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by LAURA TABOR
Lifestyles Reporter
A group of high school students gathered around a table in the Watauga Country Public Library, reading from sheaves of paper.
The papers were not copies of the great short stories of famous authors.
They were reading manuscripts of novels: ones they are writing in only a month.
 Freshman history major Justin W. Daly works on his novel Friday as part of National Novel Writing Month which challenges students to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Photo by Rachel Noel |
National Novel
Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a program that has challenged people
around the world to write 50,000 words, approximately 175 double-spaced
pages, in 30 days.
In 2005, a group of Watauga High students decided to take this challenge, which happens each year in November.
Justin W. Daly, a freshman history major, was one of the founding writers for the NaNoWriMo program in Watauga County.
Now, in
college, he has continued to take the annual challenge, and was, at
last count, up to 17,000 words on his story about grim reapers.
“I’ve
become a bit of a cave-dweller,” Daly said. “I get out of class and
start writing, and before I know it, it’s 2 a.m. I love my characters
and I want to know what happens to them.”
Daly has finished one novel during his years of NaNoWriMo and is on track to finish again this year.
The Watauga High students sought the public library as a place to meet and work on their writing.
“We
provided a space for them, and one year we had between 30 and 40 kids,”
Owen T. Gray, a librarian, said. “We host writers from the local area
to speak to the kids as part of the program.”
The
originators tried writing a novel in a month 10 years ago and created
something they called “half literary marathon, half block party,”
according to the NaNoWriMo’s Web site.
The first year, there were 21 participants.
There were over 100,000 participants and 15,000 winners in 2007.
A person is considered a winner if they reach 50,000 words.
The program holds a party halfway through called the Nanathon, to provide authors a space for writing and to keep them inspired.
There is also a wrap party, when the novelists have finished the month and can read some of the stories they’ve written.
“Part of
it is just knowing that you can do it,” Gray said. “People think that
they are not good enough, or just not a writer. However, for this
month, you don’t have time to worry about that.”
While
students individually attempt the challenge at Appalachian, there is no
on-campus community of writers, which is encouraged by the founders of
the program as a great way to keep the spirit up.
“I
recommend that people try it; it’s a lot of fun,” Daly said. “I think
it would be cool if there was an ASU-wide program for this.”
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