I am so excited this time of year. It is just about time for NaNoWriMo!
I have written two nano novels. Mediocre at best. At worst, they are boring, redundant, childish, and so much more. Fifty-thousand words each, lacking in rich description, minus realistic dialogue, missing winsome characters, and so much less.
However, I know that I write better today than I did two years ago, before I wrote my first novel. That much is true. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I would have been a good technical writer–not a novelist.
Now I teach English and literature to junior highers, which is daunting and humbling. My 8th grade students write novels too. This week they have begun to create their accounts, think up ideas, and plan their noveling strategies.
On November 1, a blank yet hopeful Google Doc greets us. By the 30th we experience the sweet thrill of victory when we “win” NaNoWriMo.
My students keep me going so I too can experience victory. They believe in themselves, each other and me. Because of them, I believe in myself, too.
I can hardly wait!
Here is a video of last year’s group…
Denise, I hope you will blog a few tips for those of us who want to try this. How did you start? What strategies helped your students start? How did you help each other? How did it feel to write each day on the novel? You and your students are inspirations!
Thanks, Sheri! I will definitely share my tips. Thanks for asking. Scott also expressed interest! Our students could continue to get to know each other. I think NaNoWriMo is less stressful than our POS Project!
Thanks so much for these posts Denise! They are very helpful and my class will be taking off on this journey starting tomorrow in part due to your guidance.
You are truly an educational leader.
Write on,
Scott
Looking forward to it, Scott!
I wish I would have snapped a photo of you to show my students we really met this week. That was awesome! Thanks for your great questions at #ITEC11.
When we were adding writing buddies today on the Virtual Classroom, I mentioned maybe they’d be able to add buddies from Mr. Boylen’s and Ms. Edwards’ classes, friends they made on the POS project. If students want to, they can further the connections they made last month.
Thanks, Scott and Sheri!
Denise