Excuse My Absence: November Is National Novel Writing Month

For the past couple of years, I have set aside time during the month of November for National Novel Writing Month. Although I've yet to take my "novels" to the next stage to have them published, I have enjoyed the process immensely. One of the highlights of my years of home educating has been to participate in NaNoWriMo with my kids.

I have to thank my kids for this. They were the ones who discovered NaNoWriMo. When my oldest daughter was around 15 and an avid writer, she successfully completed the challenge: writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Her younger siblings, who were only nine and twelve at the time, entered the competition, too. Although they didn't reach the 50,000 word goal that first year, they got a taste for writing that stayed with them.


In subsequent years, all of us returned to NaNoWriMo for another attempt at the prize. More than once, we entered the Winner's Circle, but even when we didn't, we had an opportunity to think about ourselves as writers. We considered what works and what doesn't when it comes to getting past writer's block. We reflected on our individual writing styles, how much planning (if any) would be enough for us to produce a substantial draft, what sort of process would lead to a finished product, and so on.

Some years, my kids continued working after NaNoWriMo ended, either to write the conclusion to a story that wasn't quite done yet or to revise what had already been written. More than once, our family celebrated Christmas with a self-published novel, a precious gift from a budding young writer.

Writing is challenging. Sure, young children can be taught how to form letters by simple imitation, and they can even write a basic sentence without too much grief. But learning how to write well? Now, that requires a substantial amount of effort and practice. To be successful, students must be willing to dedicate themselves to the task.

What I discovered as a home educator was that I couldn't teach my kids to write well until after they had found a good reason to write—not my reason, but a reason of their very own. As with reading, they had to have the desire first, and then they could learn the mechanics.

All three of my kids went through a phase of not wanting to write. It was too hard, they lost confidence, and they were tempted to give up. At that point, what they needed most of all was not an English textbook or more instruction. What they needed was a solid reason to continue working on their writing skills, and my job was to help them find one.

NaNoWriMo was just one of many experiences that encouraged my kids to regard themselves as "people who write." Other experiences included HomeWords (a newsletter written by and for other homeschooled children), the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest (a predecessor to the current PBS Kids Writers Contest), a Dungeons and Dragons handbook, LiveJournal blogging, web-based discussion forums, and online courses that required written participation. None of these experiences were mandated; most weren't even my idea.

When it came to my kids and their writing, the only thing I consistently emphasized was this: writing is simply one of many ways to find your voice and express yourself. When they argued that they could express themselves well in other ways—speaking, drawing, building, dancing singing—I didn't disagree. They could certainly do all of those things, and they did. But, I countered, if you are unable to write well, you will be unable to fully participate in our society. There will be times in your life when the only way to communicate your thoughts, ideas or feelings will be to put them in writing. When those times come, you will be glad you learned how to write well.

Once my kids could see for themselves the value of writing, once they had something they wanted to say that needed to be said in writing, there was no stopping them.