Q: Tavia, you are the Director for NaNoWriMo's Young Writers Program. YWP has a T-shirt this year for the first time ever, and you just lifted the curtain on the brand new YWP website! In the midst of all these innovations, what is most exciting to you about YWP 2008?
A: That the site is being used, the workbooks are being filled out, the lesson plans are being taught, and the T-shirt is being worn . . . by people other than the NaNoWriMo YWP staff and board!
Though these might seem like obvious results of launching a new website, just like when you host a party, there’s always that nagging fear that no one will show up. There’s a chance the food you and your housemates spent all day making won’t get eaten, that your decorations won’t be appreciated, and that no one will play any of games you came up with.
We’re happy to say that people are totally showing up to the NaNoWriMo YWP party this year and, so far, people are having a really good time!
There are already over 200 educators and 710 young writers signed up through the YWP site. Teachers have been writing in with positive feedback about our new lesson plans and workbooks, and the forums are alive with young writers discussing characters, plots, settings, word counts, and their favorite Harry Potter novels. It’s amazing!
I’ve even been sent a few pictures of people wearing the new YWP “I Eat Novels for Breakfast” T-shirt, which makes me so happy. I can’t help but think of participants pouring chocolate flavored mini-novels from a cereal box into a big bowl of cold milk, and proudly donning the shirt as they run off to put in a good day of noveling.
All in all, launching the 2008 YWP website has been the coolest thing that I’ve ever been a part of. I owe huge thanks to the talented team at Todd Blank Design, our illustrator Graham Dobson, the OLL staff, and all our educators on our YWP Editorial Board for helping take our program from great to fantastic.
See you in November!
Tavia