Looking for some great inspiration for writing programs as you plan your November calendar? Check out YALSA’s programming HQ for some engaging ideas to help celebrate NaNoWriMo. For more information on National Novel Writing month visit the site here. This initiative is in its 19th year as the ‘largest writing event in the world’. Individuals, classrooms, teams, and more ‘come together’ across the globe virtually and through writing to start a 50,000 word novel. Skills including setting and achieving milestones, confidence building, and story writing are just some of the many outcomes of being a part of this super exciting project!
Even if teens at your library aren’t into writing a novel, chances are one of these writing programs will interest them!
Here’s a few to get you started:
- Zine Making & Story Sharing (New!) by Heather Colby, Teen Services Coordinator, Homer Township Public Library
Description: An event focusing on creativity, writing, and zine making was centered around the teen graphic memoir Little Fish: A Memoir from a Different Kind of Year by Ramsey Beyer. This program was generously funded through a Teen Read Week grant supported by YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
- Poetry & Fiction by Jennifer Parker, Media Specialist, East Hall Middle School
Description: Have students write a poem from the perspective of a fiction character in a book. This ties fiction, poetry, and writing together. Optional: Do a contest where teens guess what character from what book the poem is written and give away a prize for who gets the most poems right.
- www :] thewebcomicproject. by Pamela Rellstab, Teen Librarian, Defiance Public Library
Description: www:]thewebcomicproject. is a three-day event encompassing the concept, development, and creation of a webcomic. Each meeting will last 1-2 hours.
The YALSA Programming HQ would like to showcase even more teen writing programs! If you have one to submit, visit the site here: http://hq.yalsa.net, create an account to login and select the ‘post a program’ button. Sharing your program with others is a great way to grow the successes you’ve already experienced with others and help everyone get ready to celebrate a month of writing, no matter how teens choose to do it!
