![]() "What I have gained the most from my time with SNHU is a sense of accomplishment and fearlessness," she said. I can create more diverse worlds and characters." "That gives me a greater pool of knowledge to draw on as a writer. "The more I learn about different cultures, history, science, philosophy and all of the other excellent subjects that SNHU offers, the more I grow as a person and as a citizen of the world," Burinda said. This was the perfect warm-up experience to prepare me for the program."īurinda said her education has also provided many unique skills, which she has utilized to become a more polished writer. "I think it prepared me for how to think about fitting the MFA into my life and it gave me a safe place to explore, play and practice. ![]() "For an aspiring writer, the discipline I gained from this experience was profound," Stevens said. "I did, however, write an amazing 57,000 words in 30 days, which is more words than I have ever written for a single project, and I'm only about a third of the way finished with the draft." "It was painful, of course, because you have to drag every word kicking and screaming onto the page and turn off the part of your brain that wants to backspace," said Pearson. "The November NaNoWriMo is like the sporting event of the year for us," she said.įor Pearson and Stevens, participating for the first time, NaNoWriMo's greatest benefit came through the accomplishment itself. Many of those techniques she's developed through NaNoWriMo and her writing groups. ![]() Still, she said it's been a struggle to find the right tools to make writing comfortable. ![]() I always told stories to myself, but it wasn't until I learned how to type that I was able to express what I saw in my head."īurinda soon discovered many bestselling authors have also overcome dyslexia. "More than that, when I was a child, dyslexia was seen as laziness or a behavior problem. For Burinda, who has become an annual NaNoWriMo winner, each win carries added significance. Of course, with every superpower comes an adversity to overcome. Trust me they will look at you as if you have superpowers." "As they say at the NaNoWriMo website, after you get done you will be able to brag to your friends and family that you just completed a book. "There is nothing like the feeling of creativity humming through you," said Amy Burinda, Pearson's peer in the online bachelor's in creative writing and English program. for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel." 30 each year.Īccording to NaNoWriMo website,, the annual event is geared toward "valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline. The project is geared to do just that, helping those struggling to find the time, motivation or confidence to write a novel by challenging them to pen 50,000 words between 12 a.m. I found I really liked the experience and making the time became the highlight of my day." Could I even write fiction? So I started small, with little scenes and snippets where I'd free write for 20 or 30 minutes. "However, this spring I decided to enroll in our MFA program and suddenly had a crisis of confidence. "(NaNoWriMo) was a bucket list item, but one I never really thought I would get to," she said. Similarly, Amy Stevens, vice president of Academic Resources and Communication at SNHU, said NaNoWriMo presented her with a much-needed confidence builder as she embarked on the school's new online MFA in Creative Writing program. "This year is the first November since I switched to a creative writing major (at SNHU), and I felt like competing in NaNo was the first big leap to getting over my near-crippling fear of rejection and failure," she said. Though she established a NaNoWriMo account five years ago, she neglected the challenge until this year, when she became a NaNoWriMo winner, meaning she completed the goal of 50,000 words written. Jade Pearson is one such writer who can now call herself a novelist. The number this year is likely even higher, including dozens of past and present Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) students, who sought to follow Gruen's path to success. The result, "Water for Elephants," was published in 2006, spent 12 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List - reaching as high as seventh - and earned countless accolades while also being adapted into a 2011 major motion picture starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz.Įstablished in 1999 with 21 aspiring novelists, NaNoWriMo was embraced by 384,126 participants in 2016. Two years after being laid off from her full-time job as a technical writer, fledgling novelist Sara Gruen engaged in a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days as part of National Novel Writers Month, or NaNoWriMo. Tuition & Financial Aid Tuition & Financial Aid.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |