Hello? Is This Thing On?

Well the novel page has reset I guess that means it is officially nano season. Nice to meet you Sean my name is Scott. I have participated at least marginally 05 through 08 although for some reason I didn't get an 08 button. Is there some sort of official reentry form I have to fill out? I don't remember one. *shrug*

This year I am going for something a little different, more of a direct urban fantasy then a mystery thriller with supernatural overtones if I can help it.

Well good luck! I look forward to getting to know you better as well.

Hi, Scott.

I definitely remember the name and I expect we've already met at one of the write-ins or launch meetings. I'd managed to forget the phrase "urban fantasy," though, so I'm glad you brought it up. It made me smile. I am sure we'll be meeting a few other NaNo's who are going to throw their hats in with that same categorization.

My profile is not listing the years I participated, either, and I have not been tagged as an ML on my page, although I am identified with the region on the main page of ML-listings, so yes, there are definitely some glitches afoot, which have been acknowledged by Lindsey, our liaison contact. I'm not too worried. We'll just give this a little while longer and see if the site calms down and behaves. I understand we have Top People working on it. Who? Top People.

October has only just begun, and this is the month for testing and organizing and planning. I've already got notes on my project, which will, naturally, be an "urban fantasy" novel. I know what I want to do--an apocalyptic fantasy, sort of a "What if the faeries and trolls and mythological beasties have their own version of The Rapture, etc.?" so label it what you will. I just know I'm writing the stuff that makes me happy.

Meanwhile,

HELLO THERE, CURIOUS WEB SURFERS!

I don't know how many folks have already begun thinking about NaNo, but if anyone else in the Greater Lafayette, Louisiana area is discovering this (at any point during the month of October), please feel free to say, 'hello' in these forums, or else send me a message to let me know you are interested in writing along with the rest of us. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about what to expect and how this all works. And yes, there will be a launch party, and write-ins, and lots of fun elbow-to-elbow meetings if you would like to escape your home or dwelling space and fraternize with other enthusiastic folks who are experiencing the same voluntary stress you are diving into.

I'll be checking in every day to see who all has turned up. I expect we'll meet a few returning veterans as well as some brave new folks! The countdown to zero hour is underway!

SeaN

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Hello, everyone! My name is Emily and this is my first year doing NaNoWriMo. I'm really excited and looking forward to November! Info about me: I'm 25, born and raised in Lafayette, and I'm currently focusing on writing for children and young adults. I graduated from UL in Education and Library Science (as an add-on certification), so I guess it's only natural for me to want to write for the kiddos :) ! I'm trying to outline a middle-grade fantasy novel for Nano! Glad to meet everyone here and good luck to all...

-Emily

Cool! I worked for several years in a big university library in Texas and I always thought Library Science majors were so cool! Seriously!

Wonderful to meet you. And yay! Our first new person to post!

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Whoa...I was lost there for a second. Last year's archives disappeared. Guess it really is getting close to "that time."

Hi, Sean, Scott, Emily.

I'm 'Ailina; I've done NaNo before. Sometimes I've won, other times I haven't. I don't know what this year holds, but I'd like to see it through to the end.

My 17-year-old "offsprig" may participate this year. I'm interested in write-ins and meet-ups, so I'll probably drag him (and any others from his writer-friend group who may be interested) along. (Hint: We love food.)

- 'Ailina
Done: 2001-2008
Won: 2001-2004
Website: Portrait in Linen

Everything is gearing up nicely so far. I am having a lot of luck organizing my thoughts thanks to a program called Storybook:

Link here I hope (I am not an HTML person)

I am really happy with my three principle characters. The world is a fictional version of New Orleans that is part Kelly Armstrong part Linda K. Hamilton and grounded securely in the cosmology of H.P. Lovecraft. Being that I will be out of state away from most of my friends and usual supporters I may be on the boards pretty often just sort of bouncing ideas around. Thanks for listening.

Wonderful to hear you are back with us this year, 'Ailina. We've met in previous years. I'm so happy to hear that you are participating.

Do you still have the giant pencil?! Don't worry--I wouldn't make you drag it down to down to the kick-off party, unless you wish to.

Please, please bring the kiddo and any of his pals who are interested. I'd love to see lots of faces this year. Joy says she is going to be joining us this year. Great news. I traded missives with her on facebook.

I wonder if She Writes LA is still out there. . . ?

And Scott, feel free to bounce ideas around. I am collecting concepts for my book still, but I have a notebook from 1992 that has my original concepts for my story. I originally conceived this story while working on my thesis in college, and this project, unrelated to my actual work, was something I was tinkering on for fun, as a distraction from my tedious paper writing.

I am just now getting around to the story ideas I had back then! It seemed ripe for exploring in NaNo this year. I'll cherry pick my original notions and keep what I like, eject the rest. Fun, fun.

Who else is out there contemplating making a book in a month? Jump in and say hi! We're waiting, and all are welcome.

~SeaN

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

My name is Angel, and this will be my first NaNo. I've been wanting to participate for the last couple years, but never had the time or nerve to do it. I dont have much of a story yet, but I have a few characters in mind that I believe could pull something together. Since I've never really written much in the way of fiction, I think this is going to be a real challenge for me. I'm looking forward to it.

