It’s November 1st already! Where did the year go? The good news is, with November comes National Novel Writing Month – it’s NaNoWriMo time again! Write a novel this month.
My husband and I will each be working on a book this month. Unlike my hubby, I’m a nonfiction writer, so I’ll be working on my Geek Schooling book. In the past, any number of family members would be writing a novel at this time, including our two children. (I should remind my daughter that it’s Nanowrimo time – she’s away at college but still may want to participate.)
What is NaNoWriMo?
In case you’ve never heard of it, National Novel Writing Month happens every year in November. The challenge is to write a novel this month – yes an entire novel in only 30 days. Start November 1st and finish by midnight on November 30th. People of all ages are participating in NanoWriMo all around the world! The best part is, everyone wins. Meet your word count and get a certificate of participation at the end of the 30 days.
The Young Writers Program
There are many free tools available on the sites to help write your novel, that homeschoolers will especially enjoy. If your child is under 13, send them to the How NaNoWriMo Works for Young Writers page! Visit the How NaNoWriMo Works for Educators page for for lesson plans and workbooks for all grade levels – these can be used at any time of year, too. Adults must write a full 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program allows writers who are 17 years old and younger to set reasonable, yet challenging, word-count goals.
If your child is 13 or older, they can opt to sign up on the main site at www.nanowrimo.org. Just remember that they will have to meet the goal of 50,000 words since the adult site doesn’t allow you to set your own word-count goal.
You and your child can have fun and encourage each other by writing a novel alongside each other all month long. Our children started writing for NaNoWriMo when they were very young. Which also reminds me, I should dig out their early writings for some nostalgic fun this month.
Who will write a novel this month and take the NaNoWriMo challenge in your family? Please let me know in the comments below! Happy writing everyone!
Love, Luck &
Laughter,
Kimberly
