The NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program takes place each year during the month of November, challenging tweens and teens to write a novel in just 30 days. Though a seemingly daunting task, with enough focus, determination, and creativity, a participant of this year’s NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program was able to complete the challenge, exceeding her original word count goal and completing the first draft of her novel.
Zoë’s novel, titled The Lost Divine, is about a young artist named Celeste who finds herself traveling through the universes she creates in her artwork. Her power to paint and then travel to a world born of her own imagination is a thrilling adventure until she realizes her power is a desirable tool that has her questioning who she can trust. Check out an excerpt of The Lost Divine below!
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I try to scream, but the endless black space I’m in seems to swallow up my voice. I need to get out of here. How did I even get here?
Floating in the air, without being at the mercy of gravity, feels strange. Almost like being underwater, but still being able to inhale freely. It’s so quiet too; I don’t think I can hear myself breathe, and the loud pounding of my heart that was echoing through my body has been silenced.
I suddenly see what looks like a bright gap in the darkness. It is distant, but easy to see because everything around me is pitch black. It gives off an eerie yellow glow, and I am startled as I hear a series of sounds. I can detect voices, many of them. They wash through my ears, shouting and whispering and soothing and sobbing. The transition from dead silence to sudden noise stuns me, and I cover my ears.
That’s when I notice the gap in the dark has gotten bigger. Or perhaps, closer.
–from The Lost Divine by Zoë L.
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Be sure to also take a look at Zoë’s vision board that she created for her novel, pictured above! What aspects of the novel can you find in the collage?
Congrats to Zoë and all the participants of this year’s NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program!