Back to School: Interview with Teresa Lyons, 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 Teresa Lyons , a long-time writer and teacher going on her 23rd year.

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

A: High school creative writing, 9-12 graders, whole class, semester long elective. Previously, I used it with my 7th & 8th graders, whole class, during our narrative unit.

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

A: 5+ 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 begin quick writes in September as we go over story elements. Then we take those and select several to blow up to completed short stories. In mid-October, we begin prepping for NaNoWriMo using elements from the provided pre-writing book and writer’s workshop. We create our novellas in November and then do edits and turn in a sample of the work, called a NaNoWriMo First Look, in December. If I had the kids all year, I would wait and do the edits in January but I don’t have that option.

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

A: During November, we write a full class period four days a week. On Fridays, we have writers’ groups for 20-25 minutes, where students can talk about their stories, share excerpts, discuss any issues they are having, etc. Then when writers’ groups are over, they have the rest of the period (about 30 minutes) to apply any feedback they got in their writers’ groups and to continue working on their stories.

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

A: Students are allowed to choose their own word count as long as it meets or is above the class minimum. The minimum is 5,000-8,000 words, depending on the class. I also participate in NaNoWriMo and set a higher goal, typically 10,000-15,000 words depending on what their minimum is. If they beat my goal, they get a little prize and bragging rights for outwriting me.

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

A: My students get two grades for NaNoWriMo. One is a grade for the word count. They get whatever their percentage is as their word count grade. This goes in the classwork grading category of my grade book (which is a small category to begin with). The other grade they get is for their NaNoWriMo First Look. For this assignment, they turn in revised and edited excerpts of their novel for me to grade. They create a book cover, a synopsis of the novel, and then hand in their best examples of indirect characterization, the main conflict, meaningful dialogue, the climax, and their favorite scene.

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

A: Since my class is only a semester long, we begin revisions a few days into December. They revise and edit specifically to create their NaNoWriMo First Look assignment. I have always wanted to publish their writings in a book but the timing doesn’t work out. If there was someplace we could just submit the PDFs when they are done with them, then I might be able to pull off getting it published.

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

A: Be super excited and start talking it up early. I introduce it the first week of school and the students can tell I am pumped up about it. I refer to it often and I call it their “Great American Novella”. My excitement helps them be more excited about it.

I assure my students who might be anxious about it that they will have several weeks in October to prep and plan out their story. I tell them that they will have characters planned, the basic plot line mapped out, and so on. I also do story starter quick writes with my students and a lot of them use one of those as a bouncing off point for their novella.

The fact that I write with the kids really motivates them because I am not asking them to do something that I can’t or won’t do. Also, some just really want to outwrite me. I always give the ones who do a little wooden ornament that says NaNoWriMo and the year on one side and I outwrote Mrs. Lyons on the other side.

When I did this with my 7-8th graders, I would do two Write Ins, one at the beginning and one at the end of November. I would take over a big room after school and they could come and write for a few hours. I ordered pizza and sodas. They loved it. Even if they weren’t always writing, they were talking about their stories and bouncing ideas off of each other (even if they didn’t realize it). Those who wanted to focus brought in headphones and listened to music while they wrote.

I let my students listen to their own music while they write. What works for me when writing may not work for them and visa versa. They really appreciate being able to do this.

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: I have been fortunate that my admin has always been at least somewhat supportive. When I did this with my middle schoolers (7-8th graders), it was part of a regular ELA class. I timed my narrative unit to be October and November. I would give them one class day a week to write and then their only homework from me was working on their NaNoWriMo. I never had any pushback or complaints.

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

A: The most meaningful thing that they take away is the sense of accomplishment at doing it, meeting their word goal. No other writing assignment seems overwhelming when you have written a 7,000ish word novella. The kids who think there is no way that they can do this and then do, the confidence it gives them lasts for years. I have had previous 7-8th graders reach out to me when they are in high school to let me know that while their classmates might be panicking over a three page paper, they are stressed a bit because they know they can write that because they have and so much more.

My favorite memory of NaNoWriMo has to be the Write Ins I did when I was at the middle school. All those kids coming together, on their own time, sharing their stories and ideas and just so excited about what they were doing. It was great.

Mrs. Lyons is a teacher going on her 23rd year, but she has been a writer much longer than that. She currently teaches high school, senior English and creative writing, but most of her career has been spent at the middle school level teaching 6-8th grade ELA. She is excited to bring NaNoWriMo to her students every year and to be given the chance to write as well. Mrs. Lyons has been working on a book during NaNoWriMo that she needs to finish soon because her youngest daughter wants to know what happens to all of the characters.