NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program - The NaNo News

Week Three NaNoVideo!

Tavia Stewart — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:41:18 +0000

Is Your Novel Off-track? Good!
Week Three tips from Chris on NaNoVideo.

Battle Week Three Boredom!

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:42:34 +0000

Battle Week-Three Boredom!
Pick-me-ups for the roughest week of NaNoWriMo.

It's Week Three, and I've been getting a ton of NaNoMails from Wrimos telling me all about how bored they are with their novels. This is totally normal. Week Three is notorious for causing even the most dedicated novelist to put down their pen and run.

You, dear writer, will not run. You will write!

Here are five fast-and-easy tips to get you through Week Three.

1. Write "Week Four is next week" on a Post-it and put in on your mirror, computer, notebook, or wherever you'll see it the most. This might seem silly, but it totally works. Week Three might be tough, but Week Four is awesome and right around the corner. Trust me, you don't want to miss the final week of NaNoWriMo. It's the week when you win!
2. Bored with your cast of characters? Add new ones! Seriously. You can get rid of characters that aren't working and add new and improved (and really quirky) characters whenever you want.
3. Bored with your plot? Add a twist! Plot twists will certainly spark your interest enough to get you through this week. Does your main character discover that they're adopted? Does the villain turn out to be a good guy after all? Is it all a dream? Throw in an unexpected event and see where it takes you.
4. Change your routine. Sometimes a little change of scenery goes a long way. Write in a new place, perhaps outside or in a different room. Try writing in the morning if you've been writing at night. Try writing by hand if you've been typing this whole time. Basically, mix it up a little.
5. Eat more candy. Okay, don't tell your teachers or parents I said this. We just received a couple care packages here in the office filled with sweet treats. One from Scotland and the other from Australia. I'd have to say after we busted out the Kinder Eggs and TimTams, productivity soared...until we all crashed.

Trying not to eat more candy,
Tavia

We Dare You!

Tavia Stewart — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:32:05 +0000

We Dare You To...
Check out the most recent NaNoVideo!

Surviving Week Two

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:21:42 +0000

Keep the Week-Two Blues at Bay!
Five word-count boosting tips from NaNo HQ.

If you’re behind on your word count, know that you’re in good company. Just about every one of us here at NaNo-HQ is thousands of words behind. Thousands! But we’re not going to let this stop us from writing like a bunch of crazed monkeys this week to catch up.

Here are some of the things we’re planning on doing to get our word counts up to snuff in Week Two:

1. Writing lists. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the “Lists, Lists, and Lists of Lists” worksheet in our Novelist Workbooks, click here. As you will find, adding lists to your novel is a great way to pad that word count. Imagine how many more words you’ll have after you list every item in your protagonist’s kitchen cupboard.

2. Writing letters. Write letters to your characters. Have them write letters back. Have your characters write letters to each other. These letters can be hand-written, emailed, or sent via text message. Whatever the letter, just make sure you include it in your novel. Every word counts!

3. Writing flashbacks. Or flash-forwards! Explore your characters' childhoods and/or their futures.

4. Treating ourselves to a night off. In all seriousness, taking a night off to space out in front of the TV or curl up with a good book is essential to making it through this month. Take some time to recharge your energy!

5. Writing more lists. And then, after you’ve done items 2 through 4, return to item 1. Writing that list of all the items under your antagonist’s bed might spark that plot breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.

Taking the night off to go to yoga,
Tavia Stewart-Streit

Where Not to Write Your Novel!

Tavia Stewart — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:31:02 +0000

Where To Write Your Novel!
The most frequently asked question of the week answered.

It seems like many Newbie NaNo-Novelists are understandably confused about where to write their novels. So, we've come up with two lists. One listing the places one should not write a novel, and the other listing places one should.

Places One Should Not Write His or Her Novel
1. In the Word Count Validator. If you write your novel here, it will not be saved after you hit "Submit." This is not a place to write a book, but a place to cut and paste the words you've written so far. This Validator's soul purpose in life if to count. It does not know how to read (such a sad existence this must be).
2. In a forum post. Please do not write you novel, or post long excerpts of your novel in the forums. If you do, we'll have to delete the posts.
3. Any other place on our site. Though this may go against what many people believe, there is no place for a writer to write a novel on our website. You can post an excerpt of your book under "My NaNoWriMo"--->"Edit Novel Info," and you can talk about your novel in the forums, but we don't offer a place to write a novel here.

Placed One Should Write His or Her Novel
1. On your computer at school or at home. You can write your novel on a number of programs, such as Word, Notepad, or Works. Any word processing program will do! If you are writing on a computer, you can validate your novel using the aforementioned Word Count Validator. Check out this FAQ to find out how: click here to read this FAQ.
2. Online. You can write your novel at home and at school if you have internet access by using Google Docs. That's what I'm using to write my novel. That way, I can write using any computer, anytime. Just Google "Google Docs" and sign up. It's totally free!
3. In your notebook. It's absolutely cool to write your novel using the old standbys, pen and paper. you can update your word-count manually by entering the number of words in the box above the word "Update" in the masthead throughout the month. In the end, when you reach your goal, just email us, and we'll get your your winner's certificate.

Hope this answers a lot of your questions!

Happy week one,
Tavia

NaNo 2009 Begins!

Tavia Stewart — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:05:08 +0000

Thousands Off and Writing Worldwide!
NaNoWriMo 2009 officially begins!

