A word from our rising youth star!
Youth Ambassador:Rashida Asante-Eccleston
Ever Heard of “NaNoWriMo”?
The first day of November marked a very important date for many aspiring novelists all across the globe: the first day of NaNoWriMo. What is “NaNoWriMo” you might ask? It stands for National Novel Writing Month, an exciting event in which thousands of people around the world attempt to write a 50,000 page novel in the month of November. It's a crazy but worthwhile challenge to newcomers and experienced writers alike.
Writing a novel in a month is no easy feat and can require a considerable amount of time and energy. So why would anyone want to do it in the first place? The reasons are perhaps as varied as the people who decide to do it. Some might not have written anything before and feel ready to take on the challenge. Some participants may be suffering from a crippling case of writers block and see November as a chance to finally overcome it. Others may just be doing it for the fun of it.
National Novel Writing Month was started by Chris Baty in 1999 and had only 21 participants. The next year a website was made for it and from there the number of participants began to grow until its current number in the thousands. Today, there are people participating in NaNoWriMo around the world. The website, www.nanowrimo.org, provides those participants who sign up with a way to get in touch with others and even attend writing events. In addition to the website, the founder of NaNoWriMo has also written a book, No Plot? No Problem, which can serve as both a guideline and inspiration for those participating in NaNoWriMo.
This year will be my third time taking part in (and hopefully successfully completing) NaNoWriMo. In November 2008, I completed the sequel to a novel that I had completed earlier that year. I had been struggling with coming up with ideas, so NaNoWriMo had provided me with the drive to finally get it written. Everyday after school I would come home, check my email, and then spend anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour trying to get my daily goal of 1,667 words written. This was definitely difficult, as at times I would sit down at the keyboard with absolutely no idea of what I was going to write. Yet at the end of the month, I had somehow completed a novel. I felt good enough to participate in it again the next year, and now I am doing it again this year.
In the end, what one does with their novel is left entirely up to them. If one completes a novel at the end of November they are able to receive some benefits, such as a free proof copy of their book or graphics stating that their success. Some decide to keep their novel to themselves as proof that they were able to complete this great challenge, while others decide to take the next step and get their books edited and published. But beyond all of this, I believe that the greatest part of NaNoWriMo is that satisfaction when you finally finish writing that last word and just sit back in your chair, feeling as if you just ran through the finish line in a great race.
This year is the 11th year of NaNoWriMo, and my third year doing it. This year presents some of the same challenges as before for me, such as struggling to come up with new story lines on the spot, as well as some new ones, like trying to squeeze writing time into my already packed senior year schedule. But some things remain the same: National Novel Writing Month provides me with an opportunity like no other to finally get something written and feel like a member of a global writing community at the same time.
The first day of November marked a very important date for many aspiring novelists all across the globe: the first day of NaNoWriMo. What is “NaNoWriMo” you might ask? It stands for National Novel Writing Month, an exciting event in which thousands of people around the world attempt to write a 50,000 page novel in the month of November. It's a crazy but worthwhile challenge to newcomers and experienced writers alike.
Writing a novel in a month is no easy feat and can require a considerable amount of time and energy. So why would anyone want to do it in the first place? The reasons are perhaps as varied as the people who decide to do it. Some might not have written anything before and feel ready to take on the challenge. Some participants may be suffering from a crippling case of writers block and see November as a chance to finally overcome it. Others may just be doing it for the fun of it.
National Novel Writing Month was started by Chris Baty in 1999 and had only 21 participants. The next year a website was made for it and from there the number of participants began to grow until its current number in the thousands. Today, there are people participating in NaNoWriMo around the world. The website, www.nanowrimo.org, provides those participants who sign up with a way to get in touch with others and even attend writing events. In addition to the website, the founder of NaNoWriMo has also written a book, No Plot? No Problem, which can serve as both a guideline and inspiration for those participating in NaNoWriMo.
This year will be my third time taking part in (and hopefully successfully completing) NaNoWriMo. In November 2008, I completed the sequel to a novel that I had completed earlier that year. I had been struggling with coming up with ideas, so NaNoWriMo had provided me with the drive to finally get it written. Everyday after school I would come home, check my email, and then spend anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour trying to get my daily goal of 1,667 words written. This was definitely difficult, as at times I would sit down at the keyboard with absolutely no idea of what I was going to write. Yet at the end of the month, I had somehow completed a novel. I felt good enough to participate in it again the next year, and now I am doing it again this year.
In the end, what one does with their novel is left entirely up to them. If one completes a novel at the end of November they are able to receive some benefits, such as a free proof copy of their book or graphics stating that their success. Some decide to keep their novel to themselves as proof that they were able to complete this great challenge, while others decide to take the next step and get their books edited and published. But beyond all of this, I believe that the greatest part of NaNoWriMo is that satisfaction when you finally finish writing that last word and just sit back in your chair, feeling as if you just ran through the finish line in a great race.
This year is the 11th year of NaNoWriMo, and my third year doing it. This year presents some of the same challenges as before for me, such as struggling to come up with new story lines on the spot, as well as some new ones, like trying to squeeze writing time into my already packed senior year schedule. But some things remain the same: National Novel Writing Month provides me with an opportunity like no other to finally get something written and feel like a member of a global writing community at the same time.
Rashida Asante-Ecclestan
Rashida contributes to our efforts and encourages anyone she knows to expose their roots because life is the ultimate artform!!
*Rashida attends public high and is a published writer at the age of 17. Her love for travel, drives her to learn languages and with her active writing she hopes to become a successful novelist one day.
*Rashida attends public high and is a published writer at the age of 17. Her love for travel, drives her to learn languages and with her active writing she hopes to become a successful novelist one day.