Hi everybody -- welcome to the 2007 edition of NaNoWriMo! I'll be the ML again this year. Unfortunately, co-ML Audrey has moved back to Austin, TX. We can say goodbye by making sure our regional word count is MUCH higher than theirs!
EDITED TO ADD: I'm happy to say we've got a second ML, Wairoam, on board. And anyone intrigued by NaNoWriMo's spin-off event, Script Frenzy, can contact Script Frenzy ML Gostiee (who is also organizing our Halloween Midnight write-in at the Fireside).
Our informational/pep-rally/kick-off event will be 3-5pm, Saturday 27 October, at the Central Library downtown (same place it's been the past few years). More on that in the next week or so.
It's also not too early to think about a venue for the TGIO -- Thank G-word-of-your-choice It's Over -- party. We need a place that can accommodate a large group (based on previous years, at least 50 and possibly over 100) that's somewhat centrally located and ideally free (or extremely cheap). If there are any party planners among us who would like to volunteer to organize this event, please let me know.
If you haven't started already, it's time to clear your November calendar, lay in provisions for long hours at the keyboard or notebook, and begin your pre-novel rituals of preparation! It's going to be a great month!
Heather
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Heather
co-ML for Portland, Oregon
portland_or [AT] nanowrimo [DOT] org
local NaNoWriMo event calendar
51,063 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 09 32
I'll put it on my calendar. I had a really good time last year! ^_^
33,603 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 11 49
I'm so excited! This is my first NaNo. I guess I'll see everybody on the 27th.
57,283 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 13 18
Yay! Hopefully this year I'll actually make it to the party, since I know I won't have to work. Also, I'll finally have a year of write-ins and such where I can attend (being on the East Side this time).
50,936 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 13 24
Hey!
Welcome newbie (who I shall henceforth be known as phoenix in my book.... wait... do we already have a phoenix?). I would like to be one of the first to welcome you to that crazy time of year known as NaNo. This will be my third year. There are many veterans here who I am sure would be more than welcome to answer any questions you may have. And if not, I'll answer them for you.
Welcome back everyone. So sad to hear we lost one of our liaisons. She brought a lot to us in the short period of time she was with us. Only thing we can do now to thank her is to beat her regionally!
I look forward to getting reacquainted with everyone over the next month and have a wild November. I've got extra challenges on my plate this year that I am eager to see how I deal with.
See you all in the forums!
50,936 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 13 31
And HEY! I didn't know we were all posting in December 1969!
I guess I have more time to think about what I'm going to write this year than I thought...
Don't worry hhw... we'll catch up to your time soon enough!
Hmm, I sense a novel idea brewing..............
50,033 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 15 43
I will be there, I'm certain. If I don't drag Wraith there, she will drag me there. I look forward to seeing everyone. It will be nice to see some familiar faces again.
50,165 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 18 01
Hi all.
New gal coming on board. Marking my calendar for the 27th. Think that hubby will be joining this fray as well. I hope.
My 17 month old may just chew on computer cables though.
50,155 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 22 39
Hello hello! I'm looking forward to the start of this year's Nano (even though I'm not sure what I'm going to write as of yet). I've cleared my calendar for November (mostly), and I'm taking the first off in hopes of getting a good start this year.
I seem to recall there was talk of a midnight write-in for the 1st at the Fireside. Is that still a go?
71,461 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2007 - 22 31
I'll try to make the kick-off, but Saturday afternoon is pretty tough. Retail sometimes sucks.
I'm back to write Book II and III (roughly 1230 through 1908) this time since Book IV (last years work) is nearly completed. It now totals about 340,000 words with a bit more to go. This thing is turning into a multi-volume monster, but there's little I would ever want to cut.
BTW, did anyone else go to see the "movie" about us from last year? I was somewhat underwhelmed by the final cut, but that's a story for another day.
Good luck, everybody, and hopefully I'll be able to duck out early and make at least part of the party.
