NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program - Home

Pep Talkers 2010: Who Do You Want a Letter From?

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:06:57 +0000

Pep Talkers 2010!
Who do you want to get a letter from next November?

Tell us who your favorite authors are in this forum (http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node/658999), and we'll send a letter to them requesting that they write a pep-talk email for NaNoWriMo 2010.

Happy editing,
Tavia

NaNoVideo Blooper Reel Revealed!

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:37:42 +0000

NaNoVideo Blooper Reel Revealed!
In the true NaNo spirit, we rarely got it on the first take. But we tried.

Contemplating how weird I am,
Tavia

YWP Surveys!

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:02:33 +0000

How Was Your NaNo?
Let us know how noveling went by filling out a YWP survey!

Click the the survey title below for your grade level, and take ten minutes to tell us about your NaNoWriMo. These surveys will help us make next year's event even better than 2009.

1. Click here for the NaNoWriMo YWP Survey for Elementary School Students.

2. Click here for the NaNoWriMo YWP Survey for Middle School Students.

3. Click here for the NaNoWriMo YWP Survey for High School Students.

Thanks ahead of time for the feedback!

Drinking buckets of hot tea,
Tavia

2009 Winners' Page!

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:07:12 +0000

Congratulations Winners!
A record-breaking 25% of YWP wrimos won this year.

Check out the new 2009 NaNoWriMo Winners page that just went live. It includes profile pictures, word-count totals, and novel titles and summaries.

I've been having a blast scrolling through the pages. I hope you do too!

Tavia

You Wrote a Novel! Now What?

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:45:38 +0000

You Wrote a Novel! So Now What? Click the link above to find out what to do now!

Word Count Poem By Esmé Raji Codell

Tavia Stewart — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:28:38 +0000

Read this NaNo-inspired, word-count driven poem by YA Author Esmé Raji Codell.

Click here to open and read Esme's poem.

You Wrote a Novel! Now What?

Tavia Stewart — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:13:04 +0000

Check out the I Wrote a Novel! Now What? page to get your CreateSpace promo code today!

The I Wrote a Novel! Now What? page is where you'll find your promo code for your free proof copy from CreateSpace, along with revision advice, upcoming writing contests, creative writing centers in your area, and more.

Basically, it's the place to go fulfill all your post-NaNo needs!

Know that in order to see your promo code for CreateSpace, you need to be:
1. An official NaNoWriMo winner.
2. Logged in to your NaNoWriMo YWP account.

Happy revising,
Tavia

Happy December!

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:47:47 +0000

5,560 Cross the Finish Line!
Congrats to all our NaNoWriMo '09 winners!

You did it! You won! And even if you didn't, you wrote your pants off this November and you deserve this certificate just for participating.

If you did validate to win, you'll be able to access your winner goodies in your profile under the "You Won!" link until next September. Tomorrow, December 2, we'll be posting the "I Wrote a Novel! Now What?" page, which will contain CreateSpace codes for winners along with a whole bunch of great information about revising your novel, submitting to writing contests, and more.

In the meantime, you can check out the the December and Beyond forums. Swap novels, set new and exciting goals, and talk writing shop with other writers worldwide in here.

Happy December,
Tavia

Join the Winner's Circle

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:31:36 +0000

5,320 Winners and Counting!
Join the Winner's Circle. We're cheering for you!

Write, write, write! You can do it! Everyone here at NaNoWriMo HQ is cheering you on...

Once you finish your novel, check out how to validate by watching this video or reading this NaNo-News article.

I'll see you on the other side!

Happy winning,
Tavia

Pep Talk From Laurie Halse Anderson

Tavia Stewart — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:03:07 +0000

"I promise you that every self-doubt you've had, I've had."

Hey there!

Can you stare into space and imagine worlds that don't exist?

Do you get into arguments with the characters in your head?

Do you keep a notebook with you all the time because sometimes you get these amazing ideas that you have to write down because if you forget them there is a very good chance the sun will explode and all life on Earth will cease to exist?

Yeah, I thought so.

You are a writer.

That's the good news. The bad news?

You are a writer.

You are not a magician. Or a wizard. Or an author who had published twenty million books (yet).

You were born with the seeds of your talent, the ability to observe the world around you and weave piece of it into a story. I believe that most —if not all —people are born with these seeds. What separates the writers from the non-writers is that the writers actually sit down and ... you know ... write.
It sounds simple. We both know it isn't.

Writing fiction is a bold and brave thing to do. You have to stand up to the critics in your home and school AND the critics in your head and tell them to shush. You have to believe that you have permission from the Universe to create. You have to be willing to fail, mess up, make mistakes, go down the wrong path, be confused, feel inadequate, and then still sit down and ... you know ... write.

I promise you that every self-doubt you've had, I've had. Every procrastination tool you've tried, I perfected. The struggles that you are going through with your book are exactly the struggles I am going through. All writers climb the same mountains.

It doesn't matter how many books I've had published. I have never before written the book I am writing today. It is hard and sometimes frustrating, but I know the aggravation is worth it. I stumble and mutter and cross things out and have flashes of inspiration and ignore the nasty doubts and keep writing.

You can do this, too.

Because we are writers, and writers, you know... write.

Laurie Halse Anderson
www.writerlady.com