Mentors looking for newbies

Hi all,

Please post here if you are experiences in Nano and would like to volunteer to mentor newbies. Please state any information you feel it would be important for a newbie to know. This can include (but is not limited to) genre you mostly write, your age group, your location, any skills you think you are particularly skilled in, what type of mentor you are - prod with stick till they write, listening ear, contact directly or wait for newbie to contact you etc etc and any dislikes you have when it comes to mentoring.

In order to keep this forum as tidy as possible, and for newbies to find you easier, any posts offering to mentor posted elsewhere will be locked so please only use this post. Also to discuss with possible newbies please take this to nanomail so that this post does not become messy.

Thanks!

I'll start :)

I'm Essbee, real name is Sarah but only my parents and grandmother calls me that. I'm based in Glasgow in Scotland where i'm the ML. Time zone is GMT though as i'm a huge ice hockey fan during this time of year I am awake at crazy times.

I mostly write either sci-fi or horror. This year i'm doing both (partly because I want a challenge, partly because I cant decide what genre it will be!)

As I am ML for my region and am also responsible for moderating a few sections on this website I'm probably going to be slightly more hands off as a mentor. I'm more than willing to help with any questions you may have but wont be checking on you daily (not because I dont care but simply because I wont have time to) so please consider me a listening ear rather than a prodding stick :)

So this is me. If you think i'll be useful to you please send me a nanomail :)

I'm Meg, A.K.A. tsunami, A.K.A. that girl poking you with a stick because you're not at your daily goal yet. I'm in Zion IL, on central standard time.

I've stuck with zombie horror novels the last few years for NaNo, but I write sci-fi, fantasy and romance as well. I'm a co-ML for my region and a moderator here in the newbie forum, but as stated above, I will bring out the poking stick if need be! Feel free to PM me if you need any help and I'll be more than happy to help, or poke... ^_^

Hi, I'm Jayne and I'm a teenager and student from Victoria, Australia. This NaNo will be my forth attempt and (hopefully!) my second win, so I figure that at this point in time I should offer my help as a mentor if somebody is interested :).

I typically write Young Adult fiction with sprinklings of literary, paranormal fantasy and/or romance, but I have tried my hand at higher fantasy, adventure and science fiction (typically soft sci-fi focusing on sociology). This years novel will a focus on vampires and everyday superheros (hence my title).

I am happy to be the mentor YOU need. I will admit I am rather shy to begin with, but as soon as you strike up a message with me I will be there to answer questions, offer advice and keep you going for the win! I'm on NaNo quite often, and my only concern is time zones (if you are not Australian) and the fact I do attend school during the day - if this doesn't bother you, though, send me a PM :).

~ Jayne.

I am Alex.

I am an Aussie, a Sporker and a Gleek. We will get on just fine if you do not spoil Glee for me.

I have no idea what I'm writing this year, but I'm not panicking yet. I'll do that Oct 31st. However, I am one of those who write IDEAS. If it turns out I'm writing steampun, or erotica, or whatever, so be it. I am happy to take on one newbie, no more because of time constraints.

I am usually around and would hope to get a newbie who uses AIM or Yahoo.

Whilst there is no shame in attempting and not succeeding, I'd prefer to work with a newbie who is determined to do it. In the past, I've had a few newbies who took up my resources, as it were, and then didn't attempt it. I want to help people, but when I commit to doing so... I need you to commit to it as well.

Looking forward to a nanomail!

I'm Kayl. I'm eighteen and an Aussie student. This will be my third NaNo.

I was a mentor for five newbies last year and found that it was a great help for both me and them - we often challenged each other with sprints and word wars. I sent a group email/nanomail weekly with tricks and advice and chatted to them regularly. Due to studying for/completing major exams during November (worst month for exams EVER) I'm only able to take on one, maybe two newbies this year.

Also due to said exams, I will probably just end up doing a rewrite of my not so great zombie novel from last year's NaNo. That being said, I do write other things and I'll gladly offer advice if any newbie wants me that isn't doing something similar.

And that would be it from me. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) hearing from somebody who wants me.

Hi, just wanted to welcome all the newbies - this is my thrid year so I know how you feel. If you need a mentor - or any other help, feel free to holler! :-) I don't bite and I'm very good at giivng people confidence in tehmselves and getting them through the knotty little problems like writers block - I have a number of techniques which I use to beat that.

