Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

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

Cheltenham Write ins

Kaiberie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:23:31 +0000

I'll post all Cheltenham write ins/announcements in this thread - so please subscribe if you're in Cheltenham, for updates :)

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Word wars Sign-up

Kaiberie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:43:16 +0000

Username: Kaiberie
Banter thread: Yes
Other notes: Bring it on!

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Stroud meets

Kaiberie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:26:47 +0000

Your Stroud co-ml and any meets will be announced in here. Holler if you need to be included in this region.

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Word wars banter thread

Kaiberie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:22:12 +0000

And here is our Banter thread. There were no flat out nos, so here's to a fun wordwar!

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Rants and raves

Kroomi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:58:58 +0000

I thought we should have a thread devoted to how it's going, whether to rave about our progress (or a particularly good biscuit if all else fails) or rant about plots that aren't making sense (or laptops that decide to launch into an automatic update and re-boot themselves, losing 600 freshly typed words in the process... Oh yeah, baby.)

So how's it going, people?
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Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Virtual write-in area

Kaiberie — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:15:15 +0000

Hi guys.
Finally got it working, but it's not imbedded on my site, I'm happy with this place enough to offer a direct link to the server where we're hosting our IRC chat.

If you're using MIRC (or Trillian, or any other program that allows direct IRC access), though, the instructions are also in this thread.

IRC is ideal for those that can't make meetings, and I'll always be on here, if I'm home, so it's also an ideal way to get a hold of me.

If you want to chat through a browser, click through - I'd suggest reading up on the notes at http://starchat.net so you can register your username, so no one else can use it when you're online, and then head on over to
http://www.starchat.net/chat/?chan=Nanoglos - this page uses Java to render, but apparently works on most every browser known to man.

If you're using a chat system:
the server is called irc.starchat.net - and the command to get at the room is /join #Nanoglos I don't think it has a port requirement, but the full documentation is up at http://starchat.net, so feel free to mess around with it there.
And if you get stuck, let me know - I've been using IRC on and off for nearly 10 years no, so I've learned the commands you need to use and can provide whole strings of them to people that need support registering or messing with channels.

This channel will remain in place year round if required, so feel free to keep this as a long term bookmark!

Hope to see you there!

Kai

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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Random element thread

Kaiberie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:49:20 +0000

Jump on, throw your random stuff here, and see if it sparks others into writing something!

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Gloucester meet ins

Kaiberie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:25:23 +0000

We'll announce the co-ML and any Gloucester meets in this thread. Please subscribe if you're in this 'sub-region' and comment so we've got a count ;)
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

The facebook/Livejournal/twitter thread

Kaiberie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:07:17 +0000

Hi guys.
I thought some of you might like to swap your social networking contact details, so I set up this thread.
Mine is:
http://facebook.com/Kaiberie (facebook) (it's also a good way to see what I look like!)
http://twitter.com/Kaiberie (twitter)
and http://Kaiberie.livejournal.com

I can also be found at my catchall blog, http://kai-o-9-tales.com, as soon as it launches (probably Monday, though I might finish the coding sooner).

Feel free to add me, though, where possible, let me know where you're from - because, as I'm about to explain, I get a heck of a lot of attention in November, and I don't want to lose you guys in the shuffle.

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Video - must see - Neil Gaiman reading 'Instructions'

Kaiberie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:57:40 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UnfyoTSZZw
This is a MUST read/listen for anyone that's feeling under thier story, or somehow without confidence. It brightened up my day :)

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Word war rules

Kaiberie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:41:34 +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...

//rules end

If you're interested in signing up - hop on over to the next thread that says 'word wars sign up'.
There is also a discussion thread as to whether we want to have a banter thread - if you're taking part, say 'yes or no' to a banter thread please ;)

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Word Wars

Kaiberie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:24:12 +0000

We've been invited to Word War - and I was wondering what people thought. If you feel like it, or are curious, I can post information on it - I've never taken part myself, but they are a blast according to others, so as a region we can give it a bash, if you like :)

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

What are you writing this year?

Kaiberie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:45:50 +0000

Please share (if you like), what you're writing, what your plans are - is it a snippet of an idea, a fully developed and plotted project? Doing more than one? Are you looking forward to it - dreading it?

I'm writing three novels this year.
I'm writing two novels - Change and Value. Change is a sci fi, future/alt universe story that's also part of my dissertation this year (cause of course, I'm doing a creative writing dissertation :D). I'm going to work on blending all of the different elements I've studied this year, so it's fairly solidly plotted, and outlined. I'll have research to do while I'm writing it, but it should go relatively smoothly.
Value is a bit different - it's a story about the way excuses change things - whether those things are serious, or just what we hide behind. It's about a couple whose life is going to be turned upside down - and its one of those stories I can't *not* write.
And finally...
I'm rewriting Glass Block, the novel that I wrote in 2003, when I started Nanoing - I can't believe that I wrote it seven years ago, but I owe it to several people and places now, so I'm going to dive in and rewrite it start to finish, one last time.
Because I average 124k a year in November, when writing three new novels, I'm thinking that Glass Block might *just* get squeezed in and be ok ;).

