USA :: Maryland

December 1st: We Won BOTH the Lushguin and Naperville Challenges! Our final regional total is 52,633,236, with 1790 writers Homed to Maryland, and a donation total of $5975! CONGRATULATIONS! We surpassed a gracious Naperville by 2161 words per participant, and the ever amazing Lushguins by 4046.909 words per participant! Considering that with 1835 people last year we wrote 38,844,212, I'd say the challenges helped push more people to finish their novels than ever before. We averaged 29,404 words per participant. Time to Celebrate - TGIO!!!

Day 30 - I hope everyone is ready to validate but if you're not, remember that you've got until 11:59:59 tonight! I had a 6K word day yesterday and you can too, or however many words you need. The key is staying optimistic! You can do it, but make sure you do it for yourself. Sometimes you can be your own best motivation and advocate, so let yourself shine!

Day 29 - Hi! Ok, now go write...

Day 28 - Don't forget to RSVP for a TGIO party in the proper thread. Links to the threads are in our Links section. Ok, done? Now go write some more in your novel!!!

Day 27 - Catch up! The leftovers have been eaten, the visitors are headed out (or you are headed home). Time to get back to serious writing. Many of us aren't done - even those with purple bars of validation victory are still writing to FINISH the story. So let's get going - the Ravens won so we don't even have to worry about cheering for them today - WRITE NOW!!!
Day 26 - Wake up
Day 25 - zzzzzzzzzzz

Day 24 - Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day however you are spending it. Remember that typing/writing is great exercise for your fingers after a feast. We are thankful to have you writing, donating, participating, supporting, and just being!

Day 23: PLEASE DONATE! National Novel Writing Month is a project of the Office of Letters and Light, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California. All donations made to National Novel Writing Month---in the form of cash and in-kind donations of helicopters and lavish chocolate fountains---are tax-deductible. Currently we have 1752 writers with Maryland as their Home Region who have donated $4675. Thank You! That makes us 4th in donations - can we get to first place???

Day 22:

Day 21 - Have you updated your word count on this site yet? Just go to that little blue box at the top of this page and to the right of your name and post it! There is also a Stats tab in your profile where you can see your progress, and all kinds of cool numbers. I love seeing my bars push past the graph! Eleven people who posted in the Welcome thread have word counts of "zero" - but I bet you have words - let us know you are ok and writing by posting your counts!!!

Day 20 - GO RAVENS! GO BLUE CRABS! Everyone do your best to get some words in today - MAKE the time. DVR/Tivo the show. Use commercials during the football game. Do mini sprints for 100 words or 200 words - whatever works. BELIEVE!

Day 19: Night of Writing Dangerously ONLINE!

Saturday, November 19, 1011, from 8pm-Midnight.
Sign-up at www.wireclub.com.
The chatroom is MD NaNo NOWD 2011 - we'll do online word wars where every writer in Maryland can participate!

http://www.wireclub.com/chat/room/md_nano_nowd_2011

The chatroom is set up so you can make sure you can get in - I set it to People Near Me but could not restrict it to friends or do it by invitation only since this is new for us but hopefully this will work.

Hosted by ML Lee/punahougirl84.

Day 18 - Did you write?

Day 17 - Now would be a good time to ramp up your words per day in anticipation of the holiday next week! Don't forget to use all five senses when writing descriptions. Introduce characters who go by their first and middle names all the time. Hyphens and apostrophes are your enemies. When in doubt, drop in some ninjas, throw a dinner party with an exhaustive menu, or have a family reunion in your novel with a LOT of new characters showing up. Who must all be described... you get the idea!

Day 16 - Happy Donation Day! Like NaNo? Want to keep it happening? Need some good noveling karma? Please consider making a donation to NaNoWriMo (see the brown tab above for Donations/Store). Earn that halo - and we thank you for your support!

Day 15 - Happy Half-Way Day! 25,000 words are your goal for the day. Congrats to all who have achieved it, and tons of wordy thoughts going out to any who aren't there yet. We've had some great pep-talks sent to us - let them inspire you to get those words in. Don't let anything stand in your way - order out, get others to run the laundry, hide if you must to get some writing time. You Can Do This!

Day 14 - Happy Monday! Have you updated your word count here? Have you checked out the cool stats tab in your profile? I find them to be very motivating. Our challenge with the Lushguins is going well, people are finding creative ways to get in their dares, and plenty of help can be had here or in our FB group if you are stuck. Don't let that inner editor sneak back in your home - lock it out so you can write write write!

Day 13 - How are you doing? Going well? Going slow? Don't worry - you have plenty of time and no reason to think you'll blow a big game! If you get stuck, figure out where you are and where you are going. Think about your character's motivation - what do they want and why do they want it and how are they going about getting it? Then mess it up - throw obstacles in their way - time for some conflict!!!

