Sparking Creativity in Young Authors

November is National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo. This fun month is a time when aspiring authors try their hand at writing an original novel. Sixth grade English teacher, Nicole Balin is adapting the idea for her classes and challenging her students to write their own novels during the month of November. 

While the official NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write 50,000 word novels, Balin’s students will be challenged to write a novel closer to 7,000 words. But that is still a lot of writing! 

“This will absolutely be a challenge, in the best way possible, I hope!” says Balin. In the past, her students have written creative stories but have never attempted a larger project like this. Students will spend the week leading up to Halloween planning different parts of their story like character, conflicts, and major plot points, before diving into the writing process and writing for the whole month of November. 

“Most kids seem both excited and daunted,” Balin says. “Some are eager to start drafting right away, but I've told them that the planning process will ultimately help them know the structural parts of the story.” During the Book Fair this week, each class visited the fair not only to see what books they might want to get, but also to look through books and get inspired by the variety of stories as they prepare to draft their own novels. While the month of November will be heavy on writing, Balin has several fun ideas to keep the students inspired as they go including writing games and guest author visits from some Overlake faculty. 

Balin is excited to bring her background and love of creative writing to class as a departure from more analytical writing to help show her students the wide varieties of writing available to them. “I read a book over the summer about how to help students develop their writing identities, and what stuck with me was the idea that whatever students are reading, they should also be writing,” she says.

While this project may be daunting to some, Balin hopes that her students learn more about who they are as writers and create something they are proud of. “I also hope they realize the determination and curiosity required in planning, drafting, and revising a full-length story,” she says. “Perhaps some students will come away from this experience with the awe of having completed something they didn't think was possible.”

After careful planning and brainstorming this week, students will jump into the writing process next week and write through the month of November. It will be an exciting challenge for everyone. Balin says, “I'm encouraging everyone to have an open mind and remember that this is the first time I've taught this project--we are all embarking on this project together!”