Introductions

*Waves* Hi. I'm Fluffy. I'm seventeen and I've been doing NaNoWriMo every year since 2005, and won every year - sometimes it was hell, sometimes it was easy. I did 200K last year and am going to do that much again.

I draw sometimes, too, but not often. Have a bit of a love/hate relationship with art. *Cough*

Nanoing with the zombie muse, Daramor!

2005: Musical Scales (53K)
2006: Myra (50K)
2007: Dark of Day (50K)
2008: TKH, SS, FW & CaP (200K total)
2009: Lucidity, ??, DaC & ?? (Going for 200K again! \o/)

Hey there,

I'm Arcaedia,

I live in an awesome little suburb on the outskirts of Sydney (and I mean just before you get to the Central Coast, not the fringes of the actual city =). )
I'm at uni studying arts at the moment. Hopefully majoring in English/Writing and Ancient History/Archaeology. The choices must be made eventually ... but not yet.
I love most history, which has partially prompted this year's NaNo project.
This is my third NaNo year. The first year I was a 'winner', although, like astral, the content was shocking! Last year's attempt was brought to a halt by the obligatory post HSC crash, as well as schoolies :). That didn't help either. This year, I finish uni on the 29th of October, and my RFS test is the 31st, so, pending any humungous fires that keep me away from my computer for days at a time, NaNo should go swimmingly!

Like astral and fluffy I also dabble in arts, although mine is more of a love relationship :). I also have a DA account, but some of the stuff on it is pitifully old, so we shall not link :) Mainly I paint fantasy and realism, though I also enjoy graphite works.I really want to make a living off my writing and my art some day.

Lindsey

I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?

What the heck am I doing here again... oh, fine, very well.

Hi. My name is Kris - ignore what you see above this message, it's an alter ego - and I'm 20 years old, will be turning 21 shortly before the end of NaNo. As such my present to myself is hopefully going to be a completed NaNo wrapped in a pretty ribbon. I'm male, slightly Scandinavian in appearance with a healthy mix of goofy looking geek thrown in. I am very much a geek in all senses of the word, though my focus is and always has been writing.

I've been here a long... loooong time... been attempting these NaNos every year since 2004 and if you added up *all* of the entries I've put in so far, it might just make 50k words. Yeah. I have a bad track record, something I desperately need to put behind me for the sake of my sanity and my self-confidence. So here's hoping. Looking forward to writing alongside you all.

hey, i'm bilvy. i live in port macquarie which is about four hours (drive. 6.5 hours train) north of sydney, on the coast. it would make me squeal in delight if i find another pmq nanoer. i write fan fiction mostly but i've gotten a lot of good feedback and i take it seriously. writing is just about all i do, and when i've got a writer's block, i draw instead.

my deviant art that i don't update much anymore is here:
http://miss-bilvy.deviantart.com

and my livejournal with all my writing is here:
http://miss-bilvy.livejournal.com

i'll happily add anyone who wants to be friends (: just comment on the friend post so i know you're from nano..

n_n also. i'm fifteen, turning sixteen in february. i'm a girl. i've never done nano before, but i've written a 49k fic once and the others are constantly growing to be around that length. to me, 1000 words is just a quick drabble to get my thoughts in order :x

Hello there, everyone. :]
I'm Andrew, male, 16 and currently residing in the Sydney North Shore. This is going to be my first NaNoWriMo, and although I do adore writing and reading, I have never actually churned out anything of this size. I like challenges, I suppose. I love to draw, and don't think I have ever written anything for school (or otherwise) without doodling in the corner (or sometimes in the middle - creating all sorts of problems) of the page. I was born in Scotland, but have lived in Australia since I was just 1 so I missed out on the cool accent. I have aspirations of going into film-making - at the moment screenwriting and directing is my goal, but whether I have a knack for either will be the judge.
I suppose I could plug my deviantART account too, eh? :P
http://clabwag.deviantart.com/

Credit to gc-stock (http://gc-stock.deviantart.com/) & PCU-Stockage (http://pcu-stockage.deviantart.com/) for the images used in my Novel Cover.