I will post more later but I wanted to let you know I'm there for you all (just off to class now - at 44!) I write a mixture of everything really, having started out intending to write for adults I've found myself writing for children, bizarrely! I live and breathe writing and will help anyone. We are having a movie made of two of my books ,which is very exciting.

This year I'm trying to write a fairy story, as in with a fairy as a main character if that makes sense. The planning has shown me loads of problems and I'm really struggling to get anything to pull together. No worries though, i'm sure it will come right in the end - it has to as this story has been going on in my head for 4 years now and there are other ones waiting to come out. I've recently written a non-scary book about a haunted house based on several experiences I've had! :-)

I often have to write a book in a day as I'm often asked to ghostwrite books for other people with incredibly short deadlines so I should find nano easy, right? Not a chance! But I will win again (I have won 2 years in a row!).

PM me if you need anything - sorry if this comes off as abrupt, it's not meant to!

Mel

Hi There!

I'm unrulydreamer. This is my 6th year participating in Nano - I was very unprepared my first year and adored my mentor who helped me get through it all. And I try to repay the favour now I know what the heck is going on.

I'm a 24 year old girl from Calgary. I dabble in every type of writing and have so in Nanos in the past include YA, Romance, Erotica, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy and once even a Sci - Fi. This year my main genre is Erotica but with a lot of Fantasy and some romance mixed in. I'm calling it an Romantic Eroictasy.

I'm always online via a messenger or two. And check my nano mail daily - if not more. So if you're looking for someone who will help out, and give advice, please let me know I'd be more then willing.

Throw me a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP

Cheers and happy writing!

I'm Anjirika which is a Japanese variation of my real name. I usually write YA fantasy however this year I'm writing historical romance. I'm 23 from the Hamilton - Burlington, Ontario area. I don't know if there are any skills that I'm particularly good at except maybe for writing dialogue. I love dialogue. I think that I'd be a pretty good mentor, I'll send you lots of PM's saying "You can do it" and I'd also be willing to have midnight freak out msn conversations because I'll probably be freaking out about my word count too.

If you want a little help then send me a PM and we can start on a nanoing adventure together. ^_^

Hi, I'm Xan! I've been doing NaNo since '08 and won twice (the loss was in '08). I generally write Y/A romance/drama/not fantasy. I'm 18 and a girl and a high school senior and I live on the east coast, but I'm pretty much online all the time (except 3Am to 7AM EST. That's my sleep time.)

If you live in my region I can meet up with you at write-ins and such, but if not I can PM you all the time until you get so annoyed with me you reach your daily goal just to shut me up. :D

I can't think of anything else to say. I breathe! (Shocking, isn't it?)

So yeah, PM me if you want me to be your mentor.

Ooh, fresh meat! ;)

I'm volcana! I've participated in NaNo a few years now (my profile says 6 years! It doesn't feel like 6 years..). I haven't won *every* time, but I think I have a pretty good track record. I've done NaNo while in college, while working a dead-end retail job and new this year: NaNo with a full-time job! I'm 24 and I live in Central PA (east coast of the US). I'm a graphic designer, so if you need advice (what advice I can give, hah), critiques or just want to babble about typography, I'm yours. ;)

Writing wise, I mostly do science fiction and fantasy. Probably a mixture of the two, as I'm not really a hard SF type, but I'm not really doing much magic and elves these days (not that they aren't awesome.. I just love space).

I'm always around on my phone, where I can do skype chat and gchat, as well as NaNomail and email. If you need an early morning kick in the pants, I'll be up. (Unfortunately, in my opinion... I'd rather sleep in)


Send me a message, nooblings, and I'll do my best to motivate you!

Hello!
I am Whimsi, my real name gets no reaction from me on the internet only usernames.
I am 18 and am in Oregon. This will be my second official year though I challenged my self the year before to see if I could as a test run but did not sign up.
As for my writing I do sci-fi and fantasy though do occasionally venture into other genres. This year is a patchwork of genres.
I am on at all hours of the day and night and check my messages often so I can respond to you relatively quickly.
I will try to keep you motivated and will help as much as I can with what you need. If you fall behind in word count I will pester you to get it up.
Send me a message and good luck to all of you.

