Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

UK Word War: Banter Thread

JupiterStar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:30:12 +0000

Here it is, the thread where we can egg each other on while other regions give us a hard time...not that we're gonna let them get to us!
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Glasgow vs. Denver: Word War Ahoy!

JupiterStar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:16:10 +0000

In the spirit of friendly competition, we have challenged my old region of Denver, Colorado, to a word war. And we are going to TROUNCE THEM, AM I RIGHT?

...er. I mean. Friendly competition! Friendly!

Over the course of the month, I'll be posting in this thread with updates about how we're doing against our transatlantic rivals, so that those of you who feel like you a have a few hundred extra words in you can see if they're needed to keep us going. Since Denver is a much larger, older, and more active region than Glasgow, we'll be doing this based on average words per writer, so every little bit you write counts! I have faith in you guys to make this really fun and exciting for us. We have a write-in in a castle, remember? So we automatically get to be cooler anyway!

Glaswegians, start your word warring engines!
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Bute details - important

essbee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:10:11 +0000

We have planned to visit Bute on the 21st. The proposed time to leave Glasgow Central is 8.50 am to arrive in Rothesay for 10.50 and to leave Rothesay at 4.45 pm to arrive in Glasgow Central for 6.45. Last year it was lots of fun and it is a chance to visit Bute and spend some time writing. It might even provide for some inspiration for your characters!

Please let me know below any comments, questions or suggestions.

Thank you!
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

UK Word War: Sign-Up Here!

JupiterStar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:33:09 +0000

Okay all, here's where you can sign up for the all-UK Word War! Just pop in and let us know if you're interested, and we'll do the rest!
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

TGIO meal important

essbee — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:06:36 +0000

Hi guys,

Every year it is customary to have a TGIO (Thank God It's Over) celebration. This year we will be celebrating by having a meal at Pulcinella restaurant in Glasgow on Thursday 3rd December. This restaurant is suitable for vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters alike and is a firm favourite of mine.

The menu is located here - http://www.pulcinella.co.uk/menu.html

Please state below if you would like to come and please let me know if you are vegan just so I can inform the restaurant of numbers. Vegetarians have lots of options so it is not necessary for you to state. Any other dietary requirements please let me know also so I can ensure a good meal for everyone. I will be aiming to book no later than 27th so please ensure you let me know no later than midnight of the 26th.

I personally am a vegan who is allergic to chocolate so trust me no such thing as a silly dietary requirement :)

Hope to see you there!

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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Official write-ins

essbee — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:12:26 +0000

There are going to be official write-ins on Sunday afternoons (excluding the 1st),
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. These write-ins will be held at Mono and we will have an
area booked for us. I would really appreciate some idea of numbers for who is planning on
go to these so I can let Mono know and i'll put up separate forum posts for each day.
These write-ins give a chance for us to meet, some chat, share ideas and suggestions and
generally help each other reach the magic number.

If you have any general questions or comments on write-ins please reply to this post.
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

General chat

essbee — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:16:28 +0000

Hi guys,

Just wanted there to be a forum post for any general chat, time wasting, introductions etc etc etc. Please feel free to make your own forum topics but if replying to anything official please use the correct topic.

Thanks guys!!
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

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

Unofficial Write-Ins and Meetings

JupiterStar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:54:42 +0000

Hey guys! We figured it would be easier if there were a central place for everyone to put up information about unofficial write-ins you'd like to do, so that we don't all have to prowl through a dozen different threads to find that info to put on the calendar up there for everyone else!

If you have a write-in you'd like to organize, be sure to include the following info in your post:
-When (date and time)
-Where (if in a public venue, also include the address; if in a private venue, please DO NOT provide the address, have interested participants PM you directly for safety reasons)
-How people will know who you are (like a sign, a laptop, a bag, a hat...whatever!)
-Any rules you want to put down beforehand (like if you want a silent writing activity rather than something more social, for example...if you don't have any other rules, this part obviously doesn't apply!)