Hi I'm Tom,
Im 18 from Sydney and am finishing up the Gap Year that i took between the HSC and Uni, so November is clear for me.
I've liked writing for a long time and even won a couple of things for it at school. This year i have spent some time writing short stories and random poems and character pieces to get my creative juices flowing, and because i have a few friends that enjoy reading them.
This is the place in my post where i say you can read all the things I have written this year at my Live Journal here:
http://cheekofnight.livejournal.com/
Seeing as its in blog format if you want to follow any of the stories you will have to start from the second page and go backwards.
The longest running stories I have done are 'Innocence' which was a 5 parter that was roughly 6,000 words, and the ongoing stories 'Alex Field' and 'New World' which both stand at around 6000 each too. I even did a crossover between New World and Alex Field because i enjoy his character. The rest of the site is just short poems and views on life that i have written.
Im currently tossing up between writing a new original for november, or taking one ive already written and expanding it.
Hope you can check out my work :)
Tom

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!

Hi guys, I'm Judy, 14, and second year of Nano :D.
I love writing but I never seem to finish what I start and last year's nano resulted in my third completed story out of...let's just say over 50, yep? November is a horrible time to write for people at school because of HSC or yearly exams but I'll cope I think. Like last year, when I punched 12k into the keyboard on the last day...>>".
I see that DevArt is a theme here haha but I'm refusing to put mine up because mine is terrible and filled with random "art" that isn't really that...interesting.
Anyway, I really suck at introduction stuff so I'll stop and hope to hear about how all of you guys do, good luck!

Kris, I'm pretty sure you're in my TAFE class :D

Anyway, hi! I'm Kathleen, I'm 19 (..in a week), and this is my third year (I think.. hard to keep track) of doing nano. I've won every time I've attempted it, but the first try was shocking. The second try was actually all right. I'm planning on writing the sequal to last years - but I didn't plan it properly, which means there are some pretty epic plot holes to try and fill in.

Looking forward to doing it this year - if I can get my assignments out of the way first, and find time to plan it properly!

Hi, I live in Surry Hills in Sydney. This is my first NaNo (yikes!) - I moved out here from the UK last November so didn't get to do it last year. I normally write screenplays, but have been known to start the odd novel or short story (never finish them though!). Am determined to get something completed and hopefully NaNo will give me the impetus to finally manage it!

I find it almost impossible to write without a ton of coffee by my side - does anyone else have their own form of fuel when they're writing?! Rolo chocolates also used to be a staple, but my poor teeth can no longer manage the vast quantities i used to put away! I also write best after 10pm - not so good when you have a job with early starts! Bah, who needs sleep??

Good luck everyone - looking forward to seeing lots more posts when everything gets underway!

AR.xx

Hello all! Am I allowed to post here since I'm not exactly from Sydney?

I'm actually from Singapore, but I will be visiting my friend in Sydney this year from Nov 9th to Dec 8th. We'll even be flying to Melbourne halfway for a convention called Supanova. Yeah, doesn't sound like I'll get much writing done, huh? So I'm trying to cram 50k words into the first 8 days of Nov. There's even a challenge I put up:

6250 words/day for 8 days
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3282956

Oh, I forgot to give an introduction. Well, I'm a 21-year-old female. This is my second attempt at Nano, I won last year with a fantasy adventure. But this year I am plotless, so it might be harder. I'm thinking of just going with the flow and writing a collection of short stories. I debated whether I should participate this year, but decided, aw, why not, right?

Hi everyone, just read through all your introductions and it's very exciting meeting people from such a varied range of backgrounds and experiences with writing. Thanks for sharing here with newcomers like myself who find your stories very inspiring!

After joining just this afternoon, this year will be my first attempt at NaNoWriMo. I have heard about it for years and years, and was always intrigued, but never went so far as to visit the website.

My name is Helena, I'm female, will be turning 24 on the first day of the challenge, and reside in inner west Sydney with a husband and a cat. My expectations for myself are not high. I leave for New Zealand on the 17th November for work and then immediately travelling to China (likely without a laptop) until the start of December. I am also a terribly slow writer (I'm one of those people who liked to 'get it right' on the first draft) and I have not written fiction since high school. By day, I'm a PhD student and just wrapped up the final edit of my first journal article today, but I'd love the opportunity to forget about theoretical frameworks and methodological rigour and write for myself.

