NOTE: I’m changing this story so most of the information on this page isn’t current anymore. 
Final word count: ?
Written: Fall of 2009
Revised: ?
Genre: Historical Fiction
The synopsis:
Lia is bored. Her days are filled with long hours of learning the rules of etiquette. She’d much rather throw rotten carrots at the few abolitionists in town. When a death occurs, she makes up her mind.
She runs away to fight with the Confederate army. Away from her sheltered Southern plantation, the cruel treatment of the blacks shocks her. Did she choose the right side to fight for? If she deserts the Confederacy and joins the Yankees, can she fight against her friends and family? Is there really a right side?
The main characters:
- Lianne “Lia” Staide (heroine)
- Edward “Swift” Blythe (ally)
- Cora Hallee (minor ally)
The story clip:
Someone screamed. My mother.
“I am so sorry, ma’am.” A firefighter stood up, a stretcher at his feet.
My heart caught. What could be so terrible that those…dreadful…words were spoken?
“Pardon?” I asked, glancing at Swift for confirmation. Swift looked away, his hand dropping from my shoulder.
Mother, a white blur in the corner of my eye, sank to her knees by the motionless figure on the stretcher.
“How did he die?” she sobbed.
“Honorably. He saved a trapped Negro woman. She got out and let me know. He was still inside. My partner and I dragged him out just before…the end.”
I clapped my hand over my mouth and staggered to the stretcher. “No…” I whispered, bending down to catch a glimpse of that face. Grime coated his cheeks and forehead. His arms were charred and blackened. He hadn’t lost the tint of life yet. I turned away, hugging myself. “NO.” I ran for the house. Crossing the ash-covered lawn seemed to take an age. I clutched at a stone pillar and sank to my knees, crying. He was gone.
–Copyright 2009 through 2011 by Haniya
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Oh, Haniya, thats really good!
Thanks!
Hi Haniya,
I’m looking into the One Year Adventure Novel program (new school year don’tcha know). I was hoping to find your experience of the program and personal review.
Soooooo how did the year of writing go (remember extra points for brutal honesty!)
Are you siblings going to try their hand at the program down the road?
What did you like and what didn’t you like?
And last of all – do you feel it has helped your overall writing ability?
Thax
Hi Ms. Jami!
Well, this last school year I didn’t really write very much. I’m still working on this novel. This wasn’t because of the curriculum, but just because of our life! Breeding season, ducks, goat kids, etc.!
But school year of ’08-’09 I loved it. The DVD lessons are interesting and informative — I hardly ever had questions that didn’t get answered. When I did have questions, I logged on to the OYAN forum and asked Mr. Schwabauer (we students call him and his wife Mr. and Mrs. S for short 
). Mr. and Mrs. S are both pretty active on the forum and answer questions quickly. Plus the students are helpful!
So, as for the “schedule,” you start out with outlining your novel. Then you move on to your rough draft, and once that is finished (you plan on finishing it around April), you move on to the Summer Workshops (which start at the beginning of May). The Summer Workshops are where you edit your novel. On the forum, there is a new board per each week/chapter. You can post your chapters and get student critiques. There are some WONDERFUL critiquers.
There is also a weekend-long workshop where Mr. S holds classes in person. The only downside is that it’s in Kansas!
I don’t think Naomi and Mikah are going to try it. Naomi likes to write (and she’s actually writing a story!) but her passion is for animals. As for Mikah, his “thing” isn’t writing. We use this curriculum as an elective. My thing is writing, so I use OYAN.
Mr. S has come out with another curriculum, called Other Worlds. This builds off the OYAN curriculum, and I’m going to do it this school year!
I can’t wait.
I think I’ve said enough about things I do like!
One of the downsides is that there are a lot more people using OYAN and the forum than when I joined. That means that your novel gets less feedback throughout the school year. During the SWs, your novel can get lots of critiques, but if you’ve posted it, say, in December, there are so many ideas and chapters up, you’re not likely to get very much notice (unless you’re one of the contest winners/finalists. Their novels always get lots of comments.).
But there is a way to combat that.
For starters, if you present your chapter or whatever in a good format with correct grammar and spelling, people will be likely to read it just because it’s easy to read! MS format, attached in .doc files are great.
Also, you can critique other students’ work. If all you do is ask for feedback, and don’t give any, you really won’t get readers.
I don’t want to make the forum sound like a crowded virtual place, though. Probably 99.9% of the students are very very nice people. They will go out of their way to make sure you have good critiques. I can’t think of any online community where I’d rather be!
I hope this helps.
Say hello to Katie!
Haniya
EDIT: Oops, I forgot to answer your last question. Yes, it has improved my writing ability. So so much. I wrote a story a couple months before I started OYAN. Don’t ask to see it!
Even the difference between Freedom Trek and Lianne Staide is noticeable (at least to my eyes).
Oh, and one more thing.
Mr. and Mrs. S also do webinars through the school year. As long as you have enough bandwidth and an hour of free time, they are wonderful! The webinars should start again in a couple weeks. I’m really looking forward to them. 
They’re scheduled for either 11 AM (PST) on Wednesday or 5 PM (PST) on Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. S live in Kansas, so they are Central time.
Haniya
Well Miss Haniya, that was a fabulous reply!
The only question that remains is will you be posting any of your finished novels =:~) to share with us readers-not writer types?
Love ya,
~Jami
Well, Freedom Trek you can download right now.
As for Lianne Staide, when I finish it I’ll let everyone know. I don’t think I’ll be putting it up here, but I’ll definitely email it to you if you want. 