Area students get off on the write foot at Power of the Pen competition

ASHLAND − A boisterous and enthusiastic group of about 170 writers from 18 Northeast and North Central Ohio schools compared notes during lunch at Ashland Middle School on Saturday afternoon, while awaiting the results of the district Power of the Pen competition.

One team's T-shirts read, "You fail only if you stop writing," taken from a quote by Ray Bradbury.

It's safe to say the majority of the participants used up their allotted 40 minutes per round in the three-round competition and didn't quit writing until time was up.

When the judges' results were tallied at the end of the day, Ontario's eighth-grade team, earned first place overall.

Three Ontario eighth graders won individual awards: Tatum Mottayaw was sixth, Yuchen Lin placed eighth, and Eliana Fittante came in 11th.

'I could feel my stomach turning on the bus'

Specific prompts weren't discussed because they may be used in upcoming tournaments, but students were able to talk about how they put together their responses to each of the three prompts.

Ahead of time, during weekly practice, said West Holmes Middle School coach Lisa Lang, team members develop character names, come up with settings and determine different perspectives they may be able to incorporate into a given prompt.

"I read a lot before I came," said West Holmes eighth grader Lilly Perry. "... I may have one idea in my head first, and then develop it into something else."

Team member Nevaeh Mast, a seventh grader, acknowledged, "I could feel my stomach turning on the bus," but when she got to the competition, she was able to relax and draw from life experiences to elaborate on the prompts.

Essays range from one to five pages, with two to three pages being the average, said Lisa Lang, West Holmes Middle School coach. She noted that judging is not based on grammar or punctuation, but rather on creativity, voice and flow — something that makes sense and has a beginning, middle, and end.

Power of the Pen competition prompts smiles from student writers

Norwayne Middle School eighth grader Avery Marmet said the judges were respectful of the students' time and reminded them at different intervals how much they had left in each round.

"I liked the prompts. There was a lot we could fabricate from them," Marmet said.

"We practice once a week," said Wooster coach Chelsey Porter, sometimes writing an entire story and other times focusing on one skill, such as developing a character or composing a strong ending.

Practice content is peer-reviewed and coach-reviewed, Porter said.

Each team could field "shadow writers," team members who participated in the tournament to gain experience, but whose scores did not count.

Some team members served as runners, taking essays between classrooms and the tabulation room.

Sixth grader Victoria Bell from West Holmes Middle School said volunteering gave her a chance to interact with the other students and make new friends. Next year she plans to be a writer.

Porter judged the competition as a success.

"A lot of (students) walked out with a smile on their face," she said.

The top 12 competitors in each grade level progress to regional competition at Kent State University on Feb. 25.

The state tournament will be held in May at Ashland University, the first time the college will host the state competition, Lang said.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County students compete at Power of the Pen