Creative Writing Club prepares for NaNoWriMo

– November is right around the corner, and the Creative Writing Club, or just about any avid (or crazy) writer, is preparing for the marathon of a lifetime.

Every Thursday after school, the Creative Writing Club meets in room 4-118. Mrs. Juergens, the sponsor, quietly fades into her daily after school routine as the meeting starts. The shuffling of feet, the clattering of chairs, and muffled voices reduce to mere whispers.

Recently, however, there has been a change – there has been a shift in mood, a change in tone. With less than a week of October left, November is right around the corner.

While most of the student body will be preparing for an upcoming Halloween party, perfecting or gathering makeshift household items for a quick, DIY costume, NaNo-ers will be readying themselves for a 50k marathon. No, writers do not usually run 50ks. NaNoWriMo is a test for your hands and creativity, not your legs. Lets just leave the running to the Cross Country team.

National Novel Writing Month is an annual, virtual (or actual, since libraries and other places hold write-ins) gathering of people from all walks of life, simultaneously deciding to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

The Creative Writing Club has long held workshops for every type of writing: from NaNoWriMo, to prose, to poetry, and even college essays. This school year, in preparation for the arduous challenge ahead, workshops have begun to develop characters, plotlines, and settings alike. The workshops began with IB junior, Dana Garnica, doing a presentation on point of view and perspective. However, there is so much more to cover, as a novel is not just a point of view or perspective.

To all NaNo-ers looking for a place to call home, the Creative Writing Club will be hosting more upcoming workshops.

For more info on National Novel Writing Month, visit nanowrimo.org.