NaNoWriMo YWP – Students Reminisce

I am writing a series of blog posts about NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program, but it made sense to start with more opinions than just mine.  So here, without commentary, are reflections and advice from students who wrote their first novel in November, 2010.


I think that writing a novel was great because it taught me that I can be a writer if I want to be a writer. The most rewarding part was when I was finished and had a published book! I think that the hardest part was probably getting the story going, but once I did, I easily wrote 1,000 words a day! If I had time, I would love to write another novel, but I wouldn’t know what to write about this time. If I had to tell a younger student advice on this it would be to just type. It may not make sense, but that is what the editing process is for at the end. Set your goals high every day, and over-achieve the total word goal you have!! All in all, just have fun, and enjoy the time while you have it! 🙂

Melissa
Author of Midnight Sky

The best part of writing a novel was to know I wrote a book and have it so I show people what I accomplished. The hardest part was getting all my words and having it make sense. I liked working every day in English class. It helped me get all my words. The Dare Machine really helped too. From this experience, I learned that words add up and you really need to stay on task to finish it. I liked writing my novel because it took up a lot of class and I got to spend every day on the computer, but sometimes it got old writing because I was sick of my story. It was really hard at first but you can always switch your story a little bit so it’s a lot easier to keep going.

Leah
Author of Country Strong

My experiences with NaNoWriMo were good and bad, but thinking back I really enjoyed it. I liked having the choice to write about whatever I wanted, and having total freedom with it. It was great! It was tricky sometimes, like when I couldn’t think of what to say. Then I just wrote something totally random. If I could do it again, I probably would because I know what I did wrong and could fix those things and make a great novel! If I would give any suggestions to the student who is going to be writing a novel, I would say to be very creative, and it’s okay if you want to add some crazy stuff in it. It makes the novel creative and fun! 🙂

Allison
Author of Betrayed

I thought that it was pretty fun and you got to chose what the story was about.

Lucas
Author of The Revenge to the Death


Writing our novels was a good experience because we got to learn how to think of our own stories and to come up with our own ideas. The hardest part was probably having to come up with an idea to start your story. Once you got your idea, all you had to do was write. There was no right or wrong, you just had to do what you thought sounded good. Getting my book published was worth it. Even though it took awhile to edit and come up with a title and a cover. Now I can say I’ve written a book and gotten it published. Some suggestions I have are make sure you have a good topic and you can write a good, long story about it. If you don’t have a good topic, then you’ll be stuck on what to write the whole time.

Abby
Author of Sophie Ann and Maria


Getting to write about whatever I wanted was the most rewarding part. It didn’t matter what I wrote about; it was my idea and I’m really happy how it turned out. Writer’s block was the hardest part. When I couldn’t think of anything to write, it was hard. Then, after a long period of not knowing what to write about, I got tons of ideas. If I had the class time, I would not mind writing my own series. I seriously would not mind at all. I learned that if you want to write a story, it takes a long time of thought and preparation. Advice I would give other students is “Don’t hold back. Just go at this book with determination and ideas and you will have a good outcome.”

It was worthwhile doing all the revising and editing because if I hadn’t there would be tons of mistakes (spelling, spacing, punctuation). It was hard to revise but it was worth it because now I have a ‘real’ book that I wrote. I would have liked it if my teacher could have let us take our time and think about what we’re writing, not just write it down really fast just to make the deadline. Make sure that you use every day of November even if the first day is on a weekend.

Carter
Author of The Attack of Saffrondo II

NaNoWiMo was a lot of fun. At first, it was difficult to figure out how everything was going to fit together, but after you started typing it kept getting easier and easier. Filling out the packet [Young Writers Workbooks] really helped come up with ideas to include in your story.

Matt
Author of The Long Road Back

All images are from subscription iClipart.

Title Poems

Everyone is entitled to write great poetry! And my students did, using titles as their form. You may recognize some of the titles they used by looking at the first word in each line. That’s not the important thing though. The poems stand alone–they put pictures in my head or feelings into my heart as a reader and that’s why I like these poems. (Some students chose to use their netnyms to publish.)

Check out the links on the left for individual’s student literary magazines. They make me proud to be their teacher!

Two shoes on your feet

Are better than having none

Better than you’ll ever know

If then you’re not satisfied,

Someone else would appreciate them

One good deed can lead to many.

By Professor Chuckles

Against a bull in a fight

The rodeo clown is knocked into the air while

Grain wagons are pulled into the arena

By Tiko

You’re a really bad guy.