Hope you all got off to a good start yesterday! Writing a lot right off the bat is the way to go. That way you have a big old cushion of words once the Week Three noveling fatigue kicks in.

For those of you who haven't started your novels yet, do not fear! I have to admit (sheepishly) that I haven't either. But catching up is no problem at all. I take inspiration from those insane folks who write 50,000 words in the first week of NaNoWriMo. Or those brave souls who join us midway through the month and finish their books with time to spare.

No matter your word-count today, know that you have plenty of time to get those novels finished!

Welcome to the NaNo-madness,
Tavia "starting her novel tonight" Stewart-Streit

Pre-NaNo Checklist!

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:55:44 +0000

Pre-NaNo Checklist!
Eight things to do while you wait for November 1.

Okay, so you have characters, perhaps you have a plot outline, and you’re ready to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Great! Here’s a pre-NaNo checklist that might keep you busy while you wait for the fun to begin.

1. Set your time zone. It’s super important that you set your timezone so our site knows when NaNoWriMo begins and ends in your neck of the woods. Here’s how you do it: first, click on “My NaNoWriMo” on the menu bar. Then, click on “Edit User Settings” in the left hand menu on your author profile. Scroll all the way down the page to the box that says “Time zone,” and select your date and time.

2. Set your word-count goal. If you haven’t done so already, set a challenging goal for yourself. First, click on “My NaNoWriMo” on the menu bar. Then, click on “Edit Novel Info” in the left hand menu of your author profile. When you get there, you will see a box where you can enter your goal. You want to make sure you do this because if you don't, our site will automatically set it at 50,000 words. Eep.

3. Fill out your “Author Profile”. Tell us and your fellow Wrimos about yourself. Add a picture by going to “Edit User Settings,” then “Upload picture.” Answer a few questions like “What authors and books inspired you to write?” and “What music to you like to novel by?” And most importantly, tell us about your upcoming novel. Inquiring minds want to know its title and genre, and what it’s (potentially) going to be all about. You can even add a cover image!

4. Read the pep talks from 2008. Read some much-needed encouragement here from distinguished pep talkers like Jerry Spinelli, Mark Zusak, Hilari Bell, and many, many more!

5. Fill in your NaNoWriMo Calendar. This calendar can be found in each Young Novelist Workbook, and will help you break that big, scary word-count goal of yours into manageable pieces. Look on page 82 of the elementary workbook, 52 of the middle school workbook, and 45 of the high school workbook. Use it to set daily goals, and to set aside time for you to write each day. Post the calendar somewhere everyone who lives with you will see. That way they will know when not to disturb your incredible, artistic pursuits!

6. Watch NaNo-Videos. You can find all of our NaNo-Videos here. They are inspiring, informative, and a great way to procrastinate!

7. Inform family and friends of your November plans. Send e-mails, talk about it at school, call relatives that live miles away, send carrier pigeons to people who don’t live in the 20th century - tell as many people as you possibly can! That way tons of people will be encouraging you to reach your word-count goal this November.

8. Stock up on treats. Stock up on your favorite snack foods (like goldfish crackers, yum!) to keep you going through those long nights of NaNo-ing. You can also stock up on treats that you might use to reward yourself for meeting daily and weekly word-count goals. Perhaps you can have stockpiles of chocolate chips for hitting your daily word count goal, or a backlog of TV shows to watch when you reach your weekly goal.

Another Record-Breaking Year!

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:49:39 +0000

Another Record Breaking Year!
Over 1,000 classrooms participating worldwide.

There are 9,000 young writers are signed up on the YWP website, and 35,000 are participating in over 1,000 classrooms all around the world. We've received requests for Classroom Noveling Kits from teachers in India, Thailand, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Mexico, New Zealand, Finland, Poland, Belgium, Korea, and Puerto Rico.

Thanks to all you NaNo-believers who spread the word about our crazy program, it's looking like we're going to double last year's participation numbers. This is amazing!

Less than a week to noveling,
Tavia

Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition

Tavia Stewart — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:49:47 +0000

Get Discovered This November!
Read all about the YA Novel Discovery Competition.

Amazing news, Wrimos! If you're 13 or older, you're eligible to participate in the Young Adult Novel Discovery Competition!

So … what is it? Well, to compete, just send in a title and 250 words from the opening of your YA novel. As you'll probably be writing these 250 words (and many, many more) during NaNoWriMo, it's pretty much a cut-and-paste contest! (Okay, so not really.) That's it! And best of all, there’s no purchase required, no entry fees, nothing! The contest runs from 12:01am (ET) November 1 until 11:59pm (ET), November 30, 2009.

The entries will be judged by editors at publishing houses such as Penguin, HarperCollins, and Random House. This is what you can win:

The Top Twenty Entrants: a free, autographed copy of Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks, a premier YA literary agent.

The Top Five Entrants: the opportunity to pitch their book in a one-on-one, fifteen-minute pitch session with Regina Brooks!

Grand Prize Winner: all of the above, as well as a free, 10-week writing course, courtesy of Gotham Writers’ Workshop!

This contest is a mind-blowing opportunity for aspiring YA writers! So get your noveling hat on and get ready to write! It might just be your year to be discovered.

Grace

Young Writers Program Manifesto!

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:58:44 +0000

Young Writers Program Manifesto!
NaNoVideo features NaNo's YWP Program Director.

Tavia Stewart-Streit tells the world what we're all about.

Writing NaNo-News in the third person,
Tavia