There are a lot of things you could do in the span of 12 hours. Practice whittling. Attempt a Minecraft speedrun. Watch the three good "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and then the two bad ones. Go birdwatching in the forest.

Or you could spend the whole time writing.

The English Department held a Write-A-Thon starting Friday night, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m., and lasting until Saturday morning at 8 a.m., in the William F. Rigby Hall lounge.

As the event started, students filled the lounge hoping to catch up on essays or maybe even work on their novels or poems.

Students were not held hostage, of course. Staying the full 12 hours was not mandatory for anyone.

But that’s what I decided to do.

Part I- The Great Lock-In

The first Write-A-Thon was held in Winter 2025, with the idea to emulate a hack-a-thon that computer science students do, but for English students.

“The first one we did was in winter, and it was probably our biggest turnout for any English activity we’ve ever done,” said Braden Price, a senior and English major.

Price said that the first Write-A-Thon had about 100 people total, although not all at the same time since people were moving in and out.

The Fall 2025 Write-A-Thon--the second one ever--had a lower turnout than the first, with about 50 people initially. Price said it was probably because they didn’t advertise as much as they did the first event. 

The English Academic Society, who put the event together, referred to this second Write-A-Thon as a “cram-a-thon,” according to Price.

“It’s so close to finals where people can just focus on doing their final papers,” Price said.

Senior and English major Colson Stock said he was excited going into Write-A-Thon and hoping to get a lot of writing done.

“I find it really hard to set aside time specifically for me to write," said Stock. "With all the other assignments…my writing kind of goes on the back burner a lot of the time, which is really sad to say because I love to do it.”

Both Price and fellow English student Paige Mortensen were spending time writing. Mortensen was working on creative writing for an Inkblot submission, and Price was working on an essay about the Lord of the Rings and “healthy masculinity.”

For many, it was an opportunity to lock in and spend some time working on upcoming assignments as well as do some creative writing.

That’s what I wanted to do as well. I had some essays to get through and a novel I wanted to work on. I wasn’t too sure what to expect going into the Write-A-Thon, but I was looking forward to it. 

By 8 p.m., I settled in with my laptop, charger, notebook, snacks and 16 fluid ounces of Monster Energy.

I was locked in. The question was, could I keep this up for the full 12 hours?

It looked really good at first. I hit the ground running, finished up some assignments and was generally feeling rather energized. Dinner arrived at 10:30, which proved to be a huge boost to my morale, but only for about 90 minutes more.

Four hours in, a third of the way to the end, and my resolve had begun to waver. A lot of people had left, and it was all I could do to resist joining them.

Part II- The Die is Cast

The lack of sleep started to hit right around midnight. I was running short of things to write about, and the minutes were moving by at a glacial pace.

I kept writing though, determined not to leave early. 

But it was too late to turn back now. I had already crossed the Rubicon, now I just needed to keep going.

The problem was, my energy was wearing thin as the night went on. I was just way too tired to stay focused.

The next four hours were a blur. I had finished the assignments I wanted to do, and now I was cruising through my novel at a pretty impressive rate.

Unfortunately, I ran out of caffeine around 4 a.m. Not a problem though, I was getting closer to the end.

Colson Stock, however, said that staying awake wasn't too hard for him.

“I didn’t actually have a terrible time staying awake for it, mostly because I tried to keep myself busy...talking with the people around me. I also did bring an entire liter of Mountain Dew so that probably helped," Stock said.

Stock was able to work on several different projects, such as homework or quest building for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. He would also take breaks by reading or talking with people.

“Filling the time, that I think was probably the hardest thing because I like variety," Stock said. "That’s one of the hallmarks of my personality. I find it difficult to just sit and work on the same thing the entire time, I need to bounce around back and forth, so I did have a couple of things but there were definitely times where I’m like, ‘Ok I just need to take a break.’”

For advice on how to complete a 12 hour Write-A-Thon, Mortensen said that it’s important to stay hydrated, as well as to keep plenty of snacks and caffeine. It’s important to make sure you have the supplies you need.

It is, as the name suggests, a marathon. I was just hoping it would turn out better for me than it did for Pheidippides at the first marathon in 490 B.C.

I just had to keep telling myself that it was almost over. Only a few more hours to go.

Part III- The Morning Breaks

“There were people that came, but they didn’t actually come for the whole time, and that’s completely fine,” Stock said. “If 12 hours is a lot for you, then do the amount of time that you think you can handle.”

The original 50 people had dwindled down to only a handful as the cold morning hours rolled in. I could have left with them at any time, but I wanted to stay, even though it was getting hard for me to stay focused.

Yet I, along with those who remained in the Rigby Hall lounge, pressed on. I kept watching the clock, wondering just how long I could keep this up for until I crashed.

But sure enough, the morning arrived. Through the dark windows of the Rigby lounge I could see light outside. Dawn had arrived. I felt like a soldier at Helm's Deep when Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan appeared with the sun, charging their way into battle to win the day.

8:00 a.m. arrived soon after. I gathered my stuff and stepped outside into the chilly morning air. I had done it. The long night was over.

Overall, I would say that staying 12 hours for the Write-A-Thon was really hard, but it was nice being able to set aside time to focus on writing. I did wrap up a few essays and I finished about 20 pages of my novel, so I felt good about that. It was time well spent at least.

Colson Stock aslo said that the Write-A-Thon was a "great opportunity" for someone to push themselves and see how much they can get done.

“Go in with an open mind and come with ideas of what you want to work on,” Stock said. “If you’re sitting there in the moment trying to find something that you want to work on, then you’re not going to end up doing anything.”

It wasn't easy, but I had a blast a Write-A-Thon. Sometimes it is nice to slow down, sit back and write for about 12 hours.