
Do I need to pay to create my own challenge?
Creating your own challenge (and inviting friends) is a supporter feature. Joining challenges is free; creating them requires the full version.
-
How do I invite friends to my challenge?
After you create a challenge, you get a unique shareable link. Send that link to friends — they open it, join the challenge, and can track their progress alongside yours.
-
What's the difference between the monthly challenge and my own challenge?
The monthly challenge is a global, shared goal run by WritersAlley every month — anyone can join. Your own challenge is private: you set the goal, dates, and invite specific people (e.g. your writer's group).
-
Can I use challenges to finish my novel?
Yes. Set a word-count goal (e.g. 50,000 or 80,000) and a deadline, then log your daily words. The challenge keeps you accountable; the app shows your progress and predicted finish so you stay on track to complete your novel.