Monica Heilman
banner
writingmonicker.bsky.social
Monica Heilman
@writingmonicker.bsky.social
sociologist studying race, multiracial identity & whiteness using qualitative & arts-based methods

monicaheilman.com

views my own
#NaNoWriMo. might be gone, but the writing continues, writers are already building new structures, & I’m fortunate to have a robust & ever-growing #AcWriMo community to rely on.

Despite the controversies, poor AI policy, & this abrupt shutdown, I’ll miss what this organization once made possible.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Since I still had a #dissertation to write, I continued the “Misery” series in 2022. It took one year longer than expected, reflected in “Misery III: The Final Chapter” and “Misery IV: The Actual Final Chapter.”

But now this too is done, with pieces hopefully on the way to publication.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
So, I took my academic #writing goals and merged them with #NaNoWriMo’s tools. My 2019 “novel” was titled “Misery” & categorized as “horror.” (It was my MA paper.) I finished it, got the degree, and by the next time I logged into Nano, the paper had been published.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
In 2016, I wrote another 50,000 words, fantasy with romance and magical beasts. An early #romantasy, you might say. Maybe I should’ve stuck with that.

I found it too difficult to write a novel in the first year of grad school, for some strange reason. But in 2019, I learned about #AcWriMo.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Every year that I've logged in since then, I see that our Busan moderator Brian is still active and still writing. Now that the website is gone, I wonder how he’s doing, and if he’s writing a novel this year.

I'm almost certain he is.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The writing was exciting, but the community was amazing. #NaNoWriMo hadn’t yet been plagued by shady moderators. I met other local writers every weekend, discovering new cafes and bookstores.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
My first #NaNoWriMo project in 2015 was an expansion of a historical fiction short story I'd written in college. It followed three teens living through the Japanese occupation of South Korea. At 53,646 words & 93 pages, it was my longest piece of writing to date, far exceeding my college thesis.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I'm obligated to do a nostalgic thread now, though I'm 7 months late.
November 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through Bilal. I'll share your main post.
November 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Monica Heilman
Thinking of this bsky.app/profile/ubiq...
The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, PPFP, has been a jewel in the crown for faculty development and recruitment at the University of California for years and the results have been an expanded faculty with almost 100% tenure rates — unprecedented success.
November 3, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Unclear isn't it?
October 31, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Oh no ☹️
October 30, 2025 at 1:08 AM