The Pledge: the year-round writing group - updated 12/17/08

I really would like to be part of this. I sorely need some positive influence. . .I really do.
So, add me to your list. . .but I have a very narrow windows of topportunity to do this in. If I have enough advance notice, I can schedule it in.
Thanks Sheeva

I would love to be a part of The Pledge. Count me in!

I'm very interested in participating. And so is my writing partner in crime Grayraven (we have our own little word wars every evening).

I've been wanting to find a local writer's group. I think it'd be helpful/motivating to get together and discuss and share information. I know live meetings can be hard to arrange, but think they're preferable to jabber meetings. But maybe a mix of the two meeting forms would work.

To your bullet points of what activities the group could do, I'd add: critiquing. I know I'd love some advice on my main character--she was boring me there for a while. We've made up some now though.

I would definitely be interested. This hasn't been the best month for writing (well, longer actually), but I really could use to be around other writers for inspiration/butt-kicking.

Chad

I'd definitely be interested as well! Depending on when it meets and where would be a large factor, but the jabber meetings should not be a problem once I figure out (or I should say try) to get on it :)

I'm interested in a writing group. Mainly looking to get together with other people and talk about writing and do exerices to improve writing skills. I wonder if having a plan for the year--or at least several months out, might be useful. If people knew they were likely to be able to make it to Caribou on the X Sunday morning of the month -- or Panera for an early dinner on Sunday evening, or...
pick some dates/times/places that at least some people thought was likely and make it a regular thing. Planning each get-together separately seems to make them few and far between.

Katherine

Honestly, I think I'd miss all of you too much to wait until next November to see you all again! So, I'm very much interested. I think it would be fun to have the Pledge to Publish be part of the Pledge group, too, just because I know I'm going to need help keeping motivated during my finishing/rewriting for this book. But count me in!

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Writing with no net. :D

Unfortunately, this NaNo has been a bust for me, although I did more than I would have had I not signed up. Please accept my apology for not helping with the word count more.

I'm very interested in getting together with fellow writers, sharing ideas, critiquing, etc. I ran a writer's workshop out of my home for 8 years and we met twice a month. It was fabulous. However, the problem would be location. I live in Downers Grove and am not the most confident of night or winter drivers. Please include me in the plans, and if it is at all possible, I'll be there. I need the feedback and general conversation.

Tonie (aka Spicy)

I would encourage all of you to come out to the TGIO party; we will do some preliminary planning on the Pledge there and try (I think) to have our first meeting in January. I'm thrilled to see so much interest!

Send me a NaNoMail with your e-mail address and I'll add you to a new pledge e-mail list.

--Tim

P.S. Two years ago, we did a non-reciprocal round of book reviews within the Pledge; some people didn't follow through with their commitments; others failed to meet expectations on critique depth. So I think if we do some in-group critiquing (and I know that Katherine is a big fan of critiquecircle.com), it will likely be pair-wise reciprocal, not general to the group; and we will probably do it on shorter works (e.g., short stories, scenes, chapters). Just my $0.02

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Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid
co-ML, Illinois::Naperville
Fog Readability Analysis
Writing resources

I will trying what ever you suggest. I know reading for reviews can be hard. I do some of that on WeBook and I do tend to gravitate to the genre I prefer, so I can see how it would be easy to fail. I've met some great people there doing that, though. So I'm look forward to meeting "in the flesh" people here. Just a note. Weekend days would be the best until summer and longer days return. I have night blindness so bad, it's ridiculous. I know that really limit me until long days. Hope it wont be a problem.

Sheeva

I really really want this to happen! I WILL publish this year. So I will take any help I can get. I am finishing my MA in English (only 3 classes left). It is just a personal goal but I have picked up many creative writing tools along the way. I can meet Sunday mornings. I work as a Cardiac technician on the weekends from 2:30-11. Sunday mornings would be great. Perhaps we could work it sort of like a crative writing class. Choose one novel to focus on for the week and all the participants offer honest criticism and ideas through live meetings, emails... ect.

Go team!!!

Please send Tim your email--don't post it or spammers will pick it up. Just send a private message to NewMexicoKid (or me--KatherineWriting) through Nanomail.

Katheirne

Thank you, Katherine

Now where is the nanomail. . .sorry to be so dense.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/privatemsg

(or if you go to any user's page--on the left side, there's a link to "Check & Send Nanomail"
Like, here's Tim's:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/30837

and here's mine:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/133936

Katherine

I would love to be a part of this! I don't know how active I'll be until a bit into next year, since I'll be setting my novel aside for a bit to study for the ACT and a CLEP test. However, I'm sure I'll be lurking around somewhere until then.
As for the outings.... I don't know how many of those I'll be able to go to until I'm actually driving myself around, but I'd still love to stay in contact and talk with you guys!

count me in. I had already planned on continuing writing all year long and this is a perfect motivation. Though, like many others, location may be a problem. We will have to stick pins in a map for everyone who is planning on taking the pledge and find a meeting place equidistant from everyone (hopefully not too far) :)

Mike

Include me again this year in the Pledge.