I can also be found on http://twitter.com/helenaliu and http://satyr.dreamwidth.org/. Looking forward to getting to know more of you! :)

I'm writing about my progress at http://pocketbook.helenaliu.com/

Hi all,

I'm Mike, 36, single and living on the Central Coast of NSW. Never done NaNo before so I've got no idea how I'll go churning out a 50,000 word novel. I've seen people doing this for years over at Live Journal but I've never had the push to do it till now. To be bluntly honest the thought of 50,000 words in a month is slightly unsettling.. lol. It's all good though.

I'm in the process of quitting smoking - Praise whoever invented Champix - and so I thought, I'm chasing that demon down the street waving about a big stick, I may as well try and kick start the creative juices and write me a novel.

Real world I'm a conference and events producer so I'm hoping the usual "November lull" actually happens this year so that I'm not travelling around the country side and sitting in hotel foyers smiling at people all day.

Hope to get to know some of you as time goes by. And best of luck all.

I may as well join in...

Hi everyone, I'm Caitlyn. I'm a 21 year-old Creative Arts student at Macquarie University, and November is assessment/exam month. I am contemplating (oh, how dangerous!) attempting NaNo again...

I won NaNo 2007 back in Canberra, so I have to admit that being part of the (much larger) Sydney group is a little intimidating. Last year I moved here to begin uni, and I didn't have time to get into NaNo because of assessment and so on. I missed it horribly, though, so if I can actually think of something to write (and possibly get a tonne of homework done in the first week or two...) I might give it a shot!

About me... I'm studying contemporary music, creative writing and drama, as well as some compulsory business units. I am zipping over to the USA in December to visit my long distance boyfriend, so Nano might be a good way to keep myself sane until then... scary thought, no?

I am a total grammar Nazi, and although I relax a little when it comes to forums, I find writing 50,000 words without editing to be incredibly hard! I love word wars, though - I look forward to challenging you all!!

Oh no. I'm talking like I'm already planning to do this. This is not good...

- Lyradi

Hi, I'm Bronzie or John. I'm 21 years old. We'll probably meet at the meetup.

Sidenote: Hey JakeDelfeir, where you in the city cbd today walking towards Town Hall at about 2:30pm? I swear it was you, but since it's been a couple of years I didn't walk over and say hi.

Hey all! Lookit all these exciting new people :D

I'm Jen, 22 years old and this is my first NaNo (I've lurked around the boards in previous years but never attempted it due to exams/HSC/major uni essays in November). I graduated from Sydney uni last year with a Masters in creative writing (in undergrad I majored in English and... marine science. I know, weird combo), so this is my first year of freedom from the student life. At the moment I'm working full time in the Macquarie Uni library (*waves to Lyradi*). I intend to write a wonderfully cliched teenage fantasy for NaNo in order to kickstart my writing habits, which sort of failed after I left uni. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you at the kickoff party!

I like notebooks, the ocean, and parentheses.

EDIT - Forgot to include a plug for my devart page! I really enjoy amateur photography (the image in my sig is one of mine from a trip to the Reef) - http://silverdolphin.deviantart.com

My writing's at http://www.fictionpress.com/~silverdolphin
Some pieces are a bit old, but there's a few newer stories there as well...

"A novel can best be defined as a long piece of prose with something wrong with it."
- Neil Gaiman, Introduction to American Gods.

ok, i like you already :D

where in the library do you work? Curiously, I was just lying in bed failing to fall asleep, thinking about my creative writing class and how horrible it was when i had to try to print off 20 copies of a story using the evil MQ library printers... God that system sucks. Maybe we'll run into each other, Jen? It might have to be an "accidentally-on-purpose" type of thing though, because there are a lot of students in that place...

ps - English and marine science, best combo ever. I've been writing stories since I was five, and spent about six years wanting to be a marine biologist. I was one of those kids who obsessed over whales and dolphins :)
(and yes, i still am!)

Hi Sydney-ites! (and Singaporean visiting Sydney :P)

I'm 23, I live in the inner west with my family, and this is my first time writing with NaNoWriMo! I have always wanted to do this - in fact, I have a niggling feeling I may have signed up a long time ago but never actually took part in the challenge - and I may well have chickened out again had I not found out my friend Helena (above) is also taking part. So much for disappaearing back into the shadows of obscurity! If I don't finish it, everybody will know my shameful secret now!