GP
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NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner - Berlin, Book IV
10,004 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 02 12
Thanks for the welcome! And hello everyone else. :P This is my first year as a Portland nanoer ( just moved here a month ago! ), but I've done and won '05 and '06. :)
10,548 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 08 46
Hiya, all!
I haven't been around for a while (3 years, to be exact) so I suppose I'm a newbie of sorts! :) Working in a completely new genre (chick-lit!), hoping to win this year (versus my 15K of 2004 LOL) and socialise with more Portlanders - because, after all, we rock, don't we?
So far, I have a few basic characters and a general idea of what I'm going to write about. Most. Unprepared. Nano. Ever. This is going to be a wild month, I'm sure of it!!!!!
0 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 10 12
Yet another newbie here. :) I'm going to try to make it for the kickoff, but as I live in Wilsonville and have no vehicle, I'm at the mercy of SMART and their horrid schedule. Now, if someone else lives in Wilsonville and could provide a ride, I'd be grateful! :)
I'm a sci-fi/fantasy writer, and a member of Forward Motion for Writers, so I hope to be pretty active. Let's watch those word counts fly... Texas is going *DOWN*! ;)
11,103 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 11 00
Total nano newbie here. I'm very excited but I'm daunted because I have too many ideas. I'll never be able to pick one to settle on! Write now it's a toss up between a western/steampunk adventure or one of two YA fantasy ideas... so hard to decide!
10,410 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 11 44
Word, ya'll.
Third NaNoWriMo, but effectively my third on the forums. We'll see how much I post - forum writing is words that are not going into my book.
I'm excited - my new work schedule should be rather conducive to word counts.
10,410 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 11 53
Word, ya'll.
Third NaNoWriMo, but effectively my third on the forums. We'll see how much I post - forum writing is words that are not going into my book.
I'm excited - my new work schedule should be rather conducive to word counts.
55,601 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 13 41
HI there all. I'm Night Silver. This is my second year at NaNoWriMo, and I hope to win again, even though I'm shooting for 100k this time! I accidentily hit it last year instead of 50k, but we'll see....
Anyway, this "kick off" night on the 27th sounds exciting. Anybody gone before? What are we Portlander's to expect?
Toodles,
Night Silver
55,232 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 16 06
I'm Sarah Alice (or Essae, a spelled out version of my initials). This is my 2nd year doing NaNo... I had a ton of fun doing it last year with my BF... I'm hoping to go to the kick-off party, if I can get someone to drop me off.
50,076 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 16 33
Hello, all. This will be my first year NaNoing, and I am very excited... and nervous... but I don't care about the nervous part.
Who here likes the rain! *raises hand* I actually nicknamed this region 'Imbrion' after 'imber', the Latin word for rain. Any story I write that refers to Imbrion probably refers to here. :)
0 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 17 09
Hi Night Silver,
The kick-off is a fairly low-key event with a couple of goals:
* a chance to meet the ML(s) and some of the other new and returning Portland WriMos, in part so that you'll see some familiar faces if you go to any of the write-ins during November
* an introduction to NaNoWriMo for folks who've just learned about it
* an introduction to doing NaNoWriMo in Portland for folks new to the region
* building excitement and sharing encouragement for another leap into the wacky abyss that is NaNoWriMo
* an excuse to buy a big bag of M&Ms for the snack table (OK, maybe that's just me)
Heather
55,232 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 23 16
lol, my friend once said that Portland only has 2 seasons: Rainy season and August.
50,016 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2007 - 23 49
Hello to my fellow Portland WriMos,
This will be my third year of participating in this crazy wonderful event of manic eyes and twitchy typing fingers.
November is my one and only super-packed-to-the-gills month, so of course NaNoWriMo happens at that time, too, right? of course! For ex, I help organize and run several events at a four day (that goes non-stop from 9am-mid) con that happens every year at the beginning of November, so my partner and I always have to start writing our first words five days into the month - aaahhh [smiley].
If any of you live somewhere in the Gateway/Mall 205 area, let me know and we could consider doing an informal write-in or get together in this area, say @ a local coffeeshop or something.
