Back to School: Interview with Meredith Towne, Young Writers Program Educator

NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program helps over 85,000 kids, teens, teachers, and families set creative goals and tell stories they care about. We asked some of our amazing YWP educators to share how they take on the NaNoWriMo challenge in their classroom. Today’s advice comes from Meredith Towne, a high school English teacher in New York City!

Q: What grade/ age level do you work with? What type of NaNoWriMo group is it (whole class, club, homeschool, elective, etc.)?

A: 12th. Whole class (ELA 12, general education and ICT)

Q: How long have you been doing NaNoWriMo with your students?

A: 7 years

Q: How do you structure the entire project (for example, do you start prepping in October and write in November, do you have kids work on it all year, etc.)?

A: We do 2 weeks of prep in October, write in November, revise 10 pages in December (2500-3k words). This year we had workbooks for all our students which was a huge help.

Q: What does a normal NaNoWriMo day look like for your students?

A: In November students come in and write. Teachers do 1:1 check-ins. With holidays sometimes students only get 13 class days (60 min each) so every moment is precious.

Q: How do you set and manage word-count goals?

A: We conference and since Covid have let students choose their goals and have pushed less. Usually we challenge 10k, 20k or 30k+ goals.

Q: How do you manage grading? Do you grade?

A: We do 4 progress checks where students are to meet the word count goal for that day. This is a participation grade. The revision is then graded as a summative assessment for all of our core competencies. I also love the YWP portal. It has become easy to track student progress and coordinate with co-teachers.

Q: How do you approach revision/ publishing (if at all)?

A: 10 pages, a section of choice. Bookcreator.com is an amazing tool for creating a cover and cool layout. We do a public share as well.

Q: Any NaNoWriMo tips or tricks to share with other educators? Hard-won lessons? Ah-ha moments?

A: Get the workbooks. Don’t grade down for not meeting goal. Progress not perfection. In our classes students have to write at least 1500 words to be eligible to revise. If they have not met goals they move to an alternative assessment we have designed that aligns with our competency skills.

Q: Have you ever run into resistance from your administration about doing NaNoWriMo, and if so, how did you manage it? What do you say to people who don’t see the point of having students write novels?

A: No, never an issue. It has become one of the things lower classmen are warned about in Ms. Towne’s class! 😀 I love this legacy.

Q: What are the most meaningful things you or your students take away from the project? What’s your best NaNoWriMo memory?

A: One of the students who did NaNo in 2017 is starting a MFA in creative writing. This is the same kid who told me his senior year he didn’t want to go to college. I credit NaNo!

Meredith Towne is a high school English teacher in New York City. She has challenged her Seniors to win NaNoWriMo YWP for the last 7 years. Meredith especially loves writing along with her students so they can see her walk the walk. She does her best writing early in the morning and can be found in her classroom before the sun comes up in November to write.