Hey Sean et al,

I'm back with hopes my computer is in the mood this year. I have a dragon fantasy in mind for this year's NaNo and that's all I'm going to say for now.

See ya later guyz!

Diane

SheWrites_LA
Writer of Urban Fantasy

Welcome, Angel. We love to see new faces. We'll all be happy to give you any assistance and inspiration or motivation we can. Writing is fun, believe it or not, although sometimes you may not feel that way when you have a daily goal looming and you're nowhere near the word count you need! We'll be happy to show you what tricks we've learned, both to cope and to spark ideas.

Great to hear from you, Diane. I knew you would turn up any day now if I was patient. This year is shaping up well, so far, and we still have more than three weeks to get worked up and ready.

Soon, I'll start asking about places where we might like to have some write-ins. I'll start a separate thread for that.

I will also start a thread for links to websites writers find handy, and also in this thread we can share word-count-generating schemes that have worked for us.

The good ship NaNo is still boarding! Who else is ready to set out on a little one-month adventure?

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Count me in.

I haven't done the nano in abt 5 years, but I think I'm ready for another go 'round.

Will make any meet ups I can, but mainly interested in generating word count. Will keep you apprised of my progress.

Good luck all.

Sincerely,
Soterios

Great to "see" everyone new/again! And so happy to hear Soterios and Joy are going to be along for the ride!

Sean, yes I do still have the "Giant Pencil," though I believe it's seen its glory days. I think she's retired.

I'm really determined to finish this year. I don't reward myself with a t-shirt unless I win, and I haven't been able to get a new one since the "baseball banner" logo. :(

- 'Ailina
Done: 2001-2008
Won: 2001-2004
Website: Portrait in Linen

I'm glad to hear you've come back after that long away from NaNo, Soterios! I know it's so easy and natural to get caught up in living your life, especially with a family around. It'd be great if everyone could find opportunities to do something crazy and creative that they love more often. Welcome back!

I'm also happy to hear someone is writing comedy or parody--it'll be a healthy change of pace, since so many of us are naturally drawn to stories of murder or apocalypse or epic fates. (And I'm as guilty as any!)

I have ties to New Iberia (I was visiting my 95-year-old grandfather there today, in fact) so if we get any more folks from that area, I would be very interested in having some write-ins down that way. Great. I'll start a thread to start bouncing around ideas for meet-ups now.

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Well I'll be trying again this year but hopefully things will get going better than last year. And for some reason I didn't get my 08 button either but that might have been due to how sporadic my updates were. It's strange how the pressure of a deadline can help motivate you into writing but I like the feeling of accomplishment when I reach the daily word count. Hope everyone reaches their goal this year.
Good Luck

Hi everyone! My name is Terilyn and I am currently living in Abbeville. I'm 22 years old. This is my first year participating, though I have considered for a couple of years. Right now my plans are a scifi/fantasy with some Greek mythology tie ins. I still don't have a solid idea in mind so I'm hoping to figure that out soon. I'm also trying to talk my boyfriend into writing this year and maybe my mom. Nice to meet everyone :)

Not quite sure what I got myself into...

Welcome back, Demascus, and welcome aboard, Terilyn. We're so glad to have you join in this year!

Please don't feel that you are obligated to convince anyone else to join in, but thanks, always, for talking it up. (You probably want to try the 30-day novel for yourself before recommending the project! It's a great experience, but it requires a level of commitment that will test any sane person. More than once you will indeed ask yourself, "How badly do I need to do this?")

My book this year will be relying on details from various classical world cultures, but like Soterios, I am going to invent particulars whenever possible. It's more striking and original that way, and I feel more invested in the story when I devised the scenario myself. I always strive to retain the sensation of the scene being a memory. I want a personal emotion to come through and guide me.

We've had a couple of good web links already, so I am going to add a new thread now for reference websites. These are always good for generating ideas, which is the hardest aspect of meeting a daily word count goal, more so than writing ability or vocabulary.

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

For your 08 button you have to go to your profile and expand years participated. Once you add 08 a button will appear from that point forward.

Cheers,
Scott

Hi Everyone,

After much dithering and debating I've decided to make another attempt this year! I'm working really hard to get everything on my 'To Do' list out of the way before Nov 1, and I've put my family on notice that I'll be mostly estranged from them for the entire month.

I'm going to be picking up a project I've been doing research and making notes on for many years. I've had a lot of false starts, but hopefully this time I'll be able to get through to the story. It definitely falls into the speculative genre, but it's not sci-fi, horror, or fantasy, really. It's more along the lines of Barlowe's "God's Demon" with a sprinkling of Anne Rice (the New Orleans part, not the vampire part).

Anyhow, hoping I get to come to some of the write-ins. Good luck!

Lynette

Cool! And welcome aboard, Lynette. We hope to see you at some of the write-ins.

(And Scott, thanks for answering your own question before I could figure it out! Wow, will the whole month be this easy? D'oh!)

