United States :: California :: South Bay

Where do we go from here?

marcopolo — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:27:40 -0800

We've reached the end of November. You've written a novel, or more likely, part of a novel. Perhaps you're wondering, "So what happens now?" First, you sleep. After that, maybe you just want to return to your regularly scheduled life. If that's your choice, that's cool. We hope you'll join us again 11 months from now. But maybe this noveling thing and the NaNo community have gotten you kind of hooked, and you'd like to hold on to that feeling. In that case, here's what you can do:

Keep Writing, or Start Editing: If you want to stay in the noveling groove past November, make a commitment to yourself to do it, the way you did with NaNo, and use the tools of deadline and community that you learned the power of this month. Do not resolve to write another 50k in December or January unless you're a real masochist and/or overachiever. Instead, set yourself some reasonable goals that fit your style and your life. If you're three-quarters of the way through your novel and know you will lose momentum if you stop writing, promise yourself you're going to keep working on it every day until you're done. If you can count on yourself to go back to it after a break, decide how long your break will be and what date you'll start writing again. If you've finished your novel and want to edit it, take a few weeks away to let it rest, but get back to it at an appointed time. Make up deadlines about when you'll finish your first or second draft. You might not know what's realistic (editing takes longer than you think it will), but make some goals anyway to give you something to aim for. Then tell everyone you know what you're doing and what your deadlines are, just like with NaNo, so that they'll ask you about it and keep you on track. There is nothing like a deadline plus potential humiliation in front of your nearest and dearest to motivate you.

You might be interested participating in National Novel Finishing Month in December or National Novel Editing Month in March. These are unaffiliated with NaNoWriMo but operate in the same spirit, on a smaller scale.

Write-ins: Love write-ins? Keep attending them all year. Yes, that's right, a couple of our write-ins continue during the off-season. A core group of regulars can often be found Sunday afternoons at Orchard Valley Coffee in Campbell, and we'd love to have you join our ranks. Some Sundays nobody shows up, but I believe that most of the time, at least a couple of NaNos are there. There's no obligation to be working on a novel during these write-ins. We'll be happy to see you again in any case. Show up to socialize and surf the web, post to your blog, play solitaire, whatever. But if you have a writing project, novel or otherwise, it's a good block of time to set aside for working on it.

Steph/skneal and I have been meeting Thursday afternoons at Barefoot for editing all year and plan to keep that up, and we'd welcome additions to our merry band. If you're available during the day and want to join us for some focused writing work -- with some chatting, too, of course -- come on by or contact one of us to coordinate.

Forums: The NaNoWriMo site and forums will remain open throughout the year. In the past, there hasn't been much activity in the South Bay forum past December, but it doesn't have to be that way. Some regional and topical forums stay active all year, and if enough SoBaNaNos keep talking here, we could keep our forum hopping, too.

Other ideas, plans, hopes, dreams? Post away!

%) Lisa
South Bay co-ML

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United States :: California :: South Bay

Read your work on the radio!

idunno — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:41:01 -0800

If the pride and joy of winning nanowrimo isn't enough motivation to cross 50k (though frankly, I can't imagine that it isn't), how does this sound? If you write 50k or more, you have the opportunity to read an excerpt of your novel on the radio!

Ann Arbor has a radio program on KFJC called Dancin' In The Fast Lane that is broadcast on Wednesday mornings (http://www.kfjc.org/programming/program_info.php?houroftheweek=54&info_i...). During one of the segments on that show, Unbedtime Stories, she reads excerpts from books. For the last few years, she has offered that reading slot to nano participants who have successfully crossed the 50k line.

So, if you want to read part of your glorious novel on the radio, cross that finish line and contact Ann Arbor! Her email is AArborKFJC@aol.com.
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idunno, co-ML for California :: South Bay

United States :: California :: East Bay

I'm new here!

FlameChild — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 21:14:32 -0700

Hey, I know it is several months til NaNo starts up again. I am not new to Nano but but I will be moving to San Jose this next month so I guess this will be my new Region Home. I hope to make a few friends in the area!!
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United States :: California :: South Bay

South Bay rocks the word count scoreboard!

marcopolo — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:57:44 -0800

Check it out!

We called, you answered. With the combined forces of our newly updated and affiliated words, not only did we overtake Phoenix, but Denver as well. Will we stay ahead of these cities? Will we best our next challenger, Houston? Tune in tomorrow for the next scoreboard update.