We'd also request that, to minimize confusion, everyone check the Google calendar of events and try to pick a date and/or time that doesn't conflict with anyone else's write-ins or meetings; it lessens the chances of people getting mixed up and showing up at the wrong time or place for the event they wanted to attend, and that way we can all try to attend as many as we want to without feeling like we have to choose. Everybody wins! ^_^.

That said, go to it! Essbee and I will be checking back regularly to add anything posted here to the calendar.
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

50K Shout-Out!

JupiterStar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:50:45 +0000

I've noticed a couple of green bars popping up over the forum! Come now, lads and lasses, don't be shy. Share your achievements so that we may praise you and get all jealous and all that good stuff ^_^.
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Any dyslexics out there?

Bobzilla — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:13:12 +0000

For years I've struggled to get started on my entries and earlier this year I was diagnosed with dyslexia. This might have been my problem so I thought I'd ask if there were any others in a similar situation in Glasgow that have any hints as to how to get past this particular hurdle?
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Important - Sunday 15th

essbee — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:03:55 +0000

Hello,

Sabrina is currently in London and i've just had a very major house accident so neither of us will be there today. Tables are booked at Mono as per usual and i'll be there on Tuesday. Will also phone Mono to ensure the venue is aware.

Will email this out also.

Apologies for very late notice but emergency situation which I can not avoid.

Essbee
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Wednesday write-ins

essbee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:29:09 +0000

Hello,

There has been some talk about our chosen venue on Wednesday evenings. I am emailing to say it will be kept having all write-ins for Mono. The reasons for this are:

Mono is booking us tables so we always are able to sit somewhere together, other venues I have been in contact with (and trust me I spent a large part of October on the phone) are unwilling to do this

Mono is giving us this space for free. Other venues I have spoken to are wanting to charge for the space and then expecting us to order food and drinks on top. This can make for a costly event especially if you go to all the write-ins

Mono is giving us free internet access, electricity for us to plug our laptops in and have provided charger bars so we do not need to bring our own. Ok most venues have free internet access but how many will allow you to plug your laptop into their power supply for the entire night and then will supply the means to do it?

Mono is a central location which means most people are able to come and do not need to either venture outside the city centre or find their way to another location

I do understand about the noise but if you consider we are offering three official write-ins each week I do not think one night from these should be such a large deal. If you really find the noise offensive - considering also the write-ins start at 6pm and last all night and the music only starts at 8pm so thats a good 2 hours of writing time - you can always feel free to come on the Sunday or the Tuesday. Personally I cant write in silence so I find background noise beneficial plus it is jazz its not metal or dance music so really I would encourage you to try for yourself before making decisions.

At the end of the day we are all individuals and we can either come to write-ins or not. Obviously Sabrina and myself would love if people came but if time, distance, venue or anything else does not appeal you are free to meet individually or not participate at all.

We are encouraging unofficial write-ins and so long as they are not organised for Sundays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays we have absolutely no problem with advertising them.

Sabrina and myself are volunteers and are working really hard to ensure a positive Nano experience with a wide range of activities but we are all humans and as such are all different and what one person likes another will not so use your own choices and do what is right (or write) for you so you have a good November.

Thanks.

Sarah (Essbee)
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Welcome to 09!

essbee — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:07:42 +0000

Hi everyone and welcome to 09!

This is just a quick post to let you know some of the dates and events we have coming up. If you have any questions or comments please just reply below.

Your MLs

Glasgow has two Municipal Liaisons this year. Myself, Essbee, and Sabrina. Sabrina is new to Glasgow but not to Nano and has been ML for Denver, Colorado, in previous years. We would be your points of contact should you have any questions, suggestions, comments about what is happening in Glasgow region.

Official kick-off party

We will be organising a pre kick-off meal and celebration. This is a chance for us to meet, discuss ideas, offer suggestions and help and generally wonder why we have signed up to this in the first place! Date, time and place to follow however we are looking at 30th October. We will gather some feedback from you guys before we settle on the place as this is your Nano so your thoughts are important to us!

