Creative writers at Apple-
ton North and in other high
schools across the globe spent
the month of November com-
posing as they attempted to
complete an entire novel before
Dec. 1.
National Novel Writing
Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a
project in which participants
from 633 regions on nearly
every continent unite with
the common goal of writing a
50,000 page novel solely in the
month of November. Begin-
ning on Nov. 1, participants
were encouraged to write at
least 1,667 words a day, which
is about three pages of writ-
ing, in order to reach the final
word count before the end of
the month.
“It’s an excuse mixed with a
motivator,” said North senior
Skye Iwanski about her first
year doing NaNoWriMo. “It
gets me to make time to write,
which can be hard.”
NaNoWriMo provides par-
ticipants with a great deal of
freedom in the writing process.
Novels can be written on any
topic, and works are broken
down into more than 15 genres,
but authors can choose if they
feel their piece doesn’t fit well
into a single category.
“I have always wanted to do
everything,” said Iwanski about
her piece, which she classified
as action, adventure, mystery,
and fantasy. “I was the kid who
selected all the colors when
drawing, so of course I couldn’t
just write in one genre.”
As well as giving writers
a definitive goal of finishing
their novel, NaNoWriMo also
provides pep talks and sample
prompts on the website for
anyone facing writer’s block.
The website also lends a place
where participants can con-
nect with other writers in their
region, which for Appleton’s
writers is the Fox Valley region.
“NaNoWriMo gives you a
community so you aren’t by
yourself,” said Appleton North
sophomore Jake Zajkowski,
who is participating inNaNoW-
riMo for the third year in a row.
“You can get positive feedback
from other participants, which
is actually helpful since they’re
doing the same thing.”
Writers were encouraged
to finish writing their novels
within the 30 days of Novem-
ber, but it did not need to be
a polished piece. The goal of
NaNoWriMo is to complete a
rough draft; participants can al-
ways go back and polish their
work later, but the purpose is
By Ally Price
Norths
artists
flourish
outside
of school
Creative writers test their skills through novel-writing
C
lassic movies like “The
Breakfast Club” and
even “High School Musi-
cal”, yes, “High School
Musical”, depict the dis-
tinct social groups within
high schools. In each of
these examples there is an
“artsy” group, with the kids
who take the art classes or
act in the school plays. Ap-
pleton North is no different.
We have an accredited
theater program, a well
known music department,
and a variety of art classes.
Students are able to thrive
in the arts at school. How-
ever, there are also students
who walk the halls that are
excelling in the arts com-
pletely independent from
any programs through
North.
NaNoWriMo
students compose
novels in November
Above, North senior and ballet dancer Abbey DesRochers practices her arabesque, and
left, one of sophomore Simon Garb’s signature portraits.
Photo above by Caroline Holmes and photo at left courtesy of Simon Garb.
The 2016 election rivals the
election of 1800 and 1824 as be-
ing the most contentious Presi-
dential election inAmerican his-
tory. For the majority of the past
year, Americans witnessed po-
larizing presidential primaries
which foreshadowed the even
more polarized general election.
Now, it is over.
On Nov. 8, Americans elected
Mr.
Donald
Trump to the
Pr e s i dency
of the Unit-
ed States of
A m e r i c a .
Along with
a seat in the
Oval Office,
Ame r i c a n s
gave Pres-
i den t -El ec t
Trump a Re-
publican House of Represen-
tatives, Senate, and presum-
ably Supreme Court. Secretary
Clinton and President Obama
both congratulated the Presi-
dent-Elect on his victory and
reminded the American people
that they must support a peace-
ful transition of power.
After the electionof President-
Elect Trump, protests broke
out across America and acts of
hate became more numerous.
Whether this is a continual re-
flection of the dissatisfaction of
the American electorate or the
result of Mr. Trump’s campaign
rhetoric is up to discussion, but
what remains clear is that Amer-
ica is in a spot of deep division.
And we, as students, must work
not to let that division affect the
way we treat each other. No
matter the victory or loss of our
favored candidate — kindness
is the answer. No matter the
religion, race, or gender of our
peers — kindness is the answer.
No matter the decisions of our
government — kindness is the
answer.
This is not to say students
should stop advocating and
vocalizing their beliefs; that is
needed nowmore than ever. It is
to say that each person deserves
respect in these conversations.
School is a safe space for all
students. While work to mend
bridges begins at the national
level, Appleton North needs to
do the same locally.
See
Price
, page 2
By Nora Ptacek
See
Mariano
, page 2
Participants of National Novel Writing Month are seen meeting
at the Appleton Public Library to write together.
Photo by Jake
Zajkowski
From art to dance to music, students’ talents reach beyond classroom
Nora Ptacek,
Senior Editor-
in-Chief
Column
By Sophie Mariano
n,
si
December 2016 Vol. XXII
Issue III
Kindness
is always
the answer
nor thnoct . com @Nor thNoct