23 United States :: Texas :: Houston - 4,495,501
24 United States :: California :: South Bay - 4,362,126
25 United States :: Colorado :: Denver - 4,355,428
26 United States :: Arizona :: Phoenix - 4,226,356

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United States :: California :: South Bay

South Bay party on Friday, December 14

marcopolo — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 21:54:16 -0800

Okay, SoBaNaNos, let's get together on Friday, December 14 to reminisce about the wild, crazy month we just went through together. We'll meet at Round Table Pizza on Old San Francisco Road in Sunnyvale (the same place where we had the meet 'n' greet) from 6:30 to 9pm. Food and beverage are buy-your-own.

If you like, bring a short excerpt of your novel to read aloud. Excerpts should be no more than 3 minutes long. This may be far less text than you think -- only 1 or 2 pages -- so please do a test read beforehand to check your time.

NaNos from other regions are also welcome, as are supporters.

Friday, December 14
6:30-9pm (show up whenever you can make it during these hours)
Round Table Pizza (in the party room)
860 Old San Francisco Road
(Safeway shopping center at Wolfe, on side along Old SF Road at end farthest from intersection)
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-245-9000
Google Map

-- Lisa and Ian
South Bay MLs

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United States :: California :: South Bay

Fantasy Writer Job

everyday07 — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:09:13 -0800

I am looking for a job and found this freelance job for a writer to write a weekly fantasy on craigslist:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/wri/488480932.html

I don't qualify, but thought there must be a SoBayNaNo who would love this! How often can you get paid to write sci fi/fantasy?
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Interesting contest for nanowrimos

cdonnelltx — Sat, 8 Dec 2007 18:54:14 -0800

Interesting contest for nanowrimos

http://www.plethoraproductions.com/awb/awb_nano_novel_publishing_contest...

Austin Writer's Block 2007 NaNoWriMo Novel Publishing Contest
Would you like to be a published novelist?
Write a novel this November and enter it in the
Austin Writer's Block NaNoWriMo Novel Publishing Contest
for a chance to have it published in 2008!

To participate in the Austin Writer's Block contest, follow the steps below:
First Step:
Sign up to participate in National Novel Writing Month through their website
www.nanowrimo.org

Second Step:
Sign up as a member on the Austin Writer's Block group page http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/austinwritersblock
*AWB NaNoWriMo Novel Publishing Contest entrants need to live within 40 miles of Austin

Third Step:
Register as an entrant for the AWB NaNoWriMo Novel Publishing Contest by sending an email to
bruce.burns@plethoraproductions.com
Pay the $25.00 entry fee for the contest at one of the AWB meetings
before the 1/2/08 contest deadline

Fourth Step:
Follow the NaNoWriMo rules -
Start writing your novel in November and finish writing 50,000 (or more) words by November 30th!
In order to enter your novel in the AWB publishing contest, you will have to complete the 50,000 word challenge this November and have a verified 50,000+ word-count on the NaNoWriMo website

Entry deadline for the AWB NaNoWriMo Novel Publishing Contest is January 2nd, 2008
This gives you the entire month of December to revise your novel!
All contest questions can be directed to Bruce Burns @ bruce.burns@plethoraproductions.com

AWB Publishing Contest RULES
1. Entries to the AWB contest must be the same worked on during the 2007 National Novel Writing Month.
2. Entries must have reached a word count of 50,000 words (or more) before midnight, Friday November 30th, 2007 and be a verified "winner" on the NaNoWriMo website. This doesn't mean the novel has to be "finished" by the end of November; just that 50,000 words were written to win the NaNoWriMo challenge. AWB contest participants have the whole month of December to finish and revise the work before submitting the Round 1 entry. Participants are also allowed to continue revising their manuscript throughout Round 1.
3. You can write just about anything you'd like for NaNoWriMo; however, there are a few types of work we can not take into consideration for the AWB contest.
These are:
* Non-fiction (if you claim it's all true, then it's not really a novel)
* Erotica (sex scenes are fine, as long as they don't make up the bulk of the work)
* Fan fiction (we can't publish anything with copyrighted content owned by other entities)
* Sequels to other works previously written (your entry must stand on its own)
4. You must agree to provide all other paid AWB contest participants with a printed 20 page excerpt of your novel as well as a synopsis of what the book is about for Round 1 on January 2nd, 2008. Typically, these are the first 20 pages of the book, but it's up to you as to what 20 pages you submit - this allows everyone to get a sense of your writing as well as an idea of what the book is about. The synopsis should be no more than 3 pages, meaning that no entry should be more than 23 pages. The font should be typical true-type - easy to read with lines 1.5 or double-spaced. Double-side printing allowed for Round 1 submissions. Your Round 1 submission is a resume of sorts - you're trying to impress everyone with your work and creativity in order to get them to vote for you to move on to Round 2!
5. For those moving on to Round 2, final submissions should be between 50,000 and 100,000 words.

Details: How the AWB Publishing Contest Works
1. Each participant will exchange a set number of submissions as described above with each of the other contestants during early evening meeting on January 2nd, 2008 (time and place TBD). The number of copies to print will depend on how many participants enter the contest - AWB will communicate this information via email to contest participants toward the end of December. Participating authors who can not make it to the meeting on January 2nd can make alternate arrangements prior to that date to have their Round 1 entry distributed during that meeting as well as arrange a time soon after to obtain other contestant submissions which will be gathered in your absence.
2. After the Round 1 exchange, participants will read each synopsis and 20 page excerpt by February 4th, 2008. AWB requests that each participant also provide a constructive written critique on each submission. All submissions along with written critiques and comments should be returned to the original author during the regular AWB meeting on February 5th, 2008. Whether or not the author acts upon any written suggestions received in Round 1 is entirely optional; however, each participant who contributes to this process by providing constructive feedback to the winning author will have their name listed as a contributor in the published version of the book as a "Editorial Board Member of Austin Writer's Block" (you must provide your name on the returned copy of the winning author's critiqued Round 1 submission in order to receive this credit).
3. Each participant has two votes which they must use to vote for two separate entries in the contest. Both of your votes must be utilized - you can vote for your own entry, but the 2nd vote must be used toward a different entry as well. Voting will be done online on the AWB group website anytime between January 2nd and February 4th, 2008.
4. During the regular AWB meeting on February 5th, the top two or three entries with the most votes will be announced. The winning Round 1 participants will supply one full copy of their manuscript to AWB by the end of the February 12th, 2008 AWB meeting.
5. Bruce Burns, Richard Derus, and Nicky Drayden (last year's AWB contest winner) will read each of the Round 2 manuscripts in full and collectively decide which winning author's entry will published by March 1st, 2008. The winning author will then work with an editor throughout the rest of the year in order to prepare their novel for publication, marketing, and sales.
6. The AWB contest entry fees are used to help pay for the actual publishing costs for the book, including the ISBN, cover design, printing, etc.. The $25.00 entry fee is non-refundable and everyone who registers to enter in the contest will be expected to pay this fee regardless of any decision not to participate at any time after registering to do so.

If you have doubts that you would be able to spend a lengthy portion of your free time during 2008 to forge through the process of preparing your book for publishing, then perhaps this contest isn't for you. This is a unique contest which has been created to help a serious writer who wishes to be a first-time published author! We're looking for an author we can work effectively with in order to edit their winning novel and ready the book for publishing and marketing within a few months. It's a tedious process at times, requiring extensive work from the editor, publisher, and especially the author. Much of the editing process will involve continuous communication through email between the editor, publisher, and author, but a few face-to-face meetings may be required from time to time. Plethora Productions & Plutonian Books is only looking for authors who have a serious drive to have their work published and marketed, which means that the winning author will be expected to contribute to the sale and staging of their work by participating at local book signings and promotional marketing events (such as the 2008 Texas Book Fair) once the book is published. Our goal is to publish a winning author's first book, make it as great as it can be, and launch the writer's career as a novelist. In order to do this it will take total commitment on the winning author's part.

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United States :: California :: South Bay

South Bay party planning

marcopolo — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:26:27 -0800

If you can make it to the Pan-Bay TGIO party in San Francisco on December 1, then go. Every year it's a lot of fun, and it feels great to do some enthusiastic partying while you're still floating on the adrenaline of November.

The South Bay usually has a more low-key party for our own region sometime in December, after we've all had a chance to take a break and a breath in the wake of our noveling marathon. We'll get together, have some food, talk about what we've been doing in our new-found free time, and if there's interest, we can read some novel excerpts aloud (entirely optional).

The date under consideration for our South Bay party is Friday, December 14, in the evening. The location would probably be the Round Table Pizza in Sunnyvale where we had our meet 'n' greet. We need some idea of how many people we could expect to attend, so please post here if you would be able to make it on December 14.

