United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

TGIO celebrations

Bookbuddybonnie — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 14:53:21 -0800

For anyone who wants to party tonight, I'm already at Greenlife on Manufacturers Road. Yes, I'm here early, but I'll be here through the official celebration time, at least. So come join me.

~~~ Bonnie
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Chattanooga Write-Ins

Bookbuddybonnie — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:34:26 -0800

richelmore wrote:

How was the write-in??

We missed you, Richelmore. I have been remiss in posting about our write-ins, though I did post reports on the calendar itself. Here are reports on the three gatherings we've had, plus other write-in we have lined up so far:

Sat, Nov 1, 7–9pm, at Greenlife
Kickoff Write-In
Seven of us attended the Kick-Off event: Bookbuddybonnie, LookoutBelle, Sexyhalibut, Isil Elensar, FamaIgnora, Richelmore, and one who has not yet officially signed on. Three of our information cards were picked up, and I noticed several tabs had been torn from our flyers on the bulletin boards at Greenlife (the Kick-Off) and at Panera (the first Word War, meeting Sunday evening). Our gang of seven set up another write-in for next Saturday evening, again at Greenlife. We want longer hours, so you'll see 6-9pm on our official calendar for November 8th.

Sun, Nov 2, 7–9pm, at Panera
Word War
Sexyhalibut and Bookbuddybonnie were the only two who showed up, so we decided Sundays were probably not good for most of this year's Wrimos (and maybe the location was not right for us).

Sat, Nov 8, 6–9pm, at Greenlife
Write-In
Wow! We had eight tonight (including three newbies), plus one WriMo who works at Greenlife and stopped by our table(s) to chat and add her name (and NaNo user name) to our list. That makes nine tonight: Amybeth, Marzipanj, Nuggets111, Sexyhalibut, FamaIgnora, Isil Elensar, LookoutBelle, Bookbuddybonnie, and Nagia_arc. We have an excellent group of people ... and an invitation to someone's home for next Saturday.

Sat, Nov 15, 6–9pm, at a private home
Halfway Write-In
To get directions, please RSVP in a comment here or Nano mail Bookbuddybonnie. If we have an overflow, some of us can go to a nearby place with WiFi.

Sat, Nov 22, time and place TBA
Write-In

Thur, Nov 27, time and place TBA
Turkey Morn Write-In

Sat, Nov 29, time and place TBA
Big Push Write-In

Sun, Nov 30, time and place TBA
Final Write-In

Mon, Dec 1 (or another Dec date), time and place TBA
TGIO celebration
The Thank Goodness It's Over party is when we get to do our *happy dance* *more happy dance* *still more* while we take deep breaths and celebrate all the words we managed to write, whether we reached 50K or not.

I'm open to more suggestions, if you want to meet in other places or at different times than we've met so far. Just let me know.

~~~ B.b.bonnie
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!

Isil Elensar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:45:14 -0800

Here is where we can post our lovely, verified word counts and show off our lovely purple winner bars!!

*snoopy boogie*
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Word Count Posts (Part Deux)!

Isil Elensar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:19:39 -0800

A new thred for our collective insaneness... ;-)
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Week Four: The Sink or Swim, Do or Die, Zero Hour!

Isil Elensar - the second — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:55:17 -0800

15,294 / 50,000(30.6%)

*sigh* Not the 20k I was hoping for, but I might have some time tomorrow to write. I hope.

But, if not, there's always work. And I need to come up with some kind of trouble/danger for my characters. I think I've introduced a possibility, but I haven't been able to work her in just yet. We have my main couple; hesitant to tell each other how they really feel, but renewing their relationship as they go. And some awesome sex. But we have an aging whore in the town, who's set her sights on my MC, even after he's spurned her in loyalty to his first (and only) love, my FC. So, jealous whore sets out to get him, one way or another. I gotta set that up in the next chapters.

And hope that doing so will get me to another 50k and another finished NaNovel.
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~~~~~
"Write until your fingers bleed and your keyboard catches fire!"

