Battle Creek/ Kalamazoo

We actually have quite a large group going on facebook. You're free to join us! We've just had a meeting and our next one will probably be on Halloween as a kick-off. Feel free to email us if you have any questions:

nanowrimo.portage@gmail.com

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.

I'm also on the facebook NaNo page but I'm having small get togethers during November in Battle Creek when I can't drive to Kalamazoo. I have four or five people in the group at the moment but will be promoting around town so hopefully it will grow.

I'm in Portage. Joining the Facebook page as soon as I can find a link.

I'm from Kalamazoo. Lived there for over 10 years now. I'm actually attending WMU.

catmoongirl: I just had a conversation with my cat
catmoongirl: like
catmoongirl: what?
cat: *DIES*
cat: PEOPLE.
cat: YOU NEED THEM.
catmoongirl: INDEED

I live in Kalamazoo. I go to Mattawan though, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in the entire village doing NaNo. Hope to maybe work with some of you people in the future, though I don't imagine there's that many of us. And is there a link to that Facebook page?

And I definitely just accidentally made a whole new topic instead of replying to this. Don't know who's authorized to delete it, but someone should.

Have friends who have participated in NaNo since its 2nd year. Been too daunting for me -- TILL NOW. Going to try to find the FB page... if I get lost, could someone send a link?

sandycarl

Well since no one else is going to reply here's the link I see when I'm on the page.

http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=nanowrimo&init=quick#/group.php?gid=12...

if that doesn't work try seraching NaNo WriMo Portage

Thanks, Sam

sandycarl

Sorry I didn't get back to everyone! I've been very stressed out with a competition!

Thanks for that link, Sam.

I believe our next meeting will be our kickoff party on Halloween. If you have any questions, you can email portage.nanowrimo@gmail.com and we'll be sure to get an answer ASAP!

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.

Four or five of us will be at the Mancino's on Beckley Rd October 16 after 5pm. We will be plotting and playing with onenote with our laptops. There is wifi and a powerstrip with your name on it. :)

Onenote is my GOD. I don't think I can make it, though...

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.

Found the Facebook group, but I'm a little concerned I'm out of the group's target age range (like double it).

I'm feeling that way, too.

AHHHH! Torn, torn, torn. Don't think I can make it to the 10-16 Mancino's; though, what a great idea. Know I can't make it to the Kzoo 31st one. MAYBE I can grab a few minutes on Friday to drop in, but at the moment, it's not looking too good. AHHHH. Too close! Too bad. We'll see. And... did you say plot?

sandycarl

Hey Sandycarl! Don't fret if you can't make it this week. It seems as though we might be meeting there every friday and possibly some Saturdays. If you can think of a better place or time for us to meet we would be happy to do that so just drop me a line.

(Okay. Deep breath. Much calmer now.) Thank you, Sam Jam. Am trying to shift some things around so that I may just be able to show up on Friday, at least for a bit. It would be great to have a face-to-face before I put on my blinders for November. 2,000 words a day. Man, there was a reason why I haven't done this since I first heard of it in 2000. BUT... here I am, and I predict that I shall be a winner. (oh, man)

sandycarl

Hi, all! I live in Kalamazoo (near Parchment) and work in Battle Creek. This will be my 2nd year and I'm excited about it since now I know a little more of what I'm doing.

Just a reminder we are still meeting at Mancino's on Beckley Rd October 16 after 5pm. :)

Hello everybody. Um, I live in Kalamazoo. Pretty much in the heart of downtown, actually. There's nothing really stopping me from showing up at Mancino's tomorrow, save the fact that I am rather...nervous/afraid/shy around people and in public places in general. So if I can work up the courage I should be able to make it there.

I'm kind of nervous and excited about the whole idea. It could be fun...I'll try calling one of my friends and see if he's interested in going too. I'll bring my laptop, though no guarantees I can get it working. If I show up, you should all see what I mean. It has special needs.

Anyway, one small question about tomorrow...you said "after five." I can make it at pretty much any time, so what should I shoot for? Five on the dot? Ten minutes late? Twenty? Half an hour? I just don't want to be hanging around there nervously spying on people, trying to guess if they're waiting for the bulk of the group too.

Oh! On that note, should I bring some way to identify myself? Or should I just give you guys a rough idea of what to look for?

2006: The Red Raven (Pure Fantasy) - 6k
2007: Kismet Knot (Fantasy/Adventure) - 30k
2008: The Scarlet Twins (Fantasy/Parody) - 10k
2009: To Paint a Butterfly (Short Stories) - See Wordcount

Don't be nervous! We're a pretty weird, mashed-up group. About half of us are college students and half are from Portage Central High School!

If you're uncomfortable coming alone, definitely bring a friend. Last year I dragged one of my big guy friends with me to meet people as I'm still new to michigan and I was nervous being alone.