Day 12 - A beautiful day for some word sprints! Every thousand words give yourself a reward. Some sunlight, a Halloween treat, convince a loved one to give you a hand massage. Whatever it takes. Get ahead now, or catch up - do what it takes so you can enjoy the Ravens game tomorrow!

Day 11 - A special day, 11/11/11. Hope all is going well for all our writers.

ML vix/Vickie is hosting a Write-In at Wegman's in Lanham from noon to 3pm on Saturday, 11/12 - look for a seating area with a NaNo table tent!

New Write-Ins: Brunswick and College Park IKEA!

Day 10 - A good day to hit about 17,000 words! And even more write-ins are being scheduled. Could it be that people are learning about the thousands of words we are writing while surrounded by others frantically typing/writing? We've made believers out of many!

Day 8 - Get Week 2 going with a bang!

Day 9 - Check calendar for new write-ins. There is now a Write-In at La Madeleine in Bethesda, hosted by the DC MLs! 7:30pm-ish.

Update your Word Count - we have widgets with our avatars now!

Day 7 - Did you back up your novel? Save early, save often, and save in more than one place! Also, new write-ins have been posted - check the calendar, and check the forum for impromptu write-ins too.

Day 6 - Fall Back! Not in your word count, of course, but on your clock. Are you using your extra hour for writing? Or something silly like sleep? However you use it, use it wisely - think of it as a gift making November that much longer than any other 30 day month.

Day 5 - Last chance to sign up for our Regional Word War with the Texas Lushguins! We need people who are in it all the way, who are going for massive word counts, who will help us have the highest average word count! So if you are pushing beyond 50K, if you know you will stay the course, this challenge will help motivate you AND will help us! This is about the highest word count per person, NOT our collective word count. Someone who writes 7000 words and stops for the month would bring our average down - but you could still join and if you can't finish, drop out by the date indicated. Carol needs confirmation emails that people have read the rules and understands the challenge and are definitely in for the WIN! But if you were confused, no worries, we don't have to finalize the list until tonight, so feel free to drop out or enter - we love those big numbers! Go Team Blue Crabs!

Day 4 - Don't forget to stretch - wiggle your fingers, roll your shoulders, get up and move - sitting for a couple hours writing can be hard on your body, and we are still in the beginning of the month. Your wrists need a break. Also, when you sit to write, try to support your back by tightening your core (hold in your tummy) - better posture will prevent later pain. Ok, go write more now!

Friendly write-in space is avaiable everywhere. I'm here at Ukazoo Books in Towson and they have signs for NaNoWriMo everywhere. They've offered their meeting room for free at any time for NaNo-ers. They've got wi-fi for free, complimentary tea and coffee, and power outlets. They've even got a power strip in the middle of the table for easy access!

Day 3 - Write-ins are great ways to get in a high word count, especially due to word wars. But if you can't make it to one, or there isn't one near by, consider an online word war. Chat with a writing buddy, set a timer, write like the wind... regardless of who has the higher count after 10 or 15 minutes, you BOTH win!

Day 2 will be bright and beautiful so be sure to get outside for a breath of fresh air and some sun, maybe as a break from writing? Honest, a few minutes will refresh you and you'll write even more!

ARE YOU WRITING??? Day 1 - Go Go Go!

Forgot to load up on chocolate before midnight? Take care in how you raid your kids' trick-or-treat bags - they WILL notice! Almost time - less than an hour... BOO!

Our regional dare vote ended in a tie!
Get ready to use both calico cat and black-eyed Susan in your novel.

Get ready to lock up your Inner Editors - there are just hours left until you can start writing the best/first NaNovel of your life. Are you ready???

Sorry for the delay in choosing the regional dare. Go to the "Dare: Let's vote this out!" thread below to help us decide. Please post only one choice and do so even if you have expressed a preference in the dare suggestion thread..

Baltimore Area Kick-Off Party is still going on today! Reservation has been confirmed, I've made packets and have stickers. Please come. :)

"Writing Buddies" is back - so you can add friends and track them now! Our former lists will be ported from the old system over the weekend. This is wonderful because, as you know, misery, or rather, literary abandon, loves company!

We might be getting Writing Buddies back soon - keep checking!

The Kick-Off Parties in Baltimore and Denton are set up and on the calendar - see links to the threads in our Links section so you can RSVP!

The Kick-Off Party in Gaithersburg/Rockville is also coming up - thanks to all who have posted their RSVP!

Thanks to everyone who attended the Kick-Off in Columbia! I hope you found it helpful and fun, that you got to meet fellow Wrimos, and that you discovered confidence in your ability to complete a 50K novel in 30 days.