Love is like a game to you.

Is my love too strong for you?

My heart is missing a beat

Drugs are the only thing to

Your life

By Blondie

Don’t try to fly

Stop right where you are

Believing in yourself won’t help a bit

By Fity Five

Back in the alley

In a burning cardboard box

Black smoke is in the air

By Mr. Dr. Professor Pigskin

Biggest concert hall

Baddest bands are there

And instruments beware

Loudest music in the air

By Kid Top Rod

Run across the earth

To a rainbow to find a pot of gold

You have been waiting for

By Lena Snowman

Paper ripped from books make

Planes that fly around for fun

Holy priests say that plane is a

Diver, maybe we shouldn’t play in church

By Dr. Jekyl

House of pencils

Of wooden number 2

The lead is soft

Rising up through the door

Sun is the color of its outside

By Aaron McDerbay

I hear the wind blow

Will the snow ever stop?

Not today

Bow and pray for it to end.

By Miss Baurice Giggles

Breaking records everywhere

The dirt bike hit the ramp

Law of gravity doesn’t apply to Travis Pastrana

By Norman Finkleman

Listen to your dreams

To become who you want to be

Your life is whatever you make it

Your heart will lead the way

By Rosie McDonald

Every mother loves flowers

Time to buy them

She would love them to be pink so it

Goes with her dress that way

Away to the ball with daddy she will go

By D.T. Lion

School’s the place we go to “learn”

Out in the middle of nowhere

For no reason at all

The thing we all have to do

Summer fever is taking hold of us

By Abby Rumpelstiltskin

I wonder about outer space

Thinking how the world keeps spinning

I’ll try to keep our earth clean

Try to get others to as well

Defining what stars make up constellations

Gravity will always be pulling us down

By Randolph McMan

Breaking down without you

Apart from you is so lonely

Her heart is crying

Hearts will never be the same

By NoJo JoJo

All I can think about is you

I am crazy for you

Wanna be yours

Do not want anything other than you

By Lydia Lee

One day a week

Of a whole twelve hours

These days grow longer now

Nights are spent, it is worth it

By Florian

Somewhere in idyllic Iowa

Over in the field of rich darkness

The farmer prepares the soil

Rainbows bring hope for a golden harvest

By Mrs. Krebs

Bless all

The people with a

Broken heart on a

Road to a new start

By Nicole

We are unstoppable

Are we going to win?

The other team is shaking

World is at my feet

By Abby

I went fishing

Got a fish

A long fish

Feeling happy

By Morgan

Here right now

We look up at the stars that

Go away in the light and

Again come back at night

By Crystal

You are the one that should

Belong with me through it all

With faith, hope and love you shall live in

Me forever with peace

By Shaina

Boy: “Why can’t we be together?”

Girl: “Don’t you see? It’s all wrong!”

Boy: “We can fix this. I promise.”

Girl: “Just go. Please?”

Boy: “Dance with me first. For me?”

By Becca

You are sitting on the purple stars

Belonging to the blue sky

With the striped planets

And me spinning around you.

By Brittany

Life isn’t an easy trip

Is there any doubt?

A truck drives on the road,

A highway to nowhere.

By Matt

Fishing in the pond

In the sand

The wind blowing

Dark in the night

By Lucas

If the world was gray

You would be the grayest

Only I could help you

You knew I was the one to come to

By Ryan

Teardrops on my pillow

On my bed and on

My very own purple

Guitar and pick.

By Ashley

Ain’t any time to stop and sit

No one can slow down and

Rest at all

For we are on a journey

The people are waiting

Wicked ones aren’t coming with

By Allie

You were sitting over there

Belonging to her instead of me

With her you sat

But with me you are supposed to be

By Melissa

History takes place every day

In the kitchen

The loving grandma

Making apple pie

By Leah

For you and me

Everlasting

And forever. Love

Always finds its way in

By Carli

Youth have power

Of the schoolyard.

The President controls a

Nation of people.

By Carter

Life is a rocky road

Life is a windy alley

A person going through life

The highway of life

By Aaron

Living in the past time

On that future day

A second chance for life

Prayer for a lifetime

By Molly

We sat around the table in silence

Are we going to do anything?

The thoughts were still coming. What has the

World come to, if not this?

By Kim

Big are the buildings

Girls so pretty

Don’t worry, I’m here. Don’t

Cry, I’ll be here for you.

By Jarod