31st October

Sabrina would like to know if anyone would like to take part in a midnight kick-off on the 31st October. This would be the first time it would happen in Glasgow so if you would be interested can you please reply below so we can find approximate numbers to see whether it would be viable to go ahead.

Write-ins

We are going to be organising official write-ins a week - one on a week day and one on a weekend. We would aim one of these be a quiet write-in and one be a more sociable time. Dates, time and venue will follow when we have confirmation. These write-ins will have prizes, be a chance to meet, offer support, have fun and also raise money for the Nano charity.

Trip to Bute

Last year some of us visited Bute as we do include the islands in the Glasgow region. We are really wanting to do this again this year because it was really good fun and a chance to break from routine. We even managed to write inside a castle! We are looking at the date for this trip being 21st November. Details will follow.

TGIO party

We will be having a party after November to celebrate our winners and generally say "Thank god its over!". More details on this will follow but it will likely be the first week of December.

Twitter

We have created a twitter channel for people to link to from their own twitters. The channel name is GlasgowNano. Twitter is a pretty straightforward program and the chat there will be mostly offtopic and people posting word counts so if you do not wish to sign up for a twitter account you wont be missing any important announcements as they will always be posted in this forum.

Once again welcome to Nano 09 and hopefully speak / meet / write with you soon!
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Unusual inspiration

FICWrites — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:14:35 +0000

This might make more sense if you were at Biblocafe yesterday but I thought I'd share a section that has just found it's way into my NaNo.

Quote:

We were writing short stories in English class today based on a study group being interrupted from a unique point of view. I guess given that this is my journal, I can write my story here too.

"Upstairs was a magical place. Elsie and I, despite dad's warnings kept sneaking back up to have 'just one more' look. Up there, taking up every available seat and stool were grown-ups. Each grown-up sat in silence typing away on their laptop. Elsie and I had no idea what they where doing but to us it seemed enchanting. Down below we could hear the chatter of our parents, the clattering of the café owner serving coffee and some soft background music. Upstairs, while we could still hear all those noises, they seemed to be drowned out by the clacking of keys, soft rustles as someone moved and the occasional cough from a lady in the corner who had a cold. Dad and mum were taking it in turns to drag us away from our spot at the top of the stairs. But always the lure of it would call to us and we would creep back up those stairs to watch the adults. Once, Elsie dared me to go and take a book from one of the shelves up there. I slowly entered that hallowed place and had the book, picked at random, in my hands when dad shouted. I guess he and mum had grown tired of chasing us down from there. We left shortly after and never did find out what those mysterious grown-ups where doing in that strange little room upstairs."

It's not very good but the best I could come up with at the time.

I wonder just what those girls thought we were doing.
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While the upmost off care has been taken while producing this post, please forgive any pselling/grammer errors that our correctionsystem may has missted.

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Online chat room

essbee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:40:18 +0000

We have been given an online chat room. This runs off irc so you can either use a specific irc client to access it or you can use the webclient. Instructions are located at http://chatnano.net/tempchats/glasgow.html I think this is pretty amazing because it means those of us who are located on the islands or can not make write-ins for any other reason will still have the chance to meet up - even if it is virtually. It is free to use and pretty easy to understand though if you do have any questions please send me a PM and i'll help where I can.

What I envisage happening with the chat room is we have main times when people may want to drop in and those would be times when there is not an in-person meet happening. So for example we can meet in the chat room from 6pm onwards Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Also feel free to drop in on the off-chance someone else is there. I would like us to have word wars ran from that room so please comment below if you would like to take part.