Thanks,
%) Lisa
South Bay co-ML

UPDATE: The party is on for December 14 at Round Table. Details here.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Join young writers for a NaNoWriMo launch party at Black Oak Books!

geography — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:26:54 -0800

They came. They wrote. Soon they will have conquered — and you are invited to their literary debuts!

Join us at Black Oak Books for this stupendous launch party for young local winners of National Novel Writing Month.

Not only will we hear a dozen brand new young novelists read from their just-completed first works, but as a very special treat they will share the stage with six published children’s authors! Acclaimed writers Daniel San Souci, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, Ji-Li Jang, Mary Jo See, Deborah Davis and Nydia Nicholl will read stories and share insights about the writer’s life.

Kids of all ages are invited to the celebration and can show off their own writing, poetry and art by bringing a page of their creative work to be displayed in the store. Adults are invited too! We’ll have winners’ crowns and author photos, plus raffle prizes, interactive art and science projects, snacks and tons of fun.

Everyone is a winner, and everyone is welcome! For more information, visit www.blackoakbooks.com.

Sunday, December 9
5:30 pm
Black Oak Books
1491 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 486-0698
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United States :: California :: East Bay

SoBay Newbie Shout Outs!

allsun — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 19:37:17 -0800

Going out on a limb here, as a newbie, inviting all South Bay newbies to post Shout Outs of whatever sort you need to express (the good, the not good, the hideous) as we all go through this process for the first time. I'm here, as a newbie, totally excited to have taken this challenge and intend to run with it for all I'm worth.

My personal Shout Out today is for reaching 15K! I was totally excited to reach 10K and feel as though I am reaching my stride here in the second week.

So, SoBayNewbs (and the WannabeSupportersOfNewbies), post, rejoice or seek comfort from fellow SoBayers. And, oh, enjoy the leftover Halloween candy in the bowl.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

The End

skneal — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:45:19 -0800

*happy dance of joy*

I've done it!

*in a sing-song voice*
I've reached "The End"
I'm done. I'm done... I'm done... done... done.

I'm done. I've finished. La la la de da

*dancing around the room tossing turkey hats, chocolates, and kung fu hamsters everywhere.*

O.k. I just had to share. I know I have made plenty of enemies by doing this, but...

I'm done.... done...done done done!

(Ever notice when you type a word too many times it starts to look a little weird? Like it's not spelled correctly?)

*steph wanders off the boards still singing under her breath... I'm done I'm done I'm done done done!*
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38 pages of script left to write
38 pages of script
jot one down
pass it around
37 pages of script left to write...

United States :: California :: South Bay

Kill Cliff Brooks

skneal — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:51:46 -0700

Hello!
I thought I would get this thread started.

For the new people - every year members of the south bay nanos kill off a character named Cliff Brooks. (He is usually a bit character, soley for the purpose of being killed.)
(mootmom, can you help out with the history of how this all got started? Thxs!)

Last year, I sent him out an airlock into space without any protection and then blew his asphixiated body to bits. (It was quite fun!)

Let us know how you kill Mr. Cliff Brooks!
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38 pages of script left to write
38 pages of script
jot one down
pass it around
37 pages of script left to write...

United States :: California :: South Bay

Pan-Bay Thank God It's Over Party - December 1!

geography — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:54:00 -0800

Hello Bay-Area Wrimos,

The hard part is about to be over, and we hope you'll join us for the fun part! Celebrate your newly written novels by attending our TGIO party! It will be held at Root Division—a gallery in San Francisco—on December 1 from 7 PM – 10 PM. Bring 2 one-page long excerpts (the larger the font size the better) from your newly finished works. We'll have readings, refreshments, and rejoicing!

See you there!
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United States :: California :: South Bay

50,000 word

skneal — Thu, 8 Nov 2007 21:15:34 -0800

Yep, I did it!
50K in only 8 days.
My personal goal is 100k, and it looks like my story is only half done. :-)

So here is my 50,000th word. - Hamsters

The sentence - "Stomp on the hamsters!"

And with that I'm off to bed.

When you reach 50k, please add your 50,000th word and sentence.

Happy writing!

Steph

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38 pages of script left to write
38 pages of script
jot one down
pass it around
37 pages of script left to write...