Thank you Heather for volunteering to be our ML, and let me know if you could use a hand at any point,
Amber
2004: A Tale Told by a Dreamer, Full of Blood and Glitter, Signifying Nothing (38,000)
2006: The Fairy Tale Abductees (winner)
3,855 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 00 16
Actually, I've heard it...
"Rainy season, rainy season, rainy season, and construction season"
*Giggle*
19,781 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 00 41
Hey, Celsie's here, happy that I nabbed the first post in the Literary Fiction forum this year. Usually I don't hit the site until the end of this month. I'm just extra excited and full of ideas this year!
Like Nibo, I know I don't have to work Saturday, so I'm thrilled to think I'll actually make it to the kick off this time! Someone mentioned Fireside. I vaguely remember that, though no idea where it actually is.
@unchangeling: I used to live down in that area. Maybe the Starbucks on Halsey, I think? Or what would you recommend? Not sure if the new one on Stark/Washington actually has a sitting area.
50,399 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 08 21
I'm here again for my fourth nano but November is already packed full of commitments this year so I am a little nervous. I am sad that I will be missing the kick off this year but am hoping for some great Westside write-ins this year! I guess it is time to clear off my desk, create my play-list and make my sacrificial offering to the goddess of creativity! I have been looking forward to this all year.
:)
Christina
0 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 14 22
So I am new to Portland, and new to NaNoWriMo...I'm very excited. My novel doesn't have a terrible lot of direction quite yet. I think I know where I want it to go, but I also have a feeling it might start bossing me around a bit and decide where it wants to end up on it's own. Either way, this is going to be an adventure.
14,024 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 16 03
2nd year NaNo-er here! I had a ton of fun last year, and I'm ready to face my inevitable sophmore slump. Sigh. But I've got some ideas brewing. since I made a snap decision on day 3 last year to join, I have a huge advantage this year called prep time! I'll come to the kickoff if my schedule allows it.
946 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 16 08
this is my first NaNoWriMo but as soon as we start it will be one of 4 or 5 books i'm currently writing. It's going to be hard to drop the rest and just focus on this one but i'm up to the challenge. the book i plan on writing is called The Lost Ones and it's about a group of youngish girls on their search to find a place to belong.
946 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 16 21
i'm new here too and kinda nervous though i don't care
yay fellow rain lover *huggs* it's hardly rain this year NO FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!
50,076 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2007 - 18 37
*gasp* Fellow Beaverton denizens! Yes!
Ya, that means I live in Beaverton too. I just don't make a point of letting it be known. :P
Ugh. I'm a freshman, but I'm taking AP classes and some of my teachers are relentess when it comes to homework... Thankfully the painful stuff we're dealing with now will end before November, so hopefully it won't be so bad. I wonder if I can print out posters and put them on the school's bulletin boards to educate other students on NaNoWriMo. That would be fun.
50,073 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2007 - 17 47
I finally have awakened from my cold-medicine induced stupor to realize that NaNo is less than a month away and I can log in to update stuff now...
My name is Amanda, but you can call me Wolfie, Penguin, or Ms. Bunny-Ears, as I wore those d*** things during the midnight write on 11-1-06. I'll refrain from wearing them this year... maybe. I have other costumes I can use parts of...
I live in NE Portland, and i hosted the TGIO party last year. If the group is small enough this year (max is 50-ish), I'm certainly open to hosting again... but i strongly encourage public transit, as they've imposed parking restrictions now...
I write sci-fi and fantasy... and this year will be a continuation of last year's novel, which I'm STILL editing, but will be done and off to readers shortly (refer to first line of post, cold meds and editing don't mix). I will be self-publishing said piece once it's truly done. Part Deux will be a continuation of the plot... building a bit (well, duh).
I can't say as of this moment that I'll be able to make the Kick-off... well, I can't be there at the beginning. My saturday job is until 3... in Sherwood. Yes, I commute there...
If this all comes across a little snarky... well, blame my sinuses and whacked equilibrium. I'll make more sense later... maybe.
Amanda