Last time we met, I had a sign printed out on cardboard that made a nifty standup... But as I won't be there, I can't bring it. If you want, I would identify a piece of clothing you will be wearing... Such as a scarf or a stand-out-y shirt. One girl wore her NaNo shirt from last year at the last meet-up.

If anybody has suggestions for where we could have our kickoff bash, that'd be great. I would like to have it somewhere open and public, 'cause let's face it- Halloween is just a little creepy.

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.

Well I should be pretty easy to spot. I have a messenger bag that is bright red with a large cat face on it. Very distinct. I took it to Japan and I could always spot it right away in piles of luggage. It's Emily the Strange themed, by the way, if that helps anyone recognize it.

As for our Kick-Off Party...hm...that's a good question. I wish Rocket Star was still around. It was always a good pick. Maybe 4th Coast in Kalamazoo? It's a late night coffee shop, so we'll have plenty of fuel. It also has wifi, if I remember rightly, and we can always go upstairs to the Crow's Nest. There usually aren't that many people up there late at night, so I think it would be a pretty decent hang-out spot.

Hm, come to think of it, maybe I should try dressing up at one of my characters for the party. It would be NaNoWriMo AND Halloween themed. It would be easy for me to do anyway, since my characters are generally pretty normal, but with some small peculiarities.

This should be fun.

2006: The Red Raven (Pure Fantasy) - 6k
2007: Kismet Knot (Fantasy/Adventure) - 30k
2008: The Scarlet Twins (Fantasy/Parody) - 10k
2009: To Paint a Butterfly (Short Stories) - See Wordcount

New to Michigan? Where are you from?

I'd love to make it to this thing, but I've got some stuff going on unfortunately. Definitely future events would be fun, though. I'm hoping I'll be solid enough in my planning that I can breeze through this without too much trouble, but help is always welcome of course. I'm no stranger to snags :P

Sorry I wasn't able to join you all tonight. I TRIED.

After cruising Beckley Road for 45 minutes, and feeling REALLY stupid with not finding Mancino's on Beckley , knowing the address from the phone book put it between the Mall and Capital... but since only 3 businesses between a mile west of Capital to Harper Creek have readable addresses from the road... I either am blind, or Mancino's is. Hope it was a productive night all who made it.

sandycarl

oh Sandycarl! I'm so sorry! Mancino's is in a little plaza in between mattress mart and the sprint store. It has a itty bitty parking lot! If I knew a better place with Wifi we wouldn't be stuck at mancino's

That was fun. I'm looking forward to the next one! Hopefully I will have solved my laptop problems by then! (I'll probably borrow a computer from somebody.)

Oh, I have another suggestion for the kick-off party. How about the Bernard Center on Western's Campus? The upper level of the building closes at midnight, but the lower level will be open. There's a Taco Bell and a Pizza Hut open late (until 3 am), so we'll have munchies available for us while we work.

2006: The Red Raven (Pure Fantasy) - 6k
2007: Kismet Knot (Fantasy/Adventure) - 30k
2008: The Scarlet Twins (Fantasy/Parody) - 10k
2009: To Paint a Butterfly (Short Stories) - See Wordcount

Thanks, Sam Jam. Missed the sign/place 3 times passing. Oh, well. I DID get some character sheets done in preparation for the Mancino's time, so that's good. Was stimulated to write/plan just in the anticipation of the meeting. So all is good.

sandycarl

I think that's a great idea. I'll run it by some people,but I think that's the best possibility we've had in a while. The only problem with that is that I know some of the younger kids' parents aren't going to want us on Western's campus that late, but perhaps we can work it out!

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.

I might be able to make that, but I don't know how late I could stay. I'll definitely try, though.

Hello, all!
I don't necessarily live in KZoo, but seeing as only 1 or 2 others in my area do it, I thought I'd go for the next big group. :)

I actually live 45min outside of KZoo, so I won't ever come to these meet ups, but if you guys are helping each other and some of you find you can't make it like I've been reading, maybe there would be a way to include the people who don't/can't come like with a live group chat on MSN messenger or Skype?

Just a thought! Yes, I am insane. Don't give me that look! :P

"To the Guardians and Keepers of the Gate, we await! Find the Argus Apocraphex."
-----------------
http://shar.es/aidBS

Actually, Capital.Heroine is SUPPOSED to be working on making us some sort of site (I don't remember the host's name) which will basically be like facebook... We register and then we can use it for file-sharing and messaging, etc. And on the main page, we are supposed to have a chat room so that we can communicate online. I'll check in on that and see if anything's happening with it.

I'm putting down five bucks that she just completely forgot.

No man is so good as to be free of sin nor so evil as to be worthless.