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

A note from Headquarters

Bookbuddybonnie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:25:34 -0800

It’s NaNoWriMo’s tenth year! From Adelaide to the Yukon Territories over 115,000 adults and 21,000 kids and teens are taking up the challenge of writing a novel in November.

NaNoWriMo and the Young Writers Program are possible because of the energy and optimism of a tiny staff at the Office of Letters and Light and an army of volunteers. Because the Office is a nonprofit, your tax-deductible donations are essential. It takes a lot of money to keep servers humming, websites up and running, forums moderated, pep talks flowing, the office functioning, and the coffeepot perking. NaNoWriMo is free to everyone, but it has lasted this long because people like you donate to the cause.

There are many ways to give something back to the organization that gives so much to you, and many of them take no money at all. You can:

* Donate directly by credit card, PayPal, or check
* Purchase some fine and stylish merchandise from the store
* If you are monetarily challenged, set GoodSearch as your search engine, and Yahoo will donate a penny for every search
* Set up a sponsorship page at Firstgiving.com and invite your friends and family to donate on your behalf
* Or, see this page for more ideas on donating when you are broke

Please donate today to keep NaNoWriMo alive and strong!
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Major Problem

richelmore — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:46:07 -0800

Sitting on my backside this long is starting to cause pain. Also, am fearful of the damage excessive caffeine consumption may do to my body and my cheap little coffee maker.

Is it worth it?

Um, YES.

Anyone else suffering from anything, be it mental anguish, a sore backside, or finger blisters? I'd love to know :)
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

NaNoWriMo theme songs

Bookbuddybonnie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:42:35 -0800

Look what I found on a forum about NaNoWriMo Theme Songs:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3129196
There are lots of others set to a huge variety of tunes. Very creative folks.

------------------------------------------------------------

To the tune of "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner":

Oh I wish I were a NaNoWriMo winner
That is what I truly wish to be
Cause if I were a NaNoWriMo winner
Fifty thousands words would come to me.

------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Quirk added:

Oh, I wish I were a NaNoWriMo writer
Bashing out the words to 50 K
Because if I were a NaNoWirMo writer
I'd be writing each and every day.

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To the tune of "My Bologna Has A First Name":

Oh, my novel has a first page
And it is not so bad
And my novel has a second page,
But there it starts to drag

Oh, I love to write it every day
and if you ask me why I'll say...
'Cause NaNoWriMo has the ways
To write my book in thirty days.