Hi, I'm Rhianon, I'm 18 and I live in England. This'll be my 3rd Nano and I won both times before. My novel is going to be either scifi or fantasy but I enjoy a lot of genres so feel free to contact me even if you're not doing either of those. I'm always up for word wars or even just chatting about anything you're having problems with. Fair warning though, if you start getting behind I will keep bugging you about it. ;)

Send me a message if you're interested.

Hi! I'm Rosie, I'm sixteen and I live in England, so GMT time, although I do tend to keep quite late hours (particularly in November) for those of you who are in different time zones- I'll respond quite quickly. :)
This is my second year of NaNo, so I remember what it was like being a newcomer to the competition quite vividly. I won last year, and the entire novel was written in about eight days because I fell behind.
I write mainly fantasy, although I wrote a romance for NaNo last year and I am more than willing to help people who are writing any genre.
I'll do word wars, idea bouncing, plot bunny adoption and also general life-issue management if it is needed, and I'm willing to be either a listening ear or a proddy stick depending on what you want/need.

Send me a message if you'd like to try putting up with my pathetic attempts at pep talks for a month! :D

Hello!

I'm syaffolee. I'm 30 and the ML for Moscow, Idaho and Idaho Elsewhere. I've participated and won Nanowrimo since 2001 which means this is my eleventh year. I've also mentored newbies for the past six years. I primarily do mentoring through Nanomail which consists of sending messages of support, answering questions, and being a sounding board if you simply want someone to lend an ear. If you need any science expertise, particularly in the field of microbiology, I can help you find the answers.

I try to challenge myself every year so I've done Nanowrimo by writing by the seat of my pants and by using outlines. I've tried pacing myself and waiting until the last minute to crank out the words. I've written in a variety of genres including science fiction, fantasy, adventure, horror, mystery, and romance.

I'm also on Twitter (with the same username), so I'm easily reachable there if need be.

If you're interested, just send me a Nanomail.

Hi!

I'm M.Redd. I've won and participated in NaNo since 2005, making this my sixth year(?), but I've never mentored before. However, I would love to! I'm a 20-year-old from Upstate NY, but I go to college in Utah. I also lived in Seattle for some time. I am a science girl at heart, and consequently my novels always have a fair bit of science in them. I'm excited for this year and hope it goes well.

I have done the crazy and accepted two newbies. I withdraw myself from availability as of now.

Hi! I'm Joana and this will be my seventh year doing NaNoWriMo and I've won every year so far. My interests include video games, yaoi manga and, when I'm not being a lazy good-for-nothing, strength training so that I may one day rule the world with an iron fist. If you want me to be your mentor, don't expect any sympathy from me if you fall behind simply because you were lazy or procrastinating :) I love to bounce around ideas with people, though, so I'm good for brainstorming and getting the kinks out if that's something you find useful. I mainly write young adult so have very little experience with adult fiction, and my main genre is contemporary, though this year I'm doing a high fantasy so I do have some depth of experience.

Hi there! I'm Shannon, turning 15 during NaNoWriMo, hoping to find some newbies to help through their first novel! I generally write all over the place, my previous novel being a paranormal romance and the current one being historical fiction.
I'm a very motivational person, and actually coach younger kids' sports teams and have gotten very many recommendations from the parents of those children. If you'd like me to become your mentor, feel free to send me a PM! I don't bite--but I do talk A TON. I'd love to help anyone brainstorm, challenge them to Word Wars, push them into their daily goal for word count, and help those crazy meltdowns halfway through. :D This is only my second NaNoWriMo, but I feel that could assist some more seeing as I can remember very clearly what my first year writing a novel was like. :)

Hello newbies! I'm TA and this is my second year here. I'm sitting out of writing this time around to work on editing my Camp NaNo novel, but I'd love to help a newcomer through this tough month ahead.

I'm mid-20s fantasy/YA writer with a love for world-building and character development, and most of my own stories take place on an alternate Earth-like world that gets a little more built with every story, so I'd be happy to help you develop your worlds or characters. If you like writers like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, or George R. R. Martin, we'll get along just fine :)

I'm very accessible through email and as your mentor, I'll be there to give you encouragement, advice, and directional pushes, but you'll be walking on your own as far as getting the work done goes.