Having trouble keeping up with the pace for National Novel Writing Month? Katy Metcalf has a message for you: Everyone has all sorts of homework and sports and plays and other fantastical things that you spend 25 hours a day doing. There's never enough time, so make time! Check inside for her tips on doing just that.

"Though I'm still a bit behind on my word count, I don't really think that finishing the novel is the most important part of NaNoWriMo, at least not for me," writes Stephanie Overmier. "Every writer I've talked to says that one of the best things you can do to improve your writing skill is to write every day, and that writing is a habit that you have to get into."

"So, now National Novel Writing Month has officially begun, and we've kicked off with a bang," writes Katy Metcalf. "Or, at least, a passably loud squeak. There are tons and tons and tons of Uni students participating, which I am thrilled about, including our nine-member support group. And, so far, no one's dropped out. So, thus far, everything is going well."

[Updated with audio] Why wait any longer to write that novel you've had percolating in the back of your mind? Do it now! National Novel Writing month begins this weekend, and it offers the perfect excuse to take time out of your busy schedule to flex your literary muscles. The challenge: Write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. Check inside to meet four current Uni students who accomplished that feat last year.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the poetry and prose you can look forward to reading when Unique is published at the end of the year.

Gargoyle staff member Maddy Hamlin talks with Shara Esbenshade about her poem -- its significance and why she felt moved to write it.

Sometimes what you study leads you to express yourself in unexpected ways. Listen to Shara Esbenshade read the poem she wrote after learning about the conditions of Haitian migrant workers in the Dominican Republic's sugar cane fields.

Among the students traveling to the Dominican Republic this summer will be junior Shara Esbenshade. Read the poem she wrote about the workers who harvest that country's sugar cane crop.

Students of poetry recognize the sestina as one of the more challenging forms of verse: six six-line stanzas and a tercet, with the end words of the first stanza repeated in various combinations in the other stanzas and tercet. Shara Esbenshade rises to the challenge and offers her own version of this venerable form.

By Annie Liang & Michelle Gao Class of 2007 &...

By Annie Liang & Michelle Gao Class of 2007 &...

Don't forget to visit our creative writing section. Better yet, send us your own contributions. Here's the latest, from sophomore Anna Cangellaris.

By David Boyle Class of 2006 Posted Thursday, Feb. 9,...

By Jackie Hedeman Class of 2007 Posted Monday, Feb. 6,...