“By far one of the most interesting things about the human race is the way we communicate with each other. Not only have we created our own personal method of speaking with everyone, but we’ve also elevated communication beyond the basics.” These were not words written by Oscar Wilde or James Joyce but rather by Parker sophomore Tess Wayland. These were the opening lines of the novel that Wayland wrote in seventh grade for the NaNoWriMo 2016 event. 

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it is an opportunity for students fifth grade and up to write a novel in a month. This year’s NaNoWriMo group is comprised of 70 students. NaNoWriMo is a club that meets once a week for a month straight. It is completely voluntary and all work for it needs to be done outside of school time. “NaNoWriMo provides these students with a sense of community,” Eric Rampson, a library assistant and the head of the Parker NaNoWriMo program, said.

NaNoWriMo is important because it “gives them a space to think about writing as something other than schoolwork,” Rampson said. He believes that, because up until middle school these students have only ever thought of writing as schoolwork, it’s important to give them a space to write that is not for a grade. 

The NaNoWriMo club meets every Friday in the month of November. Everyone who is participating meets in the library and engages in a write-in or other activities. The club meetings are productive, but students also have fun at them. “I just remember laughing and typing really fast,” Wayland said. The purpose of the weekly meetings is to get help with your writing and interact with other kids who are participating in NaNoWriMo. “The librarians did a great job of creating a supportive environment where you felt comfortable taking risks,” Wayland said. 

Wayland participated in the NaNoWriMo program for all three years of middle school. NaNoWriMo “created a good work ethic for me,” Wayland said. The structure of the program is very individualistic and self-motivated, making participation voluntary. “It was the structure of a competition that made it very engaging,” Wayland said. 

“The book I am writing about right now is about a girl who is playing a game and the stuff she imagines comes to life,” Lula Notz, a sixth-grader and current participant in NaNoWriMo, said. Last year she had a word count goal of 8,000 words, and this year her goal is 10,000 words. This year is Notz’s second year participating in NaNoWriMo. 

When Notz is starting a book for NaNoWriMo, she tries “to not really plan what I am going to write about and just start writing and not doubt myself and just write as fast I can and usually it evolves into something I really like,” Notz said. In NaNoWriMo you write “so fast that the little editor in your head doesn’t have time to tell you it’s bad,” Rampson said. 

“I tried writing books outside of NaNoWriMo, but I just stop doing it because I don’t feel the pressure to do it,” Notz said. According to Notz, NaNoWriMo provides the right amount of pressure so that you get things done. 

There are currently 78 books in the library written by Parker’s middle and upper school students. “After this month, we will have over 100 books published,” Rampson said. In order to be published, you just need to reach your personal goals. Fifth-grade participants need a minimum of 8,000 words to be published. Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade participants need a minimum of 10,000 words. There are currently no upper school students participating, but if there were, there would be a 12,000-word minimum. If a student has participated before, the word minimum is higher.

“I think it will be harder to do in high school because I will have more homework, but until I don’t have enough time to do it, I will definitely do it,” Notz said. 

“It’s not the type of thing I would ever have time for again in high school,” Wayland said. “But it was really a great experience for me then because I think that you got the chance to be around kids who are similar to you.”