Genoa Middle School teachers Deanna McDaniel, Emily Minney, Tracy Jados, Pooja Shah, Melissa Palmore and their students were extremely busy during November, creating their own novels for NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month). This year, Genoa pupils wrote 1,340,952 words in 30 days. That is 655,762 more words than they wrote last year.
Students wrote by hand, on computers, and on their devices. Some even used the voice-typing feature available in Google Docs. They also took advantage of the Westerville City School District’s Google Drive, which enabled them to access their stories and keep writing from multiple devices like phones and tablets. Pupils used Web 2.0 tools to communicate with other student writers and their teachers, received e-mail from authors participating in NANOWRIMO, and participated in word wars with other children.
Each participant received a certificate that stated, “Congratulations, writer! This November, your novel called and you answered – with bold nouns, fearless verbs, and a hidden power all of your own: the courage to sit down and write, no matter what the odds. Because of your heroic efforts, the streets are once again safe for every character you dream up, the evils of the Inner Editor are vanquished for another year…and you have triumphed over your word-count goal. We’re proud to have been a part of your origin story, Super-Novelist. Onward to the next adventure!”