Rebecca participated in "National Novel Writing Month" (NaNoWriMo) last month, and she wrote like a woman obsessed. She kept up with her word count each day (the website provides a graph to show you how you're keeping up), and I've never seen her so motivated. She wouldn't let me read her novel until it was done.
Anyway, I must say it was very gratifying to finally read the finished product last weekend. I kept thinking "This is the gal that I taught to read and write. She is the one I spent countless hours reading aloud to. Now I am sitting here enjoying the fruits of my labor - being entertained by a full-length book that she wrote herself." I enjoyed the story thoroughly. It was about a misfit in a Fairy Godmother school. Very funny and maybe a little sappy - but true to the genre.
I also got some insight into the way she works. I have dubbed this month "NaFiIlMo" for "National Finish your Illustrations Month" in order to motivate her to finish the drawings she is working on for a children's book. I even told her I would put a graph on the fridge so she can be accountable for how much she is getting done each day. We'll see if it works.