Young writers learn the craft at weekend seminar at public library

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

How many kids does it take to make a million words?

That’s what the Watauga County Library hopes to find out by the end of November.

Nearly 50 young writers, ages 8 to 17, have signed up to help push the library’s word-a-meter to the boiling point, as they will each seek to write novels during NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is a national novel-writing month, started in San Francisco in 1999.

It has since grown to reach communities and libraries across the world, both as a literacy effort and a way to inspire writers to freely put as many words on paper as possible.

Last year, 13 Watauga teens participated, logging more than 300,000 words.

Julie Hedrick, children’s services librarian who is spearheading the project, said though the program officially starts Nov. 1, anyone can sign up to participate. A handful of teen writers last year completed their 50,000-word novels, and some are back for a second round this year.

Justin Daly, an eleventh grader at Watauga High School, said he wrote 35,000 words last year, which he said was “half a book.”

His goal this year is to write the other half and finish it.

Daly said he wanted to be either a teacher or a writer and began writing in the seventh grade.

As one of the returning participants, Daly received a T-shirt about the program, emblazoned with “Can You Handle It?”

Rosi Goetz, a sixth grader at Hardin Park Elementary, said, “I’m taking it because I want to write.”

A voracious reader, she is working on a fantasy story for her NaNoWriMo project.

“What excites me about it is there’s no credit, no grade and no accolades of any kind,” Hedrick said. “These are kids who want to write voluntarily.”

The friends of the Watauga County Library help support the program by providing food and materials for a couple of workshops designed to help get the plot stews simmering and the creative juices flowing.

Participants are challenged to write daily for the entire month, with a culmination on Dec. 1 of a potluck supper and brief readings by the young writers.

Hedrick said the writers also create a mutual support group, and she has a thermometer-style drawing to measure the cumulative word counts.

While some meet their 50,000-word goal, Hedrick said each person has to create an individual goal, so there are no winners or losers.

“The goal at this age is to write more than you’ve ever written before,” she said.

“I’m impressed with what the kids accomplished.”

Hedrick, who participates as a writer herself, said, “I was very surprised at how much discipline it took and the support they gave each other,” Though the youngsters write in different genres, they are respectful of each other’s material.

Ursula Wood, an eleventh grader, met her 50,000-word target last year and hopes to do the same again. “I did it last year and had a lot of fun,” Wood said. “I really like writing.”

Anyone interested in joining can call the Children’s services desk at the library. Information about National Novel Writing Month can be found at www.nanowrimo.org.