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

hey, i'm rachel. dunno if anybody remembers me but i did attend a few lafayette write-ins year before last. seems like another life time. lol.

so i'm gonna try again this year. to actually, i dunno, write and troll the forums. and maybe even attend a few write ins. i currently have two different plots rolling around in my head. i don't know which one will gain supremacy.

well, gotta go. NCIS is coming on. :]

Rachel, how could we forget the log-in name "Schizophrenic Chick?" LOL, it's great.

Welcome back! Yes, please do come to some of the write-ins. We have a lot of interesting and enthusiastic people this year and I think it's gonna be one of the best ever for Lafayette!

(Having said that, I've only participated in three Nano's in Lafayette so far!)

~SeaN

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

hi. this is my second nano, but my first to be trying out this whole "regional" thing, so greetings. i am jessica.

Welcome, Jessica. Good luck on your novel!

Sincerely,
Soterios

Hi, Jessica! And welcome to the forums!

I did exactly the same thing as you--the first year I did NaNo, I flew solo and did not really post much or correspond with anyone. The second year I wrote a book, I got more involved with the Lafayette group and attended write-ins and sat in coffee shops for hours on end writing on my book and it was SO MUCH more fun!

I actually look forward to the write-ins as much as I do making up details for my book. If you would like to join us to do some writing, then we'd love to see you there. At the moment I'm planning on a Hello Dinner at a restaurant on the 29th or 30th of the coming week, and then on Day One of November, I'm gonna host an all-day write-in at a C.C.'s in Lafayette, probably the one in River Ranch.

I'll make a calendar tomorrow and send out a mass e-mail to all the people in our Lafayette Region soon. Sorry if I seem to be dragging my feet, but I'm actually in vacation in North Carolina at the moment! Every time I try to start doing serious computer stuff, a one-year-old runs into the room and starts banging happily on the keyboard. (Of course, some of you have the same problem with attention-demanding children 24/7! Don't know how you do it.) :)

SeaN

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Hi, my name's Will. This is my first time participating, but the idea of having a draft, or at least a hefty chunk of one, by the end of the month is too tempting to pass up. I also write better under deadlines, so I'm excited about this experiment.

I'm writing a gothic novel based on my experiences in teaching over the past year and a half with a major influence from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In my mind, they really go hand in hand. I'm not sure how many group activities I'll be able to participate in, but I'll try to make it to a few.

Will

Looks like everyone is introducing themselves here. (:

My name is (also!) Rachel, I'm 19 and I currently go to ULL for Chemistry. I'm originally from Lake Charles but came here for school. I participated last year but didn't finish, so hopefully I finish this time around. (: I have an idea for a novel based on a short story I wrote...I guess it would be considered fantasy, and I have a plot and basic summary written down. I planned this one a lot better than my last story so maybe this one will work out much better!

I'm not sure how I feel about the write-ins, I think they a great idea but as for meeting new people I'm really shy. It's kinda neat to see how much variation there is in age of all the writers (: I may or may not go to CC's on Sunday, depends on if my boyfriend is working or not.

Anyways I hope to meet you guys soon. (:

"...Truth be told, I don't care, mayhem is beautiful..."

Hi, Will! Hi, Rachel! Nice to hear from you both.

Will, it's great to hear from another CW major! That's really cool. I've always wondered about the program at UL. I never went to school here (and have barely ever been on campus), so I'd love to hear about it (when we're both not too busy writing). Most of my longtime friends are teachers, too. Great to have one in our group!

Rachel, the first year I did NaNo I never went to a meeting, and that is perfectly fine. We'd still love to hear from you on the forums. Whenever you get stuck--or have a great day--you can tell us about it, and you'll have a sympathetic ear, from people who know exactly what you're talking about.

If you want to stop in on Sunday, or any time, drop by for some coffee and wave, "hello". You don't have to hang out for more than a minute. The whole experience of writing a book is more engaging when you have faces to put with the names on the forum. But I found out last year that all of the folks participating in NaNo are the kind of nice, smart people that I like to talk to, anyway, even if literature was not involved (although novels have always been a favorite thing for me, so that's just a bonus).

Welcome aboard!

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Double post!

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.

Hi Everyone! My name is Joy. Sorry it's taken me so long to check in. I'm ready to go for another round, but I don't have a clue what I'm going to write about yet. That's never happened to me before. I'll see you all on Sunday at CC's.

Cheers!

PS> I don't know why I'm still listed as ML, Sean. I left a note in the ML forums asking someone to fix that a couple weeks ago.

LOL! I'm glad, if you're listed as an ML, Joy! It takes some of the pressure off me!

Seriously, though, it took a couple of weeks and four e-mails to get the ML powers turned on for me. I say, if they wanna give you ML powers, let it ride. I'm sure the tech guy has way too much to do already, and it can't hurt anything, as is.

Oh, and YAY! Thanks for chiming in. I was worried!

(And if you don't know what to write about, I say brainstorm a little. Or just cheat and ask people who know you what they think you should write about. Either you'll get a decent idea, a great idea, or you'll find out exactly what you DON"t want to do.)

Man, we've got a wonderful turn-out on the forums. This year is really looking great for Lafayette!

~SeaN

God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own.