How about you guys?

Kai
http://kai-o-9-tales.com/

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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Introductions 2009

rachel_c — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:20:44 +0000

So... who's already signed up for 2009? Have you decided what you're writing yet?

I'm Rachel, I live near Stroud, and this is my 3rd year of NaNo. The first time around I did it all by myself... last year a group of us had regular-ish meetings where we bribed ourselves with chocolate.... :) I write all year round but admittedly November is a little more intense. No idea yet what this year's NaNo project is going to be, but I'm sure I'll think of something.
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http://www.rachelcotterill.com

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Day one - And they're off!

Kaiberie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:18:56 +0000

I hope everyone's gotten off to or is getting off to a flying start today - don't worry if not, but try to get some words in - and if the urge takes you, don't stop at 1667 - it's a minimum recommendation, so don't let it stop you. It's good to pace yourself, but it's equally good to take every lead you can in the early days!

Good luck, and if you need me for anything - random plot ideas (see the new thread), encouragement or talking you back up onto the ledge before taking your flying leap into a dozen pages in a fever dream, gimmie a shout.
And remember YOU are all incredible. Congratulations on taking the first steps to having a blast (and questioning every ounce of your sanity) this month.

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Why I do this mad thing again and again and again (meet your ML)

Kaiberie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:32:33 +0000

Slightly differerent from the introductions threads, I thought that because this tends to come up when you gather enough of us together (though, I'm surprised, ALWAYS that my infamy has spread this far) that I'd explain exactly who - and what - I am.

My name, everywhere that matters(online), is Kaiberie. I'm at the point now, where I am at the beginning of my third year of University, and even my tutors call me 'Kai' . My real name is Donna, which I dislike with a passion, and is a whole other, Nano length story ;).
I have been doing the Nanowrimo since 2003 - as a direct result of it, I gained a stupid amount of infamy because I featured on the front page of Nanowrimo HQ for something like eight days. To this day, people probably still know who I am because of that page. It's a nice piece of infamy to have, but it's hard too sometimes ;)
My name comes up in conversations that range from 'there's no way she's managing that much' to 'wonder where I can get her books'. And it's not an idle brag. I write, and have been known to write upwards of 120k in November. This year I'm aiming for 150k - two new books, one original nano that needs completely rewritten (because that's an experiment that just calls for being done if you ask me - whether you can do the complete rewrite in November, after editing it, and it's better, or publishable).
I'm letting you know all of this, and the other half to the story, because the Nano isn't JUST about writing. It's mainly about that, and your brains WILL melt out of your ears because of it, but that's not just IT.
I'm still friends with the majority of people I ML'd for the first year (which was the whole of Scotland, a position I held for three years!)- still friends with lots of people I met in my years down here (though, to be fair, I'm not very good at keeping up with either set of friends IRL), and the other 'half' of my Nanowrimo story is as a direct result of doing that first 'year' in the Nanowrimo, I joined a group of role-playing gamers called GEAS in my home town of Edinburgh. As a direct result of belonging to GEAS, I worked at Conpulsion (one of the conventions) and met my partner, who is now my fiancée. I may not wear the shiny ring of doooooom tonight, but I will at some of the other meets, because it's gorgeous.
Without the Nano, I wouldn't be a University undergrad, or in a relationship or engaged to be married, or even, probably, sane right about now, so don't underestimate what a life changing experience it can be ;) Although it's not been easy - and by the end of November, I detest the thought of running meetings, and being bouncy and upbeat for ANYONE (and usually don't recover till after my first set of marks come back from assignments), I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I know that down here, things haven't gone as smoothly as I'd liked - the meetings are always miniscule compared to the 20 or 30 we had up in Scotland, and I know some people don't *get* my enthusiasm. I know for many of you, this is simply a challenge. But seriously, it's not just that.
The Nanowrimo can become a way of life for writers - write as much as you can in short bursts, put it to one side, recover (or use that time to edit other pieces). Lather, rinse repeat as needed. I do three of these mini write ins a year, or did till I banged my head, so I know it's a good way to get those first drafts down on paper and explore places you may not otherwise go. The Nanowrimo also teaches you a couple of amazing things about writing - it can be a solitary or small group effort, but, because there are so MANY of us out there, it doesn't need to be lonely. I'm a mother, a student, an artist, a gamer, but for November I become someone that a whole region looks to for advice - and I give it willingly and gladly.

Who I am though, first and foremost is an enthusiastic participant in the Nanowrimo - whenever I go to author talks, I ask their opinion on it - whenever I'm asked about writing, I extol it's virtues. There is a reason I keep coming back again, and again and again to do it - because, to be quite honest, it's a blast.
I hope, this year, that you'll find the same enjoyment, and that those of you who find their lives changing have positive experiences too.

Good luck everyone!

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Meet threads - Co-ML's and instructions - READ ME please!

