Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 22nd

WRITING PROMPT (In case you missed our meeting last week)

THINK:  Where does your story take place?  Is there more than one location?  Examples:  A ghost town in the wild old west.  A contemporary metropolis.  A medieval household.  A made-up fantasy land.  Aboard a vessel, such as a spaceship, in the far-off future.

WRITE:  Where does your story take place?  How does this location influence your story?

DO:  Sketch a map of your setting.  Examples:  Draw the layout of a city.  Draw an island.  Draw outer space.   Draw the inside of a bedroom or house.

THINK:  When does your story take place?  Is there more than one time frame?

WRITE:  Describe this time zone.  Over a weekend?  A month?  A year?  Several years?  Examples:  18th century?  Future?  How does this time frame influence your story?

DO: Go to the YWP Nanowrimo website and create a username and password.  

                                                                      http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

Next Meeting - Tuesday, October 15th

The Young Writer's NaNoWriMo site is open.  Create (or update) your user account. Download the writer's workbook and begin working through the pages.

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

19 Days and counting!

October 3, 2013

Countdown to NaNoWriMo 2013!!!

Welcome, students, to our Novel Writing Club!  We are preparing for the upcoming NaNoWriMo.  Here are the writing prompts from our first meeting on October 1st.  Write them in your notebook and begin brainstorming your NaNo Novel!

Prompt #1

What do I want to say? (Example:  What is my story about in five – 10 words)
Example:  My story is about a girl who learns to forgive her grandfather before he dies.

Prompt #1

What do I want to say? (Example:  What is my story about in five – 10 words)
Example:  My story is about a girl who learns to forgive her grandfather before he dies.

Prompt #2

Who is my main character?  (Protagonist)
What does he/she want?
Example:  My character’s name is Alyssa.  She is 13 years old.  She is unhappy living with her grandfather and wants to leave.


Prompt #3

What is antagonizing my character?  (Antagonist)
Example:  Alyssa is unhappy because her father is in jail and her mother died, leaving her to live with her grandfather, whom she does not like.


Prompt #4

Who is your main character’s confidante (friend)?
Example:  Alyssa keeps to herself and talks to no one – except her dog Ralphie.   



Prompt #5

Where does the story take place?  (Location, time, season)
Example:  This story takes place in the 1970s during the Vietnam War.  It is Spring (March) in Massachusetts.


Prompt #6

How do you think your story might end?
Example: Alyssa’s grandfather falls and breaks his leg, and as she takes care of him, she realizes has been blaming him for her parents’ mistakes.  She learns to forgive them, and him.

Coming Soon - NaNoWrimo 2013!

It's time to gear back up again for another NaNoWriMo event!  Our Novel Writing Club will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, October 1st, in Rm. 7.  I'm pursuing my graduate degree, so I haven't decided if I will participate this year, but I will definitely be there for each of you as your club sponsor.

Now that we've completed our first month of school (yikes - that was the quickest August in history!), it's time to think about your story ideas.

• Theme
• Characters
• Plot

Dust off that design notebook, create a new folder on your laptop, and start the investigating and planning processes.  

See you in October!

Back Up Your Data

Hello, Wrimos!

Today is "Back Up Your Data Day"!  There are several ways to do this.

1.  Send yourself an email and attach your files to it.
2.  Create a dropbox account:  www.dropbox.com
3.  Save to external hard drive or USB drive.

Next meeting - Tuesday, November 20th.

Keep writing!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Hello, Wrimos!

I'm totally remiss in blogging during this year's NaNoWriMo.  Suffice to say this school year has been the busiest ever for me.  I teach seven classes daily, which leaves little time to blog, nevermind write!  However, no excuses - I've found a way to write 10,000 words so far, so I'm still involved and still your fearless club sponsor!

Reminder:  Don't forget to wear your club t-shirts tomorrow (Tuesday).
Meeting:  3:45p - 5:00p, Rm. 7.
Update:  Make sure you add your word count to our class profile on the ywp.nanowrimo.org website.
Assignment:  Read this blog by Amy Fellner Dominy about the NaNoWriMo process.
Weekly Journal


And now, here's a snippet of my NaNoNovel...



Call me right away, Carlie. Important!!!

I knew it. My mother cancelled. Again. I read the text message for the fifth time, then silenced my cellphone, and stuck it in the pocket of my uniform blazer. So much for promises to keep promises.

I watched the crowd of girls in plaid skirts and navy blazers gather for pictures on the front steps of my school - Brenham Preparatory Academy for Girls. They stood beside their parents, holding bouquets of spring flowers with pink ribbons, posing for pictures, smiling. And I stood across from them on the sidewalk, trying to suppress the familiar ache that rose from the pit of my stomach and stuck to the back of my throat like paste.

Counting Down to NaNoWriMo - 11 Days!

Ok, Wrimos!  It's time to get serious!  It's time to think about...

• Protagonists...
• Plots...
• Antagonists...
• Conflicts and resolutions...

And t-shirts!  Yes, t-shirts!  We're ordering club t-shirts and will choose the design on Tuesday!  You can wear them on Tuesdays (our club meeting days) and on the first and last day of NaNoWriMo.  Otherwise, wear your school uniform (I know, I know - ewww!)

See you Tuesday.

Mrs. P.