Bring out the writers on your yearbook staff with these November motivational tips

You can inspire your yearbook staff to write and come up with stories using these ideas for November. The type of writing might be a little different than yearbook writing, but it may get your writers to thinking about different angles to annual topics.

For Family Stories Month, have your staff write short feature articles on interesting aspects of their family, like an etiquette-breaking tradition of throwing the foil from baked potatoes into the trash can from the dinner table to see who makes it. It may generate story ideas. Consider doing this project on Nov. 15, which is I Love to Write Day.

For National Novel Writing Month, have everyone write the first page of a novel they might like to write someday. For more information on this day, go to www.nanowrimo.org/.

Let your staff try some promotional-type writing for National Teens Don’t Text and Drive Week Nov. 21-27. Or, make plans to cover some group in the school that is organizing an event for this week.

Turkey is associated with November, but it is also National Peanut Butter Lovers Month. Have some staff members bring in their favorite peanut butter foods, such as cookies, dips and Asian dishes.

International Tongue-Twister Day is Nov. 7, but you can choose any day to have a tongue twister session, because laughing is good for you. If you need some to start, try www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm.

World Kindness Week, Nov. 8-15, is a great time for the staff to write thank you notes to secretaries, principals, janitors, parents, teachers or anyone who has helped them with yearbook this year.

If your staff did a great job getting work done before Thanksgiving, let them unwind for National Game and Puzzle Week, Nov. 21-28. Have on hand a few board or card games or crossword or jigsaw puzzles.

Get rid of grumpiness by making thankful turkeys. Have each person trace their hand, with fingers spread, on brown construction paper to make a turkey. Cut it out, then have them cut out feathers using autumn-colored construction paper. Write what they are thankful for, both yearbook-related and not, on as many feathers at they would like and glue them to the turkey, on the fingers. Hang them on the walls.

While we got these ideas from brownielocks.com, you can always make up your own staff holiday once a month and do something fun.