Hello East Valley! This is the place where you introduce yourself to everyone. Tell us a little about yourself and your Nano experience/expectations! We can’t wait to “meet” you!
--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
I am nekowriternyan, also known as Skye, one of your wonderful Municipal Liaisons.
I am a 22 year-old Tempe resident – legal secretary by day (no, I do not want to be a lawyer), daydreamer by night (actually, by day too – constantly, really). I suffer from chronic TMIS (Too Many Ideas Syndrome) – it’s real, I read an article. I love cats (for those who can’t translate my handle) and well-written books (so scarce these days, like African penguins). When I grow up I want to be a bestselling author, work in a New York publishing house, or become a criminologist. I’m aiming for bestselling author, but one never knows.
I am a 3-time participant/3-time winner of Nano, and plan to make it 4-for-4. I refuse NOT to finish things like Nano (just don’t ask me about the Screnzy incident, *coughcough*). I will be writing my 4th Child/Young Adult novel – I don’t plan them that way, they just happen. It’s been planning itself for several months now, and I am SO ready to get it written already (waiting is the ultimate torture)!
I look forward to seeing everyone around the EVal events!
Your PaWMLoG,
Skye
EV co-ML
----------
Nano 06: The Clan of Havenmore Lane (win!)
Nano 07: Kissing Aliens (win!)
Nano 08: Substitute Superhero (win!)
Nano 09: Party Magic
62,161 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 10 36
Hey everyone.
My name is rather obvious, but most often people just use the last name anyway.
I'm 32 and in Mesa. I do a lot of freelancing as far as writing and independent movie project production; but the qualifiers of 'freelance' and 'independent' are latin for 'largely without dough'. I feel I am still at a disadvantage for NaNo since novels are maybe my weakest of writing formats; much more comfortable with screenplays (but never able to do a Frenzy yet, go figure).
If I recall, this is my fourth stab at it, and I still don't have an idea. I have hit the quota three out of the four, finishing once, and also participating once in [unaffiliated] NaNoFiMo and JaNoWriMo and finishing then also - must have been an obsessed phase. I still have my '08 story floating around on a site somewhere if any of you are curious enough to want to know.
Speaking of last year, I had a really great time with the Eval group (or whatever they are calling themselves now), and hope to write enough to help propel us past more than one other AZ city for the word counts (sorry, Patagonia - kinda). I still have nothing more than an inkling of what I want to write this time around, though last time it was reading some stuff that all clicked a week or two before I started writing.
I hope to participate in as many activities as possible this year. I had a great time last year and included many dares (if not the most), made a couple pals, and even conceded to some index cards: who knew? Hopefully the clan will accept me into the tribe this year. ;)
I like to meet people and hear about whatever anyone else is working on. Drop me a line if you wish - whether to just say hi, have a person in your buddy list, or have someone to bounce ideas off. Viva la NaNo.
----------"Bucket of criminy!"
-Tad Ghostal
36,654 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 16 14
Hi Skye and Matt and the rest of East Valley.
My name is Chris Mentzer, I'm 40+ and living in Mesa, AZ with my fellow inmates...i mean family! I'm serving my 13th year incarcerated at Wal-mart. And when I'm not writing, I'm either reading or thinking about writing.
This will be my fifth year with NaNo and hopefully my third win. I will be writing book 3 of my kids trilogy that is being written in the tradition of "The Wizard of Oz". The theme this time is horror though this will be the funniest of the three books. Try and figure that one out.
I'm usually lurking around the RPG forum and I'm also on Facebook.
Chris
----------Buy books 1 and 2 of The Askinar Towers Trilogy here
Free Shrimp Dinner
45,516 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 17 03
Hi guys!
I cannot even put into words how EXCITED I am for NaNo this year! I am a published author (non-fic only), columnist, English teacher, mom, wife, etc, etc. I am a 2 time winner and, as usual, have NO idea what I will be writing about. :)
I live out past Queen Creek, so anything out far East would be great. I know there are a few of us out there. BTW - the Coffee Bean went out of business (I am SUPER bummed - I'm pretty sure I wrote half my novel there), so we will have to find a new spot out East.
Looking forward to getting to know you all!
Alana
----------Alana
Author of Domestically Challenged
NaNo '07 - Winner!
NaNo '08 - Winner!
Blog - http://www.dctheblog.com
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/domchallenged
18,673 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 17 28
Hi all!
My name is Denise. I am 35 and live in downtown Phoenix. However, I work full-time in Tempe, and in past years I have found it extremely difficult to make it from work to the Phoenix events on time, since they are normally 20+ miles from where I work and start at the same time I'm leaving. Therefore, I've made the affiliation switch to East Valley, to make it easier to get to the events. Plus, it's way easier to torture Amber if I'm in the same city.
This will be my fourth year doing NaNo, and my plan is to make it a 3rd time win. I'm considering the first year to be a 'NaNoWriMo Practice Run', though my best friend claims it isn't. Boo on her. She lost the first year too.
Anyway, hope to see you all at the events!
Denise
----------2006 - The Sandcastle (died at 20k) - Fail!
2007 - Snapshots From the Ashes (54K) - Win!
2008 - Untitled Ghost Story (50K) - Win!
2009 - (Stopped for good at 18673. Next year will be better.)
39,342 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 17 49
Hi,
I'm participating in NaNo for the first time. I'm a general and trauma surgeon in Mesa with this wierd dream of becoming a writer as well. I actually have two novels out, one as an e-book with AKWBooks.com, the other, QUEEN MAB COURTESY is in print with CWG Press, a VERY small publisher. It's available through Amazon and also is an e-book at AKW. It tokk me three years to finish the first book, two years to finish the second. I'm hoping the experience of writing for a challenge like this will spur me to actually finish something before the idea grows stale.
Looking forward to making some new acquaintances among local writers.
Bruce Davis
htttp://www.thatwhichishuman.com
1,295 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 18 13
Hello East Valleyians...
----------About me...Christopher Payne, 49, Tempe resident, self-employed, first time participant and am looking forward to seeing what can come of this experiment.
I had big dreams when I was younger of being a professional writer; attended University of New Haven and The New School for Social Research in the 80's, worked hard at putting out 10 pages a day on an ancient piece of equipment once widely used that we called a 'typewriter'...Google the term if you need to...had some small (tiny) pieces published and was sure I was on my way to greatness. Then I had kids and chose a more conventional method of paying the bills.
The kids are growed up, but I ain't, so I am back at the grindstone with my dreams leading the way.
I look forward to whatever and hope to have some fun along the way.
Peace
any time you find yourself somewhere, always remember everything...
0 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 18 25
Hi,
I'm new this year. I live around Chandler Heights and Gilbert roads. If I live through Nano, I'll be 63 two days after it ends, December 2. I have read widely most of my adult life, have been taking stabs at a novel for a long time, but have always become bogged down at about 50 pages. So, this is going to be a trip, since I don't even have a first line yet! I read mystery, legal and medical (forensics) suspense, biography, non-fiction political books in recent years, and dog stories. My roommates are two golden retrievers who aren't used to seeing me sit at the computer and keep bringing me their tennis balls. I fear these spoiled two canines will be a handful once I'm writing in earnest. Hopefully some if not all of us can get together a few times during November. I'm looking for buddies and hope to hear from you all.
Karen Taylor
----------Karen
20,059 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 18 36
Hello Hello Hello
I'm Josh, 2nd year NaNo contestant, trying to get my first win