Whiz Kid: Sara Shore

Cleveland Heights Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Sara Shore

• Entering sophomore year at
• Was ranked at the top of her class last fall 
• Began a contest last year where she writes a 50,000-word novel during the month of November

Sara Shore didn’t know what to expect when she looked up her class ranking one day.

She and some friends were playing around on Infinite Campus, the online grade book and student data center for Cleveland Heights-University Heights students in grades 3 through 12. Students (or their parents) can log on to see their grades and view other data, and Sarah checked it out during a study hall at school one day last fall when one of those friends asked Sara what her class ranking was.

She was No. 1, a feat she achieved despite taking several honors classes.

“I knew it was high because I had straight A’s, but I had no idea I was No. 1,” she said. Out of 573 other freshman, the 15-year-old learned she was at the top, and it was no means by design.

“I don’t even really study,” she explained. “Typically I like school, but it’s still school.”

It’s not that she shrugs school off. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. When she first entered Heights High last year, she did set out to do well, knowing how important high school grades are for getting into a good college. But she’s never had to put forth much effort as a student, a skill she conceded is likely because her mind is always active, learning every second of the day, which allows her to take off nights studying.

“In my experience, I get bored really easily so I have to constantly stay active because otherwise my mind gets idle,” she said. “Even when I’m watching TV, I have to be doing something. I can’t sit still.”

That boredom is often relieved preparing for one of her favorite activities: an annual contest where she writes a 50,000-word novel during the month of November.

The contest is run online through the National Novel Writing Month website, which she began last year at the urging of a friend who wanted to participate.

Last year she found out about the contest only a few months before Nov. 1, so she quickly developed as much plot and story in her head to be able to begin. That first story, which she did manage to finish during the 30-day deadline by writing an average of 1,667 words every day, was a science fiction adventure about a group of rebels fighting against a totalitarian government.

She plans on participating again this November with a sequel to her first story.

Sara also submits entries for a fan fiction site where participants use characters from TV shows, books or movies for an entirely new story. In addition, she plays the flute, takes Taekwondo classes and is in her school’s Jewish Student Union.