National Novel Writing Month Has Students Writing More Than Ever
by Jacob Keith for Walkersville High School Lion’s Pride
The NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as the National Novel Writing Month, is an event hosted every November by a non-profit organization also known as NaNoWriMo. [1] Participants of the NaNoWriMo aim to write a 50,000 or more word story over the course of a single month, that month being November. Over 431,000 people participate in the NaNoWriMo worldwide, with that number growing every year.
The NaNoWriMo is often used in the classroom as a teaching tool, with teachers often having students participate in the Youth Writing Program where the word count goal is lower than the standard program. “I think that if you do a whole lot of something, you tend to become better at something. If you write a whole lot, you’re going to improve your ability to form sentences, as well as your concentration,” said English teacher Diana Sung. “It also assists in developing an understanding of how writing is constructed. Not only that, but it assists with students learning how to achieve long term goals. Most of college is self directed learning, and a lot of students end up not successful in college because they do not know how to break down and schedule themselves, and I believe NaNoWriMo helps with that,” she continued.
Students had differing opinions on being assigned to participate in the NaNoWriMo, but it seems universal that it has helped them as a writer. “I honestly don’t like writing, but it helped me develop as a writer. It taught me how to structure things, which has helped me with writing essays in class,” said senior Katheryn Acker. “Stressed. It made me feel so stressed, but in a good way. It helped me develop a longer attention span,” said senior Ioana Draghici.
Students currently participating are incredibly excited to have an opportunity to test their writing skills every year. “I’m excited about participating this year. I had a lot of fun last year, and it is just a great opportunity for people that want to write novels, but have trouble finding the motivation,” said junior Parker Montour. “This year, the NaNoWriMo has a new website where I can write my novel right on the website, and it updates my wordcount as I go. It’s really nice being able to work right on there. Not only that, but there is a nice community of people here at WHS doing the program, which is helpful in keeping us committed to our novels,” said junior Will Anderson.
Regardless of your opinion on writing, it is hard to argue that the NaNoWriMo isn’t helping students hone their skills. Although stress is common, the end goal is to have a story that you are proud of. According to the NaNoWriMo website, over 250 novels written for the program have been traditionally published after the fact, and hopefully there will be more to come. [1] Whether it be through the youth writing program or the full blown NaNoWriMo, November is certainly a month for writing.
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