United States :: California :: South Bay

Bay Area Writers Retreat for 2007-2008

gallifreyan — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:05:46 -0700

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 Region, Bay Area Writers Retreat coordinator
Keeper Emeritus of the South Bay Bars of Power

United States :: California :: South Bay

And then Dylan exploded: for vampiryn

whytraven — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:15:35 -0800

Dylan smiled quietly, and then set off walking. I thought that she was going back home, or into hibernation, or something. I started to follow, but Dylan turned and shook her head. I took Cliff Brooks' hand and we watched her, walking, walking, walking. I started to cry. Beside me, Cliff Brooks' eyes were wet with tears, too.

The sun brightened the sky, and she kept right on, walking, walking, walking. We could see her reflected in the dampness of the sand, the red of the sun staining it like blood, and still she walked. The sun became brighter, and it rose above the horizon, a solid flaming globe, something that she had not seen for years.

She stopped, turned to the sun, and looked it right in the face.

Then Dylan exploded.

THE END

2007 NaNoWriMo Winner
5009 words

I will be along for my cookies in due course ;)

Linda
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http://www.ravensroads.com
Travels and musings of a motorcycling author
http://www.ravensrv.com
Adventures of two rank newbie RVers
http://www.markeroni.com
Hunting historical markers down to their lair

United States :: California :: South Bay

Impromptu write-ins -- announce them here

marcopolo — Thu, 1 Nov 2007 19:29:28 -0700

If you're writing at a public venue or have plans to do so, and you want company, announce the place and time in this thread. Of course the more advance warning you can give, the more likely someone else will show up, but it can't hurt to post in any case. If nothing else, maybe you'll inspire someone in a different location who should really be writing!

For the schedule of recurring write-ins, see this post and the regional calendar. If you decide to turn an impromptu write-in into a regular event that you can commit to hosting, let me know, and I'll add it to the schedule.

%) Lisa
South Bay co-ML
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United States :: California :: South Bay

A little last-minute humor

cre8ive4fun — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:41:14 -0800

In case you needed some new plot ideas, this could inspire you: Write this..or that..or maybe...

Enjoy!
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Save the Dates! A Message from NaNoWriMo HQ!

marcopolo — Thu, 4 Oct 2007 12:18:30 -0700

Staff member Tavia posted this announcement in some of the other Bay Area forums, but the word didn't reach here, so I'm copying directly from her posts:

-----

Hello Bay-Area Wrimos,

NaNoWriMo Headquarters would like to let you know about three local NaNoWriMo events that you won’t want to miss! We hope to see all of you at all of them.

1. Pan-Bay Kick-off Party:
Kick off NaNoWriMo 2007 with other local participants at Olive Bar and Restaurant (here is a map!) in San Francisco on October 27, from 7 PM – 10 PM.
2. NaNoWriMo’s “Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon”: You are all invited to our first annual Write-a-thon. The event will be held in a beautiful ballroom the Women’s Building in San Francisco on November 17 from 6 PM - Midnight. For more information about this event visit the Write-a-thon page.
3. Thank God It’s Over Party: Celebrate your newly written novels by attending our TGIO party! It will be held at Root Division—a gallery in San Francisco—on December 1 from 6 PM – 10 PM.

Again, we hope to see you all at any or all of these events!

Warm regards,
Tavia Stewart

-----

Ian and I will be planning events in the South Bay, including a local meet and greet in late October and a midway party in November, but I really recommend also attending these Pan-Bay events if you can. They're always great parties. We'll have threads here to coordinate carpooling as the dates get closer.

%) Lisa

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United States :: California :: South Bay

How to validate your NaNo win

marcopolo — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 15:23:17 -0800

If you have crossed 50,000 words, you can now validate your win by letting the magical word counting monkeys compute the total number of words in your novel. For your efforts, you'll receive the beautiful purple winner bar and access to the secret winner page with certificate and icons. The validation feature will be available until the last minute of November, but take advantage of it as soon as you can, because the site is likely to be slammed with would-be validators on the last day, leading to great slowness and gnashing of teeth.

Here's how to validate:
1. Go to "Edit Profile", the same place that you've been updating your word count.
2. Look for the "Word Count Validator" box. If you've been updating your word count by pasting in your whole text rather than typing in the number manually, this box is already your old friend.
3. Copy the entire text of your novel by going to your novel file and highlighting everything with select-all. Save before you do this! Don't type something else while you have everything selected! Be careful! Don't Panic!
4. Go back to the friendly "Word Count Validator" box and paste in the entire text of your novel.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the "Submit" button.

