Calling All Muskokans

"I'm here, I'm here!" Tone yells out.
Tone jumps off her bike and runs towards her friend in the coffee-shop.
"Sorry, I'm late. Got delayed with these dratted things," she says as she bursts through the door. Her hands are covered with bits of sticky pieces of Post-It Notes. "I couldn't get them to come off, and I need them. They're part of my back story."
She looks pleadingly at her friend, hoping for sympathy... and help.

So, first time doing NaNoWriMo, first time living in Muskoka....it's looking pretty quiet here!

It's my second NaNo; and I've been living just north of Muskoka for over 2 1/2 years.
I knew I was finally becoming a 'northern girl' my second June here when I used a piece of duct tape to patch a tear in my bug jacket. :)

So, BeenThereCanada, where are you from and what brings you here?

Hey. There are 20 Muskokans in Nanowrimo?! Impressive!

Martin Avery, WiR at PPL

Hello All,

I've come close to winning Nano a few times, but never seem to reach the finish line. This year I plan to change that. As well this is my first time living near the Muskoka region. I live near Orillia. Anyone else from there?

-Bramble

So, the first day of writing is here....I guess I should be writing more than just this wall post! Oh well, 14 more hours in the day, so I suppose there is time to make a good start!

jaell - I am staying in Parry Sound for 6 weeks vacation. My job is on a contract basis out of the country with extended vacations in between, so I am in the middle of some lovely free time (I have no permanent home right now!) and therefore have NO excuse not to be able to finish NaNo! My family is from here, but this is the first time I'm officially living here for any length of time. It's beautiful and relaxed....and much quieter than Toronto!

Good luck and good writing everyone! :)))

Wow! Look at how many of us are cropping up in Muskoka. Excellent!!!

Six of us got together at Oliver's coffee house in Gravenhurst earlier tonight (Friday Nov 2), just to start warming our fingers up. (Literally, as it turned out. It was COLD outside.) We had tried to get online to NaNoWriMo and post the time and place here, but -- alas -- the servers were SOOOO slow that none of us got on.

HOWEVER, there's still a month to get together, if we want to.

Astrid's "Tone"

Hey fellow Muskokans! This is my first time doing NaNo as well, and I have to say, I am a little intimidated, and a little uninspired, but hey, you can't have it all... happy to hear I 'm not on my own here... I've been in Muskoka for almost two years, though it feels longer!

I feel a little inspiration coming on!

Twigs

Well, wishing you all inspiration or just plain determination to write just for the sake of writing.

Not every moment I write is full of inspiration -- I have to admit it -- but suddenly there are unexpected surprises. Characters come to life and say the darndest things.

I'll ask myself: "Now where did that come from?" and won't always know the answer. It just comes from somewhere, but it is fascinating.

-----

Ready to toss that never-satisfied inner critic out the window, so that I can just type away furiously.

Inspiration isn't the problem Astrid--- mine is finding the time to write! At least I actually got on the website now!!!

Miranda
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."

Miranda, yes, I'm really glad you finally made it onto the website. And... wow... that's a great word-count you have there!

As for me, I'm still behind about 5000 words here (or almost three days), but have been catching up.

Hello! I am a Muskokan at heart--I spent every childhood summer on Lake Rosseau, and those times were the happiest of my life. Last year, one of the main settings for my novel was in Muskoka at a fictional lakeside retreat called Catfish Cottages. This year my story is back in Edmonton and on a planet called Gleise 581c. But my dreams are all of Muskoka these days-I think it is my muse for my writing. This year, my tale is fantasy, but I am inspired by memories of my Muskoka days. The lake, the witch's steps around my bay, my grandfather's island of miniatures, and picnics on Onoway Island. My character will experience the beauty of Muskoka on the planet she finds herself on. So Happy writing, Muskokans. I envy you the gorgous place you live in. I am way behind my quota so must get writing!
Right away!
Fredelle

I'm late, I'm late, but I made it to 20,000 words just now. And I've been drifting into "that infamous zone" more often, where the novel just seems to be writing itself. Yeah!!!

But the best part is that I SURVIVED, especially week two. I was just kept plugging at it, even when I wondered if it wasn't all pointless, even when my writing seemed awful (and it may perfectly well have been awful, I don't know yet). I kept writing, because I knew--from previous experience--that "this too shall pass," that it was just a stage, and there just had to be sunnier days ahead.

And there are, my friends, there are... just keep writing. Don't give up, even if you don't think you can make the count by the 30th, because--after all--this is *your* novel and you can finish it a weeks later if you want and have the rest of your life to enjoy it. That's how I'm trying to see it...

28,000 words and only a week left. I might not make it, but that's okay... I have been writing almost every day and it *does* make a difference. Yeah!

*rushing, trying, TRYING to get to the finish line and purple bar in time*

I'm hearing rumours about a possible Muskoka (and Simcoe) get-together and wrap-up on Monday Dec 3, but only rumours thus far...