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Whaddya think? Do we need our own theme song? Can any of us sing?

~~~ Bonnie
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

National Back Up Your Novel Day

Bookbuddybonnie — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 17:55:37 -0800

NOTE: I posted this hours and hours ago ... as a new topic. I saw it posted, and I have email confirmation that it's been posted. However, it is no longer here. Where did it go? And why? Does some other region have my post? All I know is that when I went back into my email to retrieve the email (from 4:40 pm today), the link to "review original" takes me to a NEWBIE post. What?!!?!! Okay, so if this is a repeat, you'll know it isn't my fault. Trying again.

Isil Elensar wrote:

*double sigh* I totally screwed up my efforts to "back up" my novel. I sent what I thought was the current copy of my story so that I can replace my work copy with the newer version. See, I have my story in two different places, so I can work on it both at home and at work. But did it go by plan today? *snort* No! Apparently I have two copies at home, one not-so-current than the other, and that's the one I sent to work. ARGH!!

Funny (*not*) to read this when I arrive to post a reminder that everyone should save a copy of your novel.

Yesterday Chris Baty posted this on the main page of NaNoWriMo:

Chris wrote:

We like to celebrate NABUYND at least once a week in November. To take part in the festivities, don a crazy hat, then email your novel-in-progress to your favorite webmail account, save it to a flash drive, or make someone with a photographic memory read the whole thing. Then keep them out of direct sunlight until the next back-up.

It's a good idea, you know. What a disaster it would be if you had only one copy of your masterpiece and (heaven forbid!) someone stole your laptop ... or your desktop computer died on November 29th ... or everything was lost in a fire ... or ... or ...

Hey, maybe these disasters are fodder for extending your NaNovel. Okay, Wrimos, I double dog dare ya to include a NaNo disaster somewhere in your novel.

Quote:

double dog dare
= the ultimate of dares,
one that you cannot refuse;
to up the ante when something
dared seems especially daunting.

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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

WELCOME ~ and introductions all around

Bookbuddybonnie — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 20:59:56 -0700

Welcome to the Chattanooga Regional Forum!

I'm Bonnie, your new Municipal Liaison for 2008. I hope to entice each of you to at least one or two of our write-ins or parties. In case you want to check out my profile or add me as one of your buddies, I'm know here as Bookbuddybonnie. Let me know if I can help you with anything. If I don't know answers, I'll ask the powers that be ... in other words, those who know.

If you are in the Chattanooga area (especially those in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama), please affiliate with the Chattanooga region and make it your Home region. This way your word count will count towards our region's total, but mostly we want you to be involved in our gatherings so we can get to know other writers in our region.

WHO ARE WE?

Let's start off with introductions. Tell us about yourself. How long have you been doing NaNo? If you're a newbie, how'd you hear about it? Do you know what your novel will be about this year? Do you have a title yet? What’s your hobby? What’s your profession? What’s your school major? What makes you unique?

I'll go first 'cause I'm not a bit bashful.

I've only done NaNoWriMo once, and I won in 2007. Hurray! My tentative title this year is "In No Time at All," for what I've decided is literary fiction, though there's an element of moving through time. Would that be magical realism, perhaps? I dunno, but I'm calling it literature. I'm retired from all the jobs and professions I've held as I tried to decide what I want to do when I grow up. I am a people person, which simply means I like people. I volunteered (as Tennesseans do) to be ML for our region this year because Mortaine, who got us started as a region last year, was just passing through. Actually, she and her husband were visiting family here, but they didn't stay. They left shortly after the end of November in their RV and have traveled who knows how many places since then. The job description for ML seems to be (1) have a sense of humor, and (2) be slightly crazy. I think I qualify on both counts. I'll be posting other threads here, including information on our events. When you see the calendar for the Chattanooga Region, it will appear to be filled with possibilities. Know that, so far, only two of those dates have been settled:

KICK-OFF WRITE-IN

Sat, Nov 1, 7pm – 9pm
Greenlife Grocery‎
301 Manufacturers Rd
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Phone: (423) 702-7300

Come and join us for the kick-off event for NaNoWriMo 2008 -- the 10th anniversary year. We'll have loads of fun, laughter, and of course writing. Hope to see you there.

WORD WAR

Sun, November 2, 7pm – 9pm
Panera Bread
4900 Hixson Pike (620 Northgate Mall)
Hixson, TN 37343
Phone: (423) 877-0223

We'll try, repeatedly, to best our previous number of words written in 15-minute bursts, because every word counts!
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Quotes, zingers, and other must-share Tidbits

sexyhalibut — Sun, 2 Nov 2008 19:43:45 -0800

We're all well underway in our writing now, and I figure most of us have probably written some pieces of prose that stand out. Anyone have anything they want to share? I'll start us out...

"They were intimate, they were intense, they were savoring it. This was the kind of lover that Perry preferred. The five-minute tricks could be fun, but they were fluff. This was the kind of sex you could sink your teeth into."

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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Word Count Posts!

Isil Elensar — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 19:23:41 -0700

Figured we could keep a daily posting of our word counts in this thread. The NaNo LiveJournal blogs do the same, and I thought it a fairly good idea. Besides, we can shake-a de pom poms for everyone to keep them going... ;-)

Some word meters:

http://www.zokutou.co.uk/wordmeter/
http://www.feath.com/aprilfools/wordmeter/index.php
http://writertopia.org/toolbox/meters (this one needs a bit of tweaking to get what you want)
http://www.languageisavirus.com/nanowrimo/word-meter.html

After I get my stuff transcribed (*grmbl*) from the write-in, I'll have a final word count to post.

Have fun, y'all!!
Isil
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Dare Thread

TNelson — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 19:20:19 -0700

I just went thru the eight pages of the forum Dare thread. I thought it would be easier to find if we have one in this area. I currently have 3 pages of dares from the forum so look there too.

My dare is to use a broom as an important plot prop.

I'm sure I'll come up with others before we start.
Taylor

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Add to the word count everyday!!

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

PLOT advice

Bookbuddybonnie — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:30:50 -0800

Maybe I should have called this topic "Got Plot?"

marzipanj wrote:

I'm maintaining my daily word-count goal, although still having major plot-sustenance problems. I don't know how long my main character can stare at her piles of laundry and dishes and listen to her baby cry before something happens. Although I really appreciated Chris Baty's advice this week--it's easier said than done. Looking forward to seeing all of you this weekend. And please, please have plot advice!

A forum for "Plot Doctoring" can be found here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/forum/158

Plot Doctoring wrote:

Is your plot running out of steam? Don't know what to name your main character's third uncle? Are you unsure of how to tie everything together? Unload your thorny plot problems here, and let our team of literary technicians get your book back on the right foot.

It includes a thread called "Adoptable stuff": http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3000033
Heather Dudley, the Forums Moderator, has links to these places at the top of the thread:

Heather wrote:

Adopt a Plot
Adopt a Sub-plot
Adopt a Title
Adopt a Character
Adopt a Line
Adopt a Name
Adopt a Quirk
Adopt an Opening Line
Adopt an Ending
Adopt a Place
Adopt a Novel Cover
Adopt a Conversation
Adopt a Flaw
Adopt a Motive
Adopt a Group Name
Adopt a Villain Catchphrase
Adopt a Job/Career
Adopt a Conversation
Adopt a Hobby
Adopt a Romantic Line
Adopt an Enemy Organization

We who sit around the table with you at write-ins are also amateurs, so most of us have no more idea of what to do than you. What we CAN do, however, is share whatever we have found. And I found PLOT DOCTORING. Hope this helps.