The monkeys will now get to work, and if they count more than 50,000 words, you'll be taken to the wonderful "You've Won!" page. If your count is only just over 50k by your word processor's count, the monkeys may not agree you've won, because word-counting programs can have discrepancies of up to a few hundred words. So try to be a little bit past 50k before you go to validate, and if you end up under, Don't Panic! Go back to your file and type a few paragraphs venting your frustration with the validation progress, then try again.

You can continue to update your word count as often as you like until the end of the month, so once you've hit 50k, there is no reason to delay in validating and claiming your winner bar. Validate early, validate... well, until it takes.

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT! If you're going to be performing a death-defying feat of last-minute noveling, make sure your time zone is set correctly in your profile so that you and the site will agree about when 11:59pm on November 30 occurs. Because daylight savings time ended before November began, you may need to adjust your time zone even if you set it correctly before. Go to "Edit Profile" and then "Account settings". Under "Time zone", make sure the drop down menu is displaying the current time, and change it if it's not, then Submit to save the settings if you make a change. For California, the correct time zone is "-0800".

Questions about any of this? Ask away -- and don't wait until the evening of November 30 to do it!

%) Lisa
South Bay co-ML

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United States :: California :: South Bay

BACK UP YOUR NOVEL RIGHT NOW!

windral — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:28:51 -0800

No, really. Stop reading this and email yourself your latest copy of your novel. Print it out. TAKE PICTURES OF THE SCREEN!

I just lost... about 6000 words in a fatal mis-save error. PLEASE back up your work.

Anyway, so I'll be at OVC early today, working frantically to work back up to where I was. Between 1230 and 1300, probably. See you all there... .:-_-:.

a very dizzy windy....
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_________________________________________________
Haikus are easy.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.
2008 Script: Untitled
2007 Nano: The Higher, The Fewer (winner!)
2006 Nano: we don't talk about that...

United States :: California :: South Bay

Kickoff Photos?

cdonnelltx — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 00:07:39 -0700

I can't find any photos from the kickoff (Denny's) on Flickr. Are they there and I just can't find them? Don't mean to rush anyone. When some do get posted, can someone let me know? Thanks.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Make the South Bay your home region!

marcopolo — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:02:43 -0700

If the South Bay is the region you live in, love most, and/or want to affiliate your word count with, please select the South Bay as your home region. You'll need to do this even if you've already affiliated with our region or have set it as your home in previous years, because the home region feature has just been added to this new version of the site.

Selecting your home region is easy. Just go to "My NaNoWriMo" (underneath the pencil point of the person running at the top of the page), and in "My Regions", select the "Home Region" tab. Choose the South Bay, then hit the "Set Home Region" button. You'll know it worked because you'll find your home region listed in your profile.

It's important to make the South Bay your home region (or, well, somewhere else, if that's really more appropriate) so that we can have an accurate regional word count and show the other regions just how much we rock!

%) Lisa
South Bay co-ML

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United States :: California :: South Bay

The Ninja Thread

windral — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:40:19 -0800

Okay. It's late (very late) to have one of these, but if you're like me and need something to get you through the next bite of the giant steaming pile of crap that is your novel (okay, no more mixed metaphors...), I present The Ninja Thread!

Take a ninja, leave a ninja. Just like those little trays at 7eleven with pennies in them that no one ever actually uses, but which you could use if you were short a penny or two while buying your slurpie of brain freeze goodness.

And there's the first ninja. Someone gets a brain freeze from a slurpie? Awful. Okay, we can use our friend from OVC a couple weeks ago who decided that I should teach him how to use the computer, and then stormed out shouting about... was it child slave labour? Something. Okay, go.

windy
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_________________________________________________
Haikus are easy.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.
2008 Script: Untitled
2007 Nano: The Higher, The Fewer (winner!)
2006 Nano: we don't talk about that...

United States :: California :: South Bay

25000th word thread

gallifreyan — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 21:37:55 -0800

I think i started this tradition way back when 25000 words seemed like such an intense accomplishment.

But hey, here's the 25000th word thread. I know at least one SoBaNaNo who has a 25000th word already, and we should celebrate this before she gets to 50000. And everyone else can pile in with their 25000th words when they get there, and we'll all send fluids through our noses as appropriate.
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Rob/Gallifreyan * Mountain View/San Francisco, California
ML for San Francisco Region, Bay Area Writers Retreat coordinator
Keeper Emeritus of the South Bay Bars of Power