I have written fiction since leaving highschool 6 years ago, but it's never been very good, and generally it's been fanfiction (for which I have been mocked by many, many people). I don't delude myself into thinking that this ridiculously anxiety-stoking action-packed thirty days of frantic writing could produce anything better than what I've taken months to write. So in conclusion, I have very low expectations of my novel. But I do hope that I get to 50,000 words - that would be a blast. Solunar - I hope I can keep up with your challenge!

It's interesting to see people from Macquarie Uni here - I went there for the past 5 years!

Since we're all posting links, I can be found at http://twitter.com/rajizzle and http://zounds.dreamwidth.com

Hi folks, my names Oliver and I live in Mosman in Sydney. This is my first attempt at NaNoWriMo. A friend got me interested and I thought I might give it a go. I don't expect to finish but who knows. I could do with some experienced NaNoWroMo's to giving me a few tips and tricks on how best to succeed. So if you have time, drop me a line and add me as a writing buddy. Thanks!

Hey Oliver & welcome to NaNaMo. Its officially my second year, though I didn't really get too far last year, so no tips, sorry. Could use a writing buddy... am over at Lane Cove.

Hey Rajizzle,

I'm surprised you haven't heard about Nano @ Mac U before this. I put up posters around Macquarie every year, and hold write-in's here - I work on campus. So yeah, presuming I can get permission to host them again, come by Mac U Wednesday nights for texttastic noveling! (details to follow).

Ray

NaNoprogress Tracker!
http://members.iinet.net.au/~maxtac/nano-progress09.xls
"May the muse be with you!"

Hey everyone. My name is Meeghan, I live in enmore. This is my first NaNo after hearing about it from a friend last year. Its an awesome concept! I just hope I can make myself write the entire 50k in the month. I work full time as a library technician and I am studying a masters in library and information management. So i'm kinda busy! Nothing like a literary challenge to make me abandon my rigourous routine though!

I have a rough idea of what my novel will be about, and I am hoping its going to be quality as well as quantity, I don't like compromise much.

Oh and I have no deviant art site! Not interested in getting one either.

~Meeghan~

assuming i go ahead with participating, you can count me in for MQU write ins! sounds like awesome fun :)

Hi Pickledeel is Bruce. There is, of course, a story behind "pickled eel" which involves a dark, narrow lane in the back blocks of Beijing, a cafe with no menu and being challenged to drink anything put in front of us - to the accompanying merriment of some ancient men who thought our imbibing of golden liquid from large jars with strange objects in the bottom of them infinitely hilarious. I live on the northern beaches of Sydney with my wife (who is finishing her music degree so I see little of her at the moment), and a cranky 15 year old black cat who thinks he owns the place. All my children are of adult age (note the care with how that was described) and have left home. An empty nester no less!

This is my second crack at Nano. For those of you who have expressed some worries about getting through 50,000 words maybe Stephen King might help here. He certainly helped me. (If you have not read his NYT Best Seller "On Writing" see if you can grab a copy - it is surprisingly good. Stephen's advice is disarmingly simple. He says "just write". Characters, plots, and themes will follow. They even create themselves. I found that a little hard to believe but with 50+ successful books under his belt and zero to my name I thought I could do worse than head his advice. To my pleasant surprise the 3000 or so words you need to churn out each day posed no problem and I had 55000 or so words at the end of the month, with characters and plot I was not expecting.

Stephen also proved correct when he said the toughest work comes after - researching and adding detail, correcting timelines, and editing and so on. It took another ten months to get the (eventual) 56,000 words past editors and off to potential publishers but I at least had 50,000 words to start with. More to the point, I had a story to start with.

Nano is easy (:)) Just write! See what drops out after 30 days. Then the real work starts - ouch.

I managed to get to a couple of write-ins at Circular Quay last year (each produced 5,000 words so maybe there is an answer there if any of you have writers block) and with a bit of luck will get to the launch activity and reconnect with some of you and meet the rest of you for the first time.

Cheers

Hello, another Northern Beaches resident here!

I'm Michelle and this is my first Nano - an effort to drag the dozen or so first chapters out from under the bed, dust off the cobwebs and see if any of those misguided efforts can be coaxed into a second chapter. Hmmm . . .