~~~ B.b.bonnie
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

ML Appreciation Day!

LookoutBelle — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 10:30:42 -0800

Thank you Bonnie, Our Fearless Leader, for taking on Chattanooga as M.L.! It is nice to have Write-Ins to look forward to--meeting like zombie-inspired minds as proof I am not alone in this crazy endeavor of literary abandon. You deserve to be in someone's novel...I don't think you'd like being in mine--Moccasin Bend!
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Inspired by an author?

Bookbuddybonnie — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 19:44:25 -0700

Some of us have favorite authors. Who is yours?

Read about my favorite writer, here:
http://nanowrimo-2008.blogspot.com/2008/08/snoopy-my-hero.html
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Word Count Posts!

Isil Elensar — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 19:20:04 -0700

Some word meters:

After I get my stuff transcribed (*grmbl*) from the write-in, I'll have a final word count to post.

Have fun, y'all!!
Isil
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

What are you doing to prepare?

LookoutBelle — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:17:57 -0700

What is everyone doing to get ready? Are you plotting? Character profiles? Clearing your calendar?

I'm reading one of my favorite books from a long time ago that just drips with setting and character. I'd like to finish it right at Oct. 31, but I think I'll be needing another before then. Come November, I starve myself of reading. I think I'm also nesting as today I cleared off and out my desk. I'm getting my haircut next week and planning on not doing it again until December.

But so far, no idea what I am going to write about. Last year, on Nov. 1 I just started writing and it worked great. I don't know why I'm not happy to do that again.

13 days...and counting.