I could not give you infinite monkeys to produce your own version of Shakespeare's works but I do hope the one I gave you helps you get one step closer to noveling greatness!

Eight days until it gets real, so get outlining (or not!) and get some rest. We can sleep in December!

Lee, ML, aka bingo freespace ;-)

Don't forget we now have two pages of threads - your area thread might be on Page 2 - if you are looking for your area, scroll through all the threads - you might find it! ML vix is busy getting write-ins on the calendar, and if there isn't one in your area, please feel free to host one! All the info you need is in the sticky about write-ins and hosting!

Lee, ML

LOVING all the introductions in the Welcome thread! Thought I'd offer some comments: yes, procrastinators can finish (I'm one and have finished every time), yes, babies' naptimes are perfect for writing, and November is for writing, not weddings LOL! But congrats anyway ;-) Write-ins (and especially word wars) help with writing - nothing like 10 minutes of hearing others bashing away at the keys to get your anxiety up and your words flowing. Trust me. Ok, I should go wash dishes or plot or something...

Lee, ML

Want a great way to ensure you'll be driven to achieve 50K or more? Join our Word War Challenge with the Lushguins! Write to defend the pride of your region - plus it is a great kick in the... keyboard! Click the link or the thread for it and follow the directions. To join in , you MUST email our coordinator tidewaterbound (Carol) whose info is in the thread. Hope to get a bunch of challengers soon!

We now have a Facebook page (thank you ML Chrissy for starting it up!). Check the link under Links (look to the right and under Meet Your MLs and About Us sections of this regional header) to find it.

After a minor blip on my part (links are evil!), I'm back to share and promote the Google Map created for the region. Attached are locations for write-ins and the Kick Off Parties. Here you go! Smaller, better link for the Google Map! Soon to be posted with synchronized events from the Google Calendar, the Facebook page.

Chrissy, nursechrissy09, ML, Baltimore

Welcome Maryland Writers to NaNoWriMo 2011!

Whipped cream on cocoa and big mugs of tea
Fresh sharpened pencils and stationary
Piles of research and outlines that sing
These are a few of my noveling things!

In case you missed it, the new NaNoWriMo site has been launched and Maryland writers, rookies and returnees, are flocking to our forum and getting ready to write a novel. We know when the leaves are falling and Ray Rice is scoring that it’s time to get going on our writing!

Here’s a Wrimo ToDo list to help you have a wonderful month:

1) Sign in to NaNoWriMo, update your profile with the years you’ve participated in NaNo and the years you’ve won NaNo, and any other sections you wish to fill in. Upload a new avatar! A few options like Writing Buddies are still being worked on by the HQ Tech Team but almost everything you need is ready.
2) Come post an introduction on the Welcome thread in our forum!
3) Post a suggestion for this year’s Maryland Dare. An official voting thread will go up to make the final decision for what all Marylander Wrimos will attempt to include in their novels.
4) Sign up for our traditional Word War Challenge vs. the Lushguins! There’s nothing like a deadline AND a challenge to get those words out of your brain and into your computer/iPad/ smartphone/notebook/clay tablet.
5) RSVP for a Kick-Off Party! One will be in Columbia on Sunday, October 23 from 11am-1pm, another will be in Shady Grove on Saturday, October 29 from 11:30am-1:30pm, and a third will be in Baltimore on Sunday, October 30 from 12pm-3pm. Please come to our forum to RSVP (post in the thread for the party you plan to attend) so your MLs can plan appropriately!
6) Find a thread for your area and see who is writing nearby. If there is no thread for your area, feel free to start one.
7) Organize and host a Write-In! Ok, not everyone will be a host, but we Marylanders are very good at getting our novels written in great part due to attendance at write-ins hosted by our wonderful volunteers. You can discuss times and places in your area thread, then the host can read directions and post a calendar request in our write-in and calendar request thread.
8) DONATE! While participating in NaNoWriMo is free, everything that makes it possible is not. Please, Maryland writers, we are asking you to make a donation this year. Earn that halo and outstanding noveling karma by making even a minimum donation. You can find the link for donations in the same tab on the site for the store.
9) Merchandise purchases also help fund NaNo and there are some wonderful new items including this year’s t-shirt (available in long sleeves!) with Baty-isms that will help you all month. There are awesome new keychains, and even a polo shirt and messenger bag! Display your NaNo pride (not insanity, pride!) with cool new gear.
10) Finally, and most importantly, get ready to write 50K in 30 days. Some of you will already have started with ideas, research, outlines, plots, characters, setting, maps… others might have decided to just wing it. If you need help, there are several forums set up with tons of ideas if you are stuck. Your MLs are also wonderful resources for tips and tricks, which they’ll share at their kick-off parties (hint!).

Let’s get it started! Lee, Vickie, Chrissy, Maryland MLs