The NaNoWriMo FAQs
UPDATE 2025: Although the NaNoWriMo non-profit is shutting down, this site will continue to offer resources for those who want to support young writers through the challenge of writing a novel.
Before we dig into the details, here is why NaNoWriMo was the curriculum for our entire fall semester:
Now for the FAQs:
Q: What is NaNoWriMo?
A: National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo) is a challenge to writers world-wide to pen an entire novel (50,000 words) in the month of November. It is "thirty days and nights of literary abandon."
Q: But my students are too young! Surely they can't write a novel of 50,000 words in a month!
Before we dig into the details, here is why NaNoWriMo was the curriculum for our entire fall semester:
- it is a powerful writing project (that addresses myriad writing standards);
- it can be the catalyst for addressing reading and literary analysis standards as well;
- it provides many opportunities for students to learn and practice digital literacies and citizenship in the online world;
- it can even help develop students' empathy;
- it turns students into enthusiastic, engaged, thoughtful writers AND readers.
Now for the FAQs:
Q: What is NaNoWriMo?
A: National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo) is a challenge to writers world-wide to pen an entire novel (50,000 words) in the month of November. It is "thirty days and nights of literary abandon."
Q: But my students are too young! Surely they can't write a novel of 50,000 words in a month!
A: True! 50,000 words is a serious challenge for adult writers! But the Young Writers Program (YWP) of NaNoWriMo offers tips to help students choose appropriate word goals no matter their age, making the NaNoWriMo challenge accessible to all.
Q: But a NOVEL, really? My students hate to write!
A. Do your students hate to write, or do they hate to write when teachers tell them what to write? The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that students choose the genre, characters, plot line, conflicts -- they have all power and control over their writing! And then they rapidly build their writing skills because they are fully engaged in crafting a lengthy story that they want to write. Check out these 8th graders' enthusiastic responses to NaNoWriMo:
A. Do your students hate to write, or do they hate to write when teachers tell them what to write? The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that students choose the genre, characters, plot line, conflicts -- they have all power and control over their writing! And then they rapidly build their writing skills because they are fully engaged in crafting a lengthy story that they want to write. Check out these 8th graders' enthusiastic responses to NaNoWriMo:
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Q: But I've never written a novel! How could I possibly help my students do that?
A. The YWP provides all kinds of support for teachers and students, including lesson plans, workbooks, pep talks from published authors and motivational posters to support you and your young writers throughout the entire month of November (and beyond).
Q: OK, that sounds pretty good. But I'm still wondering if my students would be willing to write that much for a whole month. How do I motivate them?
A. The YWP provides all kinds of support for teachers and students, including lesson plans, workbooks, pep talks from published authors and motivational posters to support you and your young writers throughout the entire month of November (and beyond).
Q: OK, that sounds pretty good. But I'm still wondering if my students would be willing to write that much for a whole month. How do I motivate them?
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A: Unlike most writing assignments, NaNoWriMo is designed as a challenge to reach a specific (individualized) goal by the end of the month. To help my students stay motivated, we divided their word goal by ten, and rather than waiting until the end of the month, we celebrated at each 10% milestone. Students marked each 10% success on a poster on our bulletin board, and I distributed prizes at the halfway and 100% marks. You could seek donations from parents, your school PTSA, your local bookstore, community members, etc. to buy small prizes that your students might like, such as stickers, buttons, pencils, erasers and notebooks.
Another fun motivation is to have students create their own graph where they can plot the number of words they write each day so they can see their progress compared to their target throughout the month:
Another fun motivation is to have students create their own graph where they can plot the number of words they write each day so they can see their progress compared to their target throughout the month:
But possibly the best motivation of all is that students may publish their novels through Blurb.com, which means their books can be sold on Amazon! Now that's a sweet motivation, don't you think?
Novels by Laura's students are in her classroom library.
Here's another idea: maybe your administration would be willing to offer some additional motivation. My principal visited my classes and told them she was going to join NaNoWriMo, too, so she would learn to write a novel with them. She also promised a pizza party to all students who met their goals, and she joined us in class to work on her novel with us. They loved seeing her struggle through the writing process, and they shared their stories and struggles with her out on the yard at break and lunch. They discovered the joys of being part of a writing community, even with their teacher and principal.
Q: Now you've got my attention! Published copies of my students' writing? Adults on campus who write with them? Very cool! But here's a catch -- what about the state-mandated Common Core Standards?
A: Yes, NaNoWriMo is Common Core-ready! Go here for novel-writing curriculum that is tied to those CCS.
Learn more about NaNoWriMo's Young Writer's Program here:
Q: Now you've got my attention! Published copies of my students' writing? Adults on campus who write with them? Very cool! But here's a catch -- what about the state-mandated Common Core Standards?
A: Yes, NaNoWriMo is Common Core-ready! Go here for novel-writing curriculum that is tied to those CCS.
Learn more about NaNoWriMo's Young Writer's Program here:
- reThinkELA podcast: Getting Students Excited to Write with NaNoWriMo
- PBS Learning Media webinar: Inspiring Young Authors: For the Love of Lit
- And from this Educator Innovator webinar:
- And from this KQED Mind/Shift video:
- And from this National Writing Project podcast/video:
