Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

The Annual All-Ireland Word War (Leader Board & Chatter)

farfalla — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:31:30 +0000

No results on the Leader Board yet - the first lot are due tomorrow night. (I can say that there are some excellent word counts being clocked up already though!)

This is the thread for word-war-related chatter/banter/slagging though, as well as being where I will post results every 3rd day.

Play nice now...
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- Northern Ireland Municipal Liaison | WriMo Ireland | NI NoWriMo Facebook & Twitter
- Moderator for the Polling Booth

Europe :: Northern Ireland

JRR WEDS Typing Day @ Dundrum Starbucks

Joshua.Ramey.Renk — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:17:22 +0000

If anybody wants to hang out ant write/type with me, I'll be at the 2nd floor Starbucks at Dundrum Town Centre from 1-4 today.

Tap tap...taptaptap..taptap.
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-Joshua
The Farwalker
"Writers WRITE"
Number of notebooks filled so far: 1.25
Number of Uniball Power Tank Pens Drained: 1.75

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

My New December

Marley-is-4-me — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:17:36 +0000

I have decided that I will now use December as my second NaNoWriMo month. After coming to the conclusion that I, (with school, homework, hobbies, family, friends, occasions and huge to-do lists in mind) will not reach my 50,000 word deadline by the end of NaNoWriMo.
Anyway, I have realised by now that NaNoWriMo is all about shutting that inner-editor up and letting your creativity fly, no matter how long it takes.
So I am using the NaNoWriMo deadlines for December, so that I may finish my novel in that month.
Then I will polish my novel up over January, (I'll let myself have a well deserved break for the last few weeks of December) and then, when I feel ready and normal after my hectic November, I will begin my NaNoWriMo novel for November 2010 so that I don't fall behind if I forget to type!

It's all OK (for now!),
Marley
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"If practice makes perfect, but nothing is perfect, then I'm just practicing for the hell of it. Right?"
2009: 'Letting Go' - ..? (An unlikely win)

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

TGIO plans

Mamo — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:40:37 +0000

I notice that several people are talking about not being able to come today, and since there was something I wanted to raise when we meet I better do it here, too.

As we approach the half way point we need to think about how we shall celebrate this massive achievement when it is over.

Usually, the first weekend in December we have a get-together. So the options are:

Saturday or Sunday?

Lunchtime or evening?

Where?

Last year we met in Yamamori for lunch. Any other ideas?

Please indicate your preferences here, so that we can think about booking somewhere.

It would help if I had some of this information by next Saturday so that we can talk it over at meet-up and then make a booking
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

New Moon

Marley-is-4-me — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:43:47 +0000

I know that this has nothing to do with NaNoWriMo, but New Moon just came out in Ireland today and I raced off to see it straight after school! It has a great script with good emotion in it, no matter what the movie critics say.

Stephenie Meyer's sure got a really great way of telling stories, and I aim to write just as well - or better! :) - then her!
Anybody else???
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"If practice makes perfect, but nothing is perfect, then I'm just practicing for the hell of it. Right?"
2009: 'Letting Go' - ..? (An unlikely win)

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Word count validation

Mamo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:03:21 +0000

For the first-timers who have not seen how this works:

In order for your word count to be recognised when you get to 50K, you need to copy thetext from your document and then got to 'edit novel info' and paste it into the box for word count validation and then go to the bottom of the page and press the 'submit' button. There will often be quite a long pause, but when it has counted your words, then your green bar will turn purple and show 'winner!'.

You can still add to your word count afterwards, if you wish, but it means that you can also, then, download your 'Winner' certificate and other bits and bobs.
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Come on, Dublin!

Mamo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:33 +0000

Are there any more Dublin WriMos who are willing to bale into the Word War to help our region out?

We are flagging seriously in the Britain and Ireland one - we've dragged ourselves from last to second last - and in the Irish regions are neck and neck with Leinster who are coming up fast on us - they actually passed us out for a time yesterday - so we need a few with high word counts and a reasonable chance of getting past the 50K to help us out. Please?

Today is the last day when we can add people.
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Word War Info - Updated 21 Nov.

Loriba — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:22:52 +0000

Hi all,

This thread is primarily for me to post info about the Word War to all competitors, so it's being cross-posted to all the regions taking part. If you want to make any comments, however, feel free. :-)

ETA: Here's the link to the leader board: http://www.annelyle.com/projects/scoreboard.html

The regions currently signed up are:

Birmingham
Brighton
Cambridge
Darlington
Devon & Cornwall
Essex
Gloustershire
Lancaster & Cumbria
Leicester
London
Manchester
Newcastle
Norfolk
Oxfordshire
York & Leeds
Dublin
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Eng: Elsewhere
Scot: Elsewhere
Wales

Only one region has given a definite No, so we may get a lot more before the 10th. Here's hoping. :-)

All those regions that are signed up should have a Banter thread, so feel free to go over and give them hell (but in a nice way). :-)

There may be a slight delay in the War starting up, as we're reliant on the site API working and the site is notoriously slow during the first few days of Nano, plus we're running it in a slightly different way this year and I'm not sure what problems will crop up because of that. In addition, one of Anne's cats is very seriously ill at the moment, so she may not have time to work on it. I'll be in touch with her and will let all the relevant MLs know if we have to make other arrangements at all. I'll also be in touch when I know the URL of the leader board. :-)

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Lottie
I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Europe :: England :: Birmingham-West Midlands

JRR at Dundrum Centre Starbucks 2pm-5pm

Joshua.Ramey.Renk — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:24:47 +0000

If anybody wants to join me, it's my big writing afternoon, c'mon down. I usually manage to snag a table with power.
If you're looking and can't find me, my mobile is 087 1425046
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-Joshua
The Farwalker
"Writers WRITE"
Number of notebooks filled so far: 1.25
Number of Uniball Power Tank Pens Drained: 1.75

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Ta-da! Honour roll

Mamo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:34:08 +0000

Well done to Kludge for crossing the line!

I will only know who from the region has done so if they are posting, so please forgive me if I miss others in the future (or have done so already)
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Number to aim for

Mamo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:41:07 +0000

Just looked at the 'report card' and the number to aim for by tonight is : 40K
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Anybody else too sick to write!

blalygamal — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:59:20 +0000

I can't believe this has happened. I have now been blighted by flu or cold or something since Thursday and my word count is dying!
Too long at the laptop and I get an excruciating headache and sore eyes...too long away from the laptop and I have guilt.
This is not unfolding as I had imagined, I will persevere though and just write like a demon when I feel better.
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Held to Ransom!!

Orla-Jo — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:04:48 +0000

Hi everybody....this is my first topic woooo exciting.

Today at the meet-up we brushed on the subject of being told what to do by our characters because they had a life of their own, frequently in funny ways.

Just the other day while one of my characters was chatting to his mother about why he and his brother didn't get along I could feel him screaming at me that his twin was gay. It was very surprising to me who had never thought of this before.

So I ask of you: when was the moment you realised you weren't really writing a novel of your chosing so much as being held to ransom by a troupe of mainiacs who spilled from your mind???

"With out tea life would be empty but with out chocolate it wouldn't exist."

"I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference."
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

The Annual All-Ireland Word War (Rules & Sign-ups)

farfalla — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:07:16 +0000

I've lost count now of how many years we've been doing this (I think since 2006), but once more, there will be a word war between the four Irish provinces plus Dublin.

The idea of the All-Ireland Word War is to boost our word counts with some healthy competition and friendly banter - and seeing as 66% of the people who started the war last year made it to their 50k (and beyond, in many cases), it's an idea that definitely works!
(For reference, the world percentage of winners is around 18%.)

Last year's winners were Connacht (highest average word count of word war 'finishers') and Munster (highest average word count of all participants, and highest percentage of 50k winners).

How to take part:

1. Comment in this thread, stating who you'll be writing for: Connacht (or Connaught - there's always a spelling argument), Leinster, Munster, Ulster or Dublin. It doesn't matter what NaNoWriMo region you're in - you just need some link to the province (born there, grew up there, or live there).
The deadline for sign-ups this year is midnight on Friday November 20th.

2. Update your word count at least every 3 days during November, by the usual means of updating it in your profile or in the nifty little box at the top-right of this website.

3. The winning groups are the one with the highest average word count by midnight on November 30th, and the one with the highest percentage of people reaching 50K or more. And if last year's anything to go by, I'll probably churn out a whole load of other statistics too. :)

Rules (some changes for this year):

- I'll be taking a snapshot of the word counts, and posting a leader board (in a different thread), every third day up until the 24th. After that, I'll do it daily. (Doing it every 2 days as I used to was getting a bit too time-consuming.)
The leader board gives the average word count for each group - in other words, total word count divided by number of members.

- Once you're signed up, you cannot drop out voluntarily - unless there are incredibly mitigating circumstances such as a broken wrist. NaNoMail me if necessary. Although I suppose that could be tricky with a broken wrist.

- Anyone who hasn't updated their word count for two consecutive snapshots (so at least once every 6 days to start with) will be dropped unless they have NaNoMailed me to let me know they won't be able to update.
For example, if you have a word count for the 3rd, you need to update by the 9th to avoid being dropped on that day's snapshot.
No-one will be dropped after the 24th.

- If you have been dropped out, and wish to be reinstated, NaNoMail me.

[Note: this is a single thread which is visible in all the Ireland forums.]
[Later note: edited to explain what I actually post on the leader board.]
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- Northern Ireland Municipal Liaison | WriMo Ireland | NI NoWriMo Facebook & Twitter
- Moderator for the Polling Booth

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Team Dublin

Mamo — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:25:07 +0000

I've just been browsing through the numbers of the team members for our Wars and there are several who are very close to their 50K. Well done - we all know it's not easy.

If you are not that far along it is still possible, but don't stress about it. The Wars are there to help you to reach targets - they are not an end in themselves.

Enoy the experience. Be creative. Have fun.
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Backing Up

Roanax — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:07:47 +0000

I had a bit of a scare this evening: my laptop decided to die on me. It wasn't registering the hard drive, no matter what I did, and I was panicking like crazy, flailing around my house like a demon possessed. My father, my IT manager in shining armour, managed to fix it for me pretty quickly, but I was so terrified I'd have to get poor Steve formatted because the error messages were similar to the ones we'd gotten on our desktop when it had needed to be formatted.
And I hadn't backed up my novel since November 10th!

So, spurred by this, I'm wondering how many of you back up your work in case your computer does decide it's had enough. I for one am definitely going to be saving onto my memory stick a lot more often!
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"An essay is like a miniskirt: long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep things interesting."

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Teen pep talk 2010

par5score2 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:58:16 +0000

if enoughy of our younger nanowrimos were interested it might be possible to arrange a pep talk for them early next year, maybe prior to a normal meet up or separately. I've known Sarh Webb the children's writer since her childhood so I'm fairly confident she'll agree.
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Mind your golf

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Desiderata

Mamo — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:04:00 +0000

We were talking about this at the meet-in today. For anyone who is interested, here it is:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Word count : 'Word' -v- Nano

Mamo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:17:50 +0000

Just uploaded my count through the Nano validator for the first time to see how I am dong and see that Nano gives me 80 words more than 'Word' does"
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Forgotten English

terminum — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:06:56 +0000

I have a table calendar of forgotten english by Jeffrey Kacirk which I received as a prezzie last Xmas. There are some choice words in it for November. I'm going to play a little game and try to get each day's word into my work some where on that day more or less as a way of counting down to the finish [which I desperately hope I shall reach]. If anyone cares to join me the word for November 1st. is bank-full, which is 'said of a stream when full to the brim'. Let's wish ourselves a bank-full flow of words to the page.
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Any tips for a first timer who's miles behind?

Mr_Wuffles — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:34:12 +0000

Greetings fellow nanoers!

It took me until the 11th day of nano to settle on something and begin writing. I've calculated that I can just about make the 50k if I were to do 2k a day (giving myself one day off for football training) and then 10k on the final 3 weekends. The 2k should be do-able most of the time if I plan ahead and go into it prepared. But I'm wondering do any of you fellow irishers have any good tips for not going insane during the long hours?

Unfortunately I can't get the hype of a write-in as my parents won't let me go to one :( It sucks, but apparently you want to kidnap me so...
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Chapters :11
Significant Character Deaths : 1
Kidnappings : 2
Lost Limbs : 0

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Sunday Brunch - where's the best place to go?

lmizutani — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:23:52 +0000

Well, I'm splitting my novel up a bit and I have one section where two of my characters decided to skip church and go out for Sunday brunch instead.

I've never had it when I was in Dublin since Jury's Inn had free breakfasts when I was there.

So, where is a good place to have Sunday brunch - prices should be reasonable for young adult professional salary range (just graduated - first career job type).
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

NaNoMail

Mamo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:48:16 +0000

I've sent NaNoMails to a few people. Does everyone know how to open these?
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Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Great Meet-Up and Write-In today!

Joshua.Ramey.Renk — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:05:51 +0000

Thank you all for making my first time attending a meet up a great success. If you've never been and are thinking of coming, I highly recommend it.

And for those who stuck around for the write-in after, many many thanks! With your writerly vibes flowing all around me, I got about 1600 words down, introduced a new character, AND got my protaganist face to face with the handsome stranger...all in 60 minutes.

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-Joshua
The Farwalker
"Writers WRITE"
Number of notebooks filled so far: 1.25
Number of Uniball Power Tank Pens Drained: 1.75

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin

Failing Miserably

Marley-is-4-me — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:40:17 +0000

Hey, I'm waaaaaaay below the daily word count goal and I'm desperately trying to get back on track.
Has any bright spark got a super idea for me?
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"If practice makes perfect, but nothing is perfect, then I'm just practicing for the hell of it. Right?"
2009: 'Letting Go' - ..? (An unlikely win)

Europe :: Ireland :: Dublin