I'll be leaving the room open while I am at work so if anyone wishes to test the features please feel free.
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

24 hour meet

essbee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:38:47 +0000

During the midnight party we discussed the possibility of having a "24 hour meetup" on the 21st to 22nd. This is the day we are going to be heading to Bute and we are discussing meeting up on the Saturday, heading to Bute, spending the day there before returning to my flat on the Saturday night where we will stay up and write under 24 hours have passed. This is a new idea and it does tend to work very well in other regions so please ask any questions, make any suggestions and say if you would like to be involved below.
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Fundraising

essbee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:37:27 +0000

As part of Nano each year we are also involved with fundraising. This has been done on a very unorganised basis previously but this year we have 4 main ways we would encourage you to donate. All funds go to Nano. Myself and Sabrina are volunteers and do not earn a single penny from the work we do. The ways we would encourage you to donate are:

1. Sabrina has recorded a Nano song. Some of us got a chance to hear this at the Midnight party on Saturday and I have to say it is very funny and very true to life of being part of Nano. She is asking for a £5 donation for a CD of this song. Please get in touch with Sabrina for more information and consider buying a copy

2. Every official meet we will have a donation tin which you can donate to. At the end of the month we will transfer all funds to Nano as a region. Even if you can just spare a small amount it all counts and does help!

3. When doing a search please consider using http://www.goodsearch.com/ On this search engine you can specify who you would like to donate to - Office of Letters and Light for Nano - and each search you make earns money. The search engine is ran by yahoo so you will be getting good results.

4. Consider purchasing official merchandise. I will be ordering next week so if you would like me to order something at the same time take a look at https://store.lettersandlight.org/merchandise and send me a PM.
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

UK Word War: Rules Thread

JupiterStar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:27:49 +0000

2009 Rules:
Eligibility
You must live within the UK or Ireland, and be relatively close to the region you wish to represent.
Sign-ups
Your ML will provide a "Word War Sign Up” thread on your local forum to track word count. Participants will post ONCE in the Word War Sign Up thread by 8pm on 10th November stating that they wish to participate. There is a minimum team size of five participants. If less than five people sign-up to take part, your ML has the option of joining forces with another region in order to increase the team size. If your ML is unwilling or unable to do so and you still wish to take part, you may go direct to another region and ask to join their team, but please give your ML time to arrange for the entire team to join another one before you do this.

The Regional Word War
You must update your word count every two days, on the even numbered days of the month, by 8pm. If you are unable to update your count, contact your ML. During the last partial week (26th –– 29th Nov), you must update your word count daily, by 8pm. If this isn't possible, contact your ML immediately.
If you do not update your word count on four consecutive occasions (8 days) it will be assumed that you have given up and you will be removed from the war (unless you already have more than 50k). If you know that you’re going to be away and won’t be able to update, let your ML know so that we can prevent this automatic removal. (The final date that non-updaters will be removed is the 24th Nov, after this date, all surviving participants will remain in the competition.)
You must input your final (verified) word count by midnight on 30th November. After midnight, you will no longer be able to update your count.
Scoring
You may drop out of the Regional Word War at any time up to 8pm on 20th November without affecting your region's count. If you do not drop out by messaging either myself or your ML, you will be in for the remainder of the competition, NO MATTER WHAT!
If, as a result of automatic elimination or voluntary removal, your team falls below five members, your ML will be given 48 hours to arrange to join another team (this may be extended slightly on negotiation with myself, this is the first time we've had this rule and I'm not sure how it's going to work yet) after which the team will be disqualified. Up to 8pm on the 24th of November, any remaining team members who wish to continue to take part can join one of the other teams (with that team's permission). After this deadline all teams will be fixed.

During the Regional Word War there will be a regularly updated leader board on an external web site. I'll post a link to this board to each competing region as soon as I've confirmed it.
Only the official word count from the "Word War Sign Up" threads on the NaNoWriMo web site will be considered when computing the final score.

After midnight on 30th November, I will ask the other MLs from competing regions (or their designated representatives) to verify the figures before declaring a winner.

Results
There will be two prizes:
The city/region with the highest average word count.
The city/region with the highest proportion of winners from the starting participants.
The MLs will compare results, and when all regions agree, the results will be posted on the NaNo boards.

Banter
Participants are encouraged to engage in good-natured banter with participants from other regions in the various Word War Banter threads. Banter should remain good-natured and within the bounds of good-sportsmanship. The use of 'smileys' in messages is actively encouraged.

Our God-like powers
MLs decide what "good-sportsmanship" means.
We reserve the right to remove folks from the competition for any violation of the rules and guidelines listed above.
MLs are the final authority in any dispute or question about the rules.

Trophies
Each team member receives a personalised winner's certificate, plus goodies to be determined...
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Word Count question

Drusillamac — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:38:43 +0000

I apologise if this is a really obvious question but I am confuzzled!

I understand we can manually type in our word count into the Novel settings section of our profile. However, it seems to be 'locked' at the moment. Will this 'unlock' on November 1st?

I have been playing about with the site this afternoon and was going to test the various features, including the word count. Although there is a strong chance that my brain has turned to mush and cannot compute.
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Commit random acts of literacy!
Read & Release at
http://www.bookcrossing.com/friend/drusillamac

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Apols

buttonista — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:36:41 +0000

Hi guys, just to say sorry for missing you last night. I had a knackering day, got in 6, thought I'd close my eyes for ten minutes... and woke up at half ten, having missed both the meet and Eastenders. Argh. Will try to come along to some of the other nights. Look forward to meeting you all.
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Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Missing posts

alairduk — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:04:13 +0000

The last two posts I made to the forum appear to be gone. I've no idea why but I certainly hope they are not being deleted. I've not been notified of any deletions so I can only assume there is something wrong with the board. I've alerted the office of letters and light to the fact.

Just to re-iterate to anyone who missed the RSVP deadline. There will be a bunch of us in the main bar of Mono on Thursday evening. We're not part of the official pre start party and don't want to intrude on the official event but would like to meet up with as many fellow nanowrimo participants as possible so we hope to see you there.

We're also planning on holding a write in on the 1st at a venue yet to be confirmed and anyone who wants to attend is welcome.

Alan
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The trouble with the world is everyone is a few drinks behind

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Official Meet-Ups and Write-Ins

JupiterStar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:14:01 +0000

This thread serves two purposes: one, to give people a place to let us know if they are planning on coming to our weekly NaNo events, and two, to help gauge interest in a quieter write-in, for those who might feel overwhelmed by the Mono craziness!

Remember, you can find all of our events, both weekly and one-time, official and non-official, on the Google calendar linked at the top of the forum!

This year Essbee is continuing the popular tradition of meeting up at Mono twice a week to write/hang out and relax a bit to destress during this crazy time of the year we call November. In addition, we're thinking about hosting a third weekly group for anyone who wants a pure write-in without socializing and with plenty of quiet. Our original location fell through, but Tchai Ovna has offered to set aside part of their teahouse for us once a week should we need them to, so...is there any interest in a quiet write-in once a week at a neat little teahouse in addition to the Mono nights? Let us know here!

And in the meantime, who's planning on coming to the meets? Come, now, don't be shy, speak up!
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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA

Europe :: Scotland :: Glasgow

Other possible things to make NaNo better?

JupiterStar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:20:49 +0000

Obviously, NaNo is about having fun! So what else can we do to make NaNo more enjoyable for all of you in addition to what we already have planned?

I had one idea if there is interest; we were thinking about maybe having one looooong write-in, since obviously none of us are flying to San Francisco for the official Night of Writing Dangerously, either in place of one of our usual weekend meets or in addition to, if that's preferred. I was thinking maybe something the last weekend in November, for those of us that need the extra push to make our final goals? What does everyone think?

So what else can we do to make this more fun for everyone involved? Suggest away!

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Glasgow ML 2009
Denver ML 2007-2008
2002 Lost
2003-2005 WINNERS!!!
2006 Changechildren-100K
2007 Embers of Espionage-121K
2008 How Not to Get the Girl of Your Dreams-165K
2009 Nightmares and Cityscapes-TBA