Elisa Balbuena - ILA Newsletter Weekly Project: Effective Literacy Website #6

Elisa Balbuena

ILA Newsletter Weekly Project: Effective Literacy Website #6

            NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program (https://ywp.nanowrimo.org) is an adaptation of the National Novel Writing Month program that takes place every November. The challenge is simple: students will draft an entire novel in just one month. Students set their word count goal at the start of the month and work to reach that goal by the end. It is structured like a challenge, but everyone who finishes wins.

            National Novel Writing Month is a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California, that provides tools, structure, community, and encouragement to anyone with the goal of producing a novel. It started in 1999 as a straightforward challenge: write 50,000 words of a novel by the end of November. Since its inception, hundreds of thousands of people each year have used NaNoWriMo as the catalyst and springboard to achieve their dreams of becoming an author. Many rough drafts produced through NaNoWriMo have gone on to become popular books, including young adult fiction book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Now adapted for kids aged 17 and under (18 is okay if they are still in high school), the NaNoWriMo Youth Writers Program provides the same challenge and support to budding, young artists to help them reach their creative dreams.

            Students who participate in the program will set a word count goal at the beginning of the month and work to achieve that goal. The website makes this simple and fun to do and provides celebratory progress updates and other motivational features as students reach different milestones as the month progresses. Students have complete creative control over their novel, with the ability to choose fonts and add pictures, or even change the color scheme. They can even brainstorm ideas, write character sketches, or pep themselves up on the website (although none of this will count towards the final word count). If they get stuck, students can browse through the vast library of videos and writing resources available through the program, or simply share their experiences with others in the community forums to get support. The program also offers author mentors, who will share lessons on writing or offer guidance to those who seek it. When the month is finished and the goals have been reached, students can print their creation with the program’s self-publishing partner, Blurb.

            Teachers facilitating NaNoWriMo in their schools have a plethora of tools available to them as well. They can track individual and class progress as well as read and edit student work when needed. There are Common Core-aligned lesson plans and workbooks available through the website which can help teachers guide their students through the novel-writing process. Teachers can also request for a Classroom Kit with other resources that will help keep students energized and on track. If they so choose, teachers can also participate in NaNoWriMo along with their students to produce their own novel at the end of the month.

            NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program is a fantastic website and resource to help get kids to write. Around 100,000 teachers and students participate in the program each year, and as much as 79% of participants claimed that the program helped them feel excited about writing, while 72% of participants agreed that the program helped them improve their writing skills. NaNoWriMo is a popular world-wide online event, and the Youth Writers Program is a great literacy tool to introduce the love of writing to students in a fun and challenging way.