. “[NaNoWriMo] is an encouragement for any…){kind=link}
Penn-Trafford High School’s Creative Writing class is kicking off the month of November by encouraging students to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
“[NaNoWriMo] is an encouragement for any potential, aspiring novelists to give a shot at writing as much as they can during November,” said English and Creative Writing teacher Jason Wawrzeniak.
“With everything going on in their lives today, they probably don’t have the opportunity to sit down and write for 30 minutes a day at the very least,” he explained. “I wanted to give them that opportunity.”
According to Writers.org, by the end of NaNoWriMo participants should have achieved around 50,000 words written. In contrast, Wawrzeniak provides a structured framework to guide students who decide to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge.
At the start of November, students choose a personal project, with a minimum goal of 8,000 to 12,000 words. Some students aim higher, setting targets of 15,000 to 25,000 thousand words.
Throughout the month, Wawrzeniak sets up progress check-ins at the one-quarter, halfway, and three-quarters points. During these check-ins, he will give feedback and help students adjust their goals as necessary.
Students are also encouraged to write freely without focusing on a linear plot or structure.
Wawrzeniak mentioned “picking and choosing” moments to write.
“You could write the ending first, the middle before the beginning…find ways to put words on the paper regardless of how good they are.”
Abigail Punturi, a P-T sophomore, actively participates in NaNoWriMo inside and outside the classroom.
“I started doing NaNoWriMo in seventh grade,” she stated. “I thought it was really cool that it came to creative writing [class].”
Punturi mentioned how she usually follows the standard 50,000 words written for NaNoWriMo, but that this year she plans to do 15,000.
She stated, “It is down a lot compared to the last couple of years, but I think that is more manageable regarding my schedule and motivation.”
Sophia Dunnabeck, News Section Editor