What is Preptober?
Preptober is our month-long lead-up to Novel November. Through October, it gives you the space to plan and prepare your story—so that when November 1 arrives, you can start writing with a clear idea of where you’re going.
When is Preptober?
Preptober runs from October 1 to October 31 2026, in the lead-up to Novel November.
What happens during Preptober?
A few things to help you get ready to write:
Planning sprints
Our writing sprints run right through Preptober under a new name: planning sprints. We host three every weekday (Monday to Friday) throughout October—short timed sessions where you plan and write alongside the community for a little accountability and momentum. Pop into whichever suit you; there’s no need to make every one. You’ll find them all in our Community events.
The Planning Party
The Planning Party is a two-hour kickoff event to help you outline, plan, and build your story’s foundation just before Novel November begins—without going it alone. It runs on the evening of Thursday, October 29 across the U.S.—8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT/6:00 PM MT/5:00 PM PT—which is 00:00–02:00 UTC on Friday, October 30. The event page shows the start time in your own time zone.
Blending our Story Canvas framework with the Pomodoro method, you’ll work through two guided planning sprints—first your premise, characters, and world, then your plot and structure—with small-group breakout rooms in between to meet other writers and swap ideas, and a check-in at the end to share your progress. RSVP on the event page to save your spot and get access to the Zoom room.
A two-week planning course
A short lesson each day to walk you through planning your novel, one step at a time—from finding the story you want to tell and getting to know your main character to building your plot, shaping your setting, and finding the heart of your story. By the end, you’ll have the bones of your novel ready to draft in November. You’ll find it—along with everything else we’ve planned for Preptober and Novel November—on our Novel November events page.
Live workshops with our author coaches
Our guest author coaches run live workshops throughout Preptober to help you plan and prepare for the challenge ahead. You can meet the coaches and find all the details on our Meet the Speakers page.
Do I have to take part in Preptober?
No—Preptober is completely optional. You can join Novel November and start writing on November 1 whether or not you did any prep. But if you’d like to walk into November with a plan in hand, Preptober is a great way to get there.
How do I join Preptober?
Preptober takes place in our ProWritingAid Community, so you’ll need to join the community and create a community profile to take part. It works exactly the same as signing up for Novel November itself—same website, same steps—so How do I sign up for Novel November? will walk you through it. Every Preptober event is free to join, so you don’t need a paid plan to take part.
Did you know… ProWritingAid has 25+ specialized writing reports to help you craft better stories, and you can run them in your favorite writing apps? Read more.