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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

The First Write-In

Isil Elensar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:47:46 -0700

So, okay. ;-)

I know this thing is set for Saturday evening, 7-9pm (only because 7-9am is not an option for me), and it will be at Greenlife Grocery off Manufacturer's Road. Got that. And at some point, I read a post that had directions to get to the exact meeting place (something about a balcony), but totally forgot what it said (except about the balcony).

Can someone redirect me to those directions, or even just reply to this here post. I'd appreciate it. I plan to come armed with paper and pen (until Dad gets his laptop working again - if that even is a possibility), and I'm bmob, and I'll probably also have a book, because I'm never without a book. ;-)

Oh, and yeah... is this gonna be inside? Silly question, but I'd rather not freeze me tail feathers off.

I'm quite allergic to cold. It puts me into hibernation. ;-)
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Hey Chat, Are you ready?

TNelson — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 18:00:27 -0700

I know Bonnie has been waiting for this to start for months, just like me? So Bonnie, where's the first meetin?

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Add to the word count everyday!!

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

Howdy

richelmore — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:34:19 -0700

Well, although I am a 'noob' to actually participating in NaNoWriMo, I am definitely not one in the regard that I've known about it for years, but have always been lazy.

This year, I've decided that it'd be very wise to schedule in this major, major event with the culminating papers of all of my UTC courses, a two week trip to somewhere very non-internet friendly, and the general melee that occurs before a semester finishes (our finals are the first week of December). But, fortunately, I seem to work best under stress. Either I will break down and week daily just thinking about writing or I will actually learn to plan my time and get the, what is it, 50,000 words out.

With that said, I have absolutely no idea what I will be writing about and, honestly, would be happy if I wrote anything at all (even a bad short story or two). Chances are that it will be littered with potentially well-constructed philosophical rambles (yes, rambles can have structure) and most definitely elements of magical realism. I'm way into that and won't even say how much, because it's gross, and you might be eating while reading this, and I don't want to make you sick.

I'm super busy, but also super bored and for the first time since I moved here (I am on exchange to UTC from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque), these kick-off events and, of course, finding time to write when I'm supposed to be doing other things will actually fit into my schedule! So, that means I'll be there both Saturday and Sunday and hope to meet similarly busy/bored individuals to occasionally nudge with writing reminders and vice versa.

The chances of this not covering all that I was meant to discuss: about 70%. The chances of me remembering anything else to add: a good 0%. Based on statistical evidence, that means I should stop writing and start getting overly excited to meet everyone next weekend! Have an awesome last week of freedom!
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United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

When One Wishes One Had A Laptop...

Isil Elensar — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:28:07 -0700

So, for the write-in, I'm going to be armed with pen and paper, because I don't have the technology to do otherwise. I mean, my dad has a laptop, and I'd love to use it, but he said it's crashed and he doesn't have the software to even get it started again. Essentially, it's dead. *le sigh*

Anyhow, maybe one of these days, I'll get lucky and find myself armed with a laptop. I don't really need internet (although it might come in handy), or wi-fi stuff. Just something to use for writing in different locations. ;-)

Christmas isn't that far away. And my birthday isn't that far after Christmas. *makes wish list*
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~~~~~
"Now it's about time to give up the struggle for originality in favor of word-count."

United States :: Tennessee :: Chattanooga

What does your character look like?

Bookbuddybonnie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:45:54 -0700

I found a fascinating video that shows images of famous paintings morphing into each other. Watch the video here:
http://nanowrimo-2008.blogspot.com/2008/10/women-in-art.html

I haven't yet tried to describe my characters, but I promise in the next day or two I'm give it a try in a comment here. I do know that my MC is elderly, but I'll have to decide whether she's in her late 60s or in her 70s or in her 80s. This may make me start thinking more seriously about who she is and what she's lived through in her lifetime. I do know her name is Lilli. That's a start, right?

I should get to know Lilli better so she can be off and running in November. After all, NaNoWriMo starts in -- yikes! -- a mere 16 days!

~~~ Bonnie
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