The NaNoWriMo challenge

PALMER — The month of November has become an annual wave of words across the nation. Writers of all ages unite under the same challenge — to write a novel in 30 Days. The official challenge is sanctioned by the organization, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Caitlin Buxbaum is a Valley raised writer on the path to become an educator. As November approached, she gathered a group of children who accepted the challenge. Buxbaum combined forces with the like-minded educators in Colony Middle School English teacher, Sacha Pettit and Mat-Su Central English teacher, Tricia Kenney.

They all met the day before Halloween and got together three times a week throughout November. Children, ages 11 to 14, spent hours each session writing and comparing their works, and getting feedback from their peers and from their instructors. Some of them would also write at home. The idea was to create as much content as possible, pushing past their “inner editor,” to keep moving forward and meet their 30 day goal. In front of computers, a mix of Colony Middle School students and some home-school students from Mat-Su Central met weekly at the CMS library. On Wednesday, Nov. 29, the students made their finishing touches on their novels.

“It’s very valuable. It’s creating a community of writing,” Kenney said.

The NaNoWriMo website is designed so that the young writers can have their workstation all in one place. There is a word processor, word counter, tips and tricks columns, supportive chat forums, writing prompts from “Dare Machine,” and so on. Some students used NaNoWriMo with Wattpad, the online writing community popular amongst pre-teens and teens. Seeing how invested these young students were this month, Kenney was further motivated to build up the writing program at Mat-Su Central. She noted that young minds need freedom to experiment with ideas and the chance to clarify their thoughts and feelings. She wants to make a “culture of: ‘writing is cool.’”

According to Buxbaum, 16 students registered for the class and 11 committed fully to the challenge. She said that many of them wanted to fashion a writing club after this. She’s witnessed a surge of creativity and stream of words flow from the children this month.

“We need to give kids more credit and they need to give themselves more credit,” Buxbaum said.

As an avid writer, former reporter for the Frontiersman, aspiring novelist and future English teacher, Buxbaum is a firm believer in the power of writing. Admitting her own “bias,” she attributed success in life to effective writing. She’s seen shy students come out of their shells and collaborate with the group. She spends much of her time subbing around the district and is currently working toward her teaching degree. During her freshman year of college, she completed the full 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo. She completed it again in 2015. She’s attempted the annual challenge on and off over the years. This year, she wrote 10,485 words for the challenge.

“It’s not about how busy you are. It’s about how committed you are,” Buxbaum said.

This time around, she was more committed to her students than her own works. As a seasoned NaNoWriMo veteran, she offered feedback and editing services to her group of young writers. The young writers had a few options for how much revision and feedback they wanted for their story. Many of them opted for all of the options, receiving copy editing, advice for plot, character development and so on. Buxbaum recently injured her knee playing soccer and will undergo surgery soon. She said she will be spending Christmas break recovering from surgery and reviewing student papers.

“I think writing is an essential part of life,” Buxbaum said.

The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) began in 1999. For nearly two decades, the annual tradition has grown substantially in popularity. There are officially sanctioned groups and events in cities all over the United States, akin to the one in the CMS library. Some cities hold “Write-a-Thon” events where participants cram several hours of writing into one session. NaNoWriMo seems to gain more momentum each year. They even have a summer camp in some areas for youth to write a novel over the summer.

The adult version calls for 50,000 words to meet the goal, but the Young Writers Program has no set limit. The young writers set their own goal. 4 of the young writers reached their 20,000 word goals. One of the young writers in the CMS library, Kayden Bright, is 11 years old and she kept upping her word count with the deadline approaching. Her friend and fellow writer, Kailyn Beauvais, typically sat next to her each session. They swapped texts and gave each other notes. This experience instilled a literary habit in the two.

“Honestly, I’m friends with the characters,” Beauvais said.

Beauvais crafted a story called “Secrets.” It follows the story of a husband and wife who had a seemingly ideal life until it’s revealed that they murdered someone. The couple and their special horse go on the lam and eventually die, only to have more adventures in Heaven. After the challenge is over, Beauvais will keep writing. She plans to bring one of the characters back to life in her next book, “Reborn.”

An 11-year writer, Quinn Rice has been reading a lot of dystopian novel lately. That’s why he chose to craft a dystopian theme for his NaNoWriMo effort. He made a goal of 5,000 words but reported 1,154 words for this attempt. He’s not discouraged and said he will continue writing after this. He likes coming up with ideas as he goes along. In his story, the main characters are in the process of figuring out what to do next. He does not have a title for his story but has the general idea worked out. He compared writing to dreaming, saying that in a story, anything can happen. “You can make it come to life with the power of words. I like that I have as much knowledge as the characters do,” Rice said.

For more information about the National Novel Writing Month, visit www.nanowrimo.org