DANFORTH, Maine — Two East Grand School students and one teacher produced their very own novels of at least 50,000 words each during November. They were recognized for their accomplishment Dec. 1 along with 14 other students and three teachers who also set significant writing goals for November.
Students John Massey and Aaron Henn and Ed Tech 3 Michael LaReaux each earned winner’s certificates by unleashing their creativity through the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge — a literary crusade that encourages aspiring novelists to write a 50,000-word novel in just one month. Massey, Henn and LaReaux accepted NaNoWriMo certificates that document their arduous writing tasks. Fourteen other students and three other teachers earned writer’s certificates for their individual goals of novels containing fewer words.
School pride
LaReaux, who helped spearhead participation by students and faculty in the writing challenge said: “I’m so proud, I could bust. These kids are terrific.” Principal David Apgar said this year the school achieved “the biggest participation we’ve ever had.” And, he added, “it was pretty awesome” since interest grew over three years from a couple of teachers and high school students to “having students in sixth and seventh grade to not only start but actually finish their own novels. And to have two high school students to actually meet the 50,000 word goal – that’s pretty good.”
The writers speak out
First-time novelist Massey is a 10th-grader whose story, “Promises Kept,” is set in Florida where he lived before moving to Maine. It revolves around a 16-year-old juvenile delinquent who manages to turn around his life and keep promises he makes in the process. Massey said writing a novel was always a goal and not only will he enter NaNoWriMo again next year, but, he adds, he will probably keep writing past high school. Just a week ago, he said, he had written only 30,000 words but he caught up. “It was hard. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, academically,” said the teenager.
Aaron Henn, an 11th-grader, who finished a 50,000-word novel for the second year in a row said: “The hardest part was just sitting down and making sure I concentrated and focused completely on it.” His espionage-war-thriller, “Archangel X3Z,” is about a young man who learns to love the freedom of the skies and becomes a fighter pilot like his father who died in an accident. Henn said he, too, hopes to become a fighter pilot and writing the story “was cool because last year everyone was pumped” about his accomplishment. “This year I got a lot of people into it and I just wanted to make sure I finished for everybody else.”
LaReaux’s story this year, “Almost A Teacher,” is about a young professional’s first year on the job. He entered NaNoWriMo in 2002 before he moved to Maine. When he went to work at East Grand, he managed to get one other teacher to enter and they generated student interest by posting their progress chart with word-count updates. The second year, a few students signed up for the challenge and this year it expanded with the Young Writers Program which allows younger students to set more realistic goals. Of the 14 students in the younger category, seven met their goals including Massey’s younger sister, 8th-grader Emily, who won for reaching her goal. LaReaux cited another eighth-grader, Nick Gray, who would not enter last year but reached his goal of 10,000 words this year.
Throwing down the gauntlet
LaReaux says he’s challenging Hodgdon and Houlton schools to a “word war” in 2009. “We had two novelists here.” He says he wants to see how many they can produce. NaNoWriMo, founded in 1999 with just 21 participants, has grown to more than 100,000 writers in 80 countries and stresses fun and creativity over publication, although 24 novelists have been published. One of them produced “Water for Elephants,” a New York Times best-seller, that hit the top of the charts. Information about NaNoWriMo is available on their Web site at www.NaNoWriMo.org.
