Hi everyone,
Those of you who have been around for a few months or more will probably have heard of our Bay Area Writers Retreat. This is a now twice-yearly event for adult (18+) NaNoWriMo participants, one event held in the spring and one during NaNoWriMo itself.
Anywhere from 6-12 writers go away to a vacation rental for a weekend. We have lots of great food, often-idyllic settings and scenery, and massive exertion of artistic energy. Last November we produced over 100,000 words, with nearly 30,000 of them coming from one South Bay ML alone (probably appropriate, since he invented the retreat in the first place).
The retreat info page is at http://retreat.andromedary.org/ -- check it out for historical and current details.
The purpose of this posting is twofold.
1) We have one opening in the retreat this coming month. It's Friday 11/2 (THIS FRIDAY) through Tuesday 11/6 in Pacifica; you can come in Friday or Saturday and leave whenever you need to (Sunday night through Tuesday noon).
Normally the retreat costs $300 up front, but the attendee who is no longer able to attend has agreed to offer the space to the highest bidder even if it goes for less than $300. (We don't do refunds for any reason unless the retreat itself is cancelled, or unless the space is re-reserved.)
If you're interested in bidding on the open space, you'll want to get in touch with me ASAP. If you're over 18, have done NaNoWriMo before (or have an ML or retreat vet willing to vouch for you as a newbie), and can pay via Paypal by Wednesday afternoon, send an email to sfnanos@gmail.com and I'll let you know if your bid is the winner. We are asking for a minimum bid of $150 if at all possible. A $300 bid is welcome, and may shortcut the process, but otherwise, the best bid will make our unfortunate canceller's wallet happy, and may just give you that 10000-30000 word head start you never dreamed of having in the first six days. (FYI: The rebate mentioned on the retreat page does not apply if you bid less than $300.)
2) If you can't make it this time, but would like to be kept informed of future retreats, you can join our pre-retreat mailing list.
Email pre-retreat-subscribe@andromedary.org, and follow the instructions in the auto-responder to confirm your subscription.
The 2008 retreat season includes the following:
- Spring Thing 2008, Mid-APRIL 2008 (to coincide with Script Frenzy, but you don't have to participate in Script Frenzy to go)
- Southern Withdrawl 2008, tentatively November 7-10, 2008. Word count mania for the sixth year running, where Ian is expected to complete his novel before the pizza is gone on Friday night.
Deadlines for registration (and payment of the approx. $300 reservation deposit) are generally the first of the month preceding the retreat, but the space can fill up early. So start saving up your change now and watch for news of next year's retreats.
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Rob/Gallifreyan * Mountain View/San Francisco, California
ML for San Francisco and Peninsula Regions
Keeper Emeritus of the South Bay Bars of Power
67,233 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2007 - 16 19
The retreats are a lot of fun and incredibly productive. I've been amazed by the experience every year I've gone. If you can make it, I strongly encourage you to try and go - if not this year, then next. Both of your MLs for this region will be going on the retreat this year (though not to worry, we'll come back into town for Sunday's OVC write-in).
50,000 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2007 - 18 19
In fact, both South Bay, both Peninsula, and both San Francisco MLs will be there. And who knows, maybe a couple of future MLs as well.
Rob/Gallifreyan * Mountain View/San Francisco, California
ML for San Francisco and Peninsula Regions
Keeper Emeritus of the South Bay Bars of Power
0 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2007 - 01 08
Okay, what is an ML?
50,000 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2007 - 08 37
ML is Municipal Liaison, your local guide and cheerleader for the experience that is NaNoWriMo.
The site refers to them as "local volunteers who help organize NaNoWriMo groups in their hometowns."
They're the ones who organize events, schedule write-ins, send those inspirational messages that show up in your email every week or so, and try to calm your fears about the slowness of the site as well as other concerns. They bring swag from headquarters, create local shirts and other trinkets, and remind you up until the last minute that you CAN do this weird and wonderful thing, you can write a novel in 30 days. And they keep wishing they got a commission on your words, but they also write their own novels alongside you.
83,413 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2007 - 01 36
Last weekend's writing retreat was great, just like every year. We had so much fun, we're already making plans for the spring retreat, which will probably be in April. If the idea of going away for a weekend with a bunch of NaNo friends sounds like fun, join the pre-retreat mailing list (see gallifreyan's initial post in this thread) to stay informed of future retreat plans.
%) Lisa
50,039 / 50,000
Nov 28, 2007 - 17 18
Will the spring retreat be writing-centered as well? I know there's no pressure as far as Nano deadlines or anything, but I have so much to finish on this project I doubt I will have it done by April.
50,000 / 50,000
Nov 28, 2007 - 22 39
The spring retreat is very free-form. Some people have done writing, editing, reading, sleeping, painting, meditating, and other things. It is scheduled this coming year to coincide with Script Frenzy, so there may be more script writing than in past years.