I first heard about Nano via the British blogger Robyn Wilder. There is a terrific interview with her and her Nano writing buddy that gives some great insights into their Nano experience - http://www.dollymix.tv/2008/12/nanowrimo_2008_or_how_two_doll.html

I've just told my husband I'm doing this and he promises to be supportive, providing cups of tea, Cherry Ripes and kicks up the arse as required.

Due to running a business, raising a child and trying to decide what to cook for dinner each night (surprisingly taxing!), I'm planning to get up at 5am every day to write my 2000 words.

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that.

So much.

Seriously, I really am looking forward to the kick-off party for two reasons (a) meeting y'all and (b) because the Writer's Centre looks charming and I'd like to have a poke around.

Till then then . . .

Michelle Barraclough

I'm quite amused at all the a) librarians and b) Mac uni people in this thread... it's great!

Caitlyn, did you speak to a blonde librarian yesterday about printing troubles at about 5:30 in the afternoon?? If so, that was me! If not (which is probably more likely...) rest assured that you are not the only student with printing issues... lol. I work behind the front desk usually at least 2 hours out of every day - I'm the one with copious amounts of blonde hair (but not the one with the British accent, just to narrow that down for you).

Write-ins at Mac on Wednesdays, hey? I might try and make a few of those! Are they usually in the library, Ray, or elsewhere on campus...?

... I panicked when I realised that today is halfway through October. Where did the first two weeks go?!

"A novel can best be defined as a long piece of prose with something wrong with it."
- Neil Gaiman, Introduction to American Gods.

Hi! I'm Steph

This is my first NaNo, I'm from the Northern Beaches , I'm 20 y.o. and a second year economics student at usyd... not entirely sure how i'm going to get to 50K considering it's exam period at uni, however, i'm looking forward to the challenge.

So far i've only dabbled in fanfiction, but of course I'm aspiring to become an author :p

Hello fellow NaNoWriMo members!

My name is Cristina and I'm from Cabramatta in Western Sydney. I'm a part time working mum and this is my very first year of doing NaNo. I found the site through spacejock.com.au today while I was on my morning tea break at work and thought that it was a brilliant idea. Signing up, however was a completely compulsive action on my part. Maybe it was the lack of proper coffee in this office and the effects of International Roast that muddled my brain and made me press the Sign Up button on the site. How I'm going to fit it in with my work, looking after the hyperactive energizer bunny that is my 3 year old, getting a business off the ground and completing my uni subject this term would be nothing short of miraculous (hmmm... maybe I can borrow a time turner from the Ministry of Magic...)

I have no recent writing experience to speak of, other than writing marketing materials for work. I was a big writing nut during High School and Primary though, writing short stories and poems (mainly about horses. Like every other little girl, I LOVED horses). That got put aside once I got out of school and I'm looking forward to getting back into it.

It's great to hear how many people there are in Sydney participating (go, team!) and I think it will be fun once the 1st of November comes around. I look forward to hearing words of wisdom from those of you that have done this before. I think I'll need the inspiration to keep going during those times when I beat myself around the head and wonder why I'm such a sadistic idiot.

Anyway, I should get back to work.... my instant coffee and Cruskits are finished...

Have a great day!
Cristina

Hi
Another uni student here, I'm in my 2nd year of Science at UTS, and I have no idea how I'll juggle exams and writing... I tried last year, during which my hopes of finishing encountered death by procrastination :-(

Anyway, I'm so excited that its nearly november! I can't make the kickoff party, but hopefully I'll get to the write ins, and see if I can get further with nano this year. Yay for novel writing :D

Adrian here, hailing from the eastern suburbs by way of Wollongong. I'm a two-year Nano veteran, and it's good to see names new and old here. I'm hoping to keep my win ratio 100% this year. Last year I tried planning beforehand and lo and behold, I finished way ahead of schedule! This year I've got a plan again, although I still need to flesh out a lot of details.

(Oh, and another uni employee here, but not at Mac.)

I survived a Nano a few years back when I was *cough* between jobs - but this time will be attempting along with a 30h/wk job writing (evil) assessments for poor uni students, not unlike many of you here.

Not going to kill myself if everything goes AOT - just hoping to get a start on a story that plays over in my head regularly.