I really, really want to be involved with the Pledge this year. :D I'm really determined this year, I swear!

Ok. This is who I have so far:

subscribed to the e-mail list
Sheeva
lbrander
babsy55
missalynn730
KatherineWriting
FinbarrMcG
bookgrrl
thePiratess
Snaf00
horatio
books
grayraven
fpeterson
Lisa
Kate
tiinanoninja

I have not yet received an e-mail address from
Chad cfbrunner
Tonie spicywings
Squiddish

Please NaNoMail me (NewMexicoKid) your e-mail address so I can add you to the e-mail list. I'll send out information soon with access to our private wiki and forums; and we will be discussing the Pledge a bit at our TGIO.

Thanks!
--Tim

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Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid
co-ML, Illinois::Naperville
Fog Readability Analysis
Writing resources

Count me in! I made my personal goal of 30K words, and now I'm determined to finish this thing! :D

Yes, I'm interested. I'll be there on the TGIO party to join in with the discussion.

I came upon this book a while ago, Yeats Is Dead!, which is a novel by 15 Irish writers. One writer wrote the first chapter and then passed it onto the next, and so on. It's basically the old Exquisite Corpse game, just with the end result of a novel. All of the proceeds of this book went to Amnesty International, I believe.

And it got me thinking that this might be an interesting idea for local writers to raise money for causes they believe in. My problem was in finding a bunch of other local writers, though, who would be willing to have a go at something like this.

I'm just wondering, would anyone here be interested in this? It seems like something that would fit right well with this Pledge thing.

As it happens, when Katherine and I were talking about the Pledge yesterday and I mentioned how much fun it had been two years ago when we did a short story writing/critiquing exercise in the Pledge, she suggested publishing an anthology of short stories and working towards that end over the course of this year's Pledge.

I think that that concept might work a bit better for the Pledge in that everyone can work on their short stories simultaneously rather than having to wait on the preceding writers to do their parts.

Using such a book to raise funds for good causes is a nice idea, though for our first time out, I don't know how realistic it is to assume that we will be generating any profits...

--Tim

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Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid
co-ML, Illinois::Naperville
Fog Readability Analysis
Writing resources

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Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid
co-ML, Illinois::Naperville
Fog Readability Analysis
Writing resources

Hi Tim,
I won't be at the party as it is our company's holiday party that day, but I would love to be part of the Pledge! Count me in!
my email is: [Email removed]

"Using such a book to raise funds for good causes is a nice idea, though for our first time out, I don't know how realistic it is to assume that we will be generating any profits..."

I'm only a peripheral member of The Pledge, so I hope you won't mind if I offer a couple of thoughts about how such an effort might be made feasible/useful.

The trick is to think of the charitable aspect as a way to help market the book rather than treat it as an after-effect of the book generating sales on its own.

The tough part is for any group to reach consensus on what cause or organization should benefit. You want one that provides a ready market for the book and whose members might help promote it. If the beneficiary organization has a narrow focus it probably hurts those "secondary" sales, but if the target has broader appeal it might actually hurt primary sales. If you decide to target a cause like pet rescue or children's health you maximize both. Probably helps to be local.

Animal welfare might be a strong target in that
a) there's a big need in this economy as more people are surrendering or abandoning their pets and donations are down,
b) it can hardly be less controversial or more sympathetic a cause, and
c) just about any story in any genre can work something in that involves animals somehow.

My .02. I don't know how involved I'll be in the effort and I recognize it's easy to comment if I have no "skin in the game" so to speak. So, FWIW.

While a short story collection would work too, what I initially was suggesting that it's a single novel, but each writer writes their own chapter. The point of it is kind of just to have fun by taking what's been written so far and taking the story into a completely different direction. Just some good ole fashioned literary play.

And to fpeterson, it's definitely a situation wherein you'd want to promote the book by the charitable aspect of it. It would basically be a fundraising activity. And something like the ASPCA was one of my first thoughts, but that's largely because I'm not aware of that many other charities.

I will join the Pledge.
you can reach me at [email removed]

Hi Tim,

I'd love to be a part of the Pledge. I'm in a writing group now thru the Downers Grove Library, but cannot make it to the meetings alot of the times. I like the idea of having jabber chats as an option. I'll nano mail you my info

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http://www.writerinspired.wordpress.com
http://www.writelikeCRAZY.wordpress.com

Yes I would like to be a part of the pledge, so count me in.

Please add me to the Pledge list.

I'd really like to join a writting group this year and tackle NaNoWrMo (and win!) in '09.

Tom