Kaiberie — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:36:10 +0000

Hi guys.
I need a couple of things from y'all ;)
could you please speak up if you want a meet in a certain area - this is not you saying you WILL attend, just that you may, and so we can give an accurate 'goody' count to each CO-ML. Goodies are basically stickers, badges (buttons) or other gifts sent from Nanowrimo HQ for those taking part, and are given out *usually* about half way through the month, but it depends on when they arrive.

CO-ML's
CO-ML's have differnet meanings in different regions, but the basic concept is anything that your ML can't do (that's me), the CO-ML's take on. In this case, about the only thing I can't do is attend ALL meetings, because I still can't drive. I will try and make at least one in each subregion if I can, but it's important for me to make sure everyone is catered to - because I don't think it's fair to make people travel if they don't want to/can't/are new to the area/(other reason here ;)). I won't travel far because I'm both technically disabled (though I don't let it hold me back) and I'm head injured, which means travelling can be a bit of an issue for me. I get lost incredibly easily, and tend to mix up words more than i did last year. Our solution to this is to ask someone else in the subregions to run meets for me. I'll do all the other administrata (including applying for and splitting up goodies, and bribes) so ALL you need to do is update the thread that is *yours* and I'll update the calendar. Of course, it's up to you how much you do beyond the basics, so don't feel that you have to run more than around a half dozen meets (one starter, one at the end, and regular ones in the middle).

Instructions
I'll post chatroom instructions in this thread as soon as my other half and i fix it ;)

Thanks for reading, and holler if you need anything,

Kai
ML

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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

Overcaffinated Wednesdays

Kaiberie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:40:13 +0000

I'll be at the Starbucks in the centre of Cheltenham every Wednesday EXCEPT the 11th (because I have to take my cat for an operation) from 11pm to 2pm. I'll be home running virtual write-ins between 5pm and 11pm every second Wednesday for those that can't make those meets (chatroom fix pending!).

We've got a different schedule (and calendar) for chatroom meets, so feel free to sign up for notices on that, so you can be emailed/reminded when we're in there having challenges!

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

The 'I'm really looking forward to my novel!' meet - VOTE

Kaiberie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:10:38 +0000

Hi guys.
It's that time of year again. If you could let me know nominations for the central meeting - and if anyone wants to vollunteer to run any of the 'outlying' meetings, then have at it in this thread ;)

I'm the ML for the region, but I'm happy to hand off meetings to those in areas that are harder for those with little transport/tight time commitments to get to so if you're too far away from Cheltenham to meet up, let me know and I'll see about arranging a co-ml setup.

AND
For those in Cheltenham, let me know if there's a nice place we can meet that has a quiet area, and doesn't turn on music at 10pm so we can chat for those staying out later.
I'm happy to meet up on the Friday, saturday and sunday, and will be running mini write-ins every Wednesday this year at a local coffeeshop, alongside weekend meets with enough interest.

AND
For everyone, there's going to be an irc/java/chatroom channel for our virtual write-ins. So even if we don't all get to meet in person, I've got a great place to hang out, chat and challenge each other.

So, I'm here to serve and support you guys, so let me know what you need/want and I'll do my best to source/provide/locate it :)

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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog

Europe :: England :: Gloucester & Cheltenham

What's an ML, what's a CO-ML?

Kaiberie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:34:55 +0000

I've had a couple of people let me know that they're struggling with the acronyms, so here's a couple of the more important ones, plus an explanation of what a CO-ML is. :)

ML - municipal liason. I'm the official Nanowrimo rep in our county. I'm responsible for rounding you guys up, encouraging you, making sure that everything is running smootly, bribing you with gifts, from HQ and chocolate / other stuff from me personally. I'm the person you can talk to if you're struggling, or if you're soaring and want a sane voice ;).

CO-ML's in some regions have exactly the same responsibilities as Nano ML's. In the three years before I came here to run the region (cause I moved), I ran the whole of Scotland, so I've found that Co-ML's are great for doing stuff in areas I just can't reach. I'm not sure Gloucestershire is as big as I believe it is, but in the interests of my not getting lost, and in deference to the fact that I don't do well with directions, I like to ask others to run in thier areas for me. You'll not need to order anything, or sign anything (this year, I don't think, but I'll need to check with Lindsay if she needs an ML contract from you) - your sole 'duty' is to run events and coffee meets to your own schedule, in your area ;). I'll post out any goodies I'm sent, so you can hand them out to your invitees, and hopefully it'll all run really smoothly. Like ML's we usually set up people that have been Nanoing before as CO-ML's because it's fairly stressful finding a half decent place to meet consistently AND write, AND juggle the rest of your life. You should, ideally, have an upbeat personality, because the meets in the middle of the month tend to be very subdued, and as a (CO)ML you should hopefully pull them out of that and fire things up. Hence i tend to bribe with Chocolate ;)

Anything else that we should have listed here? :)

Kai
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http://kaiberie.com - personal blog
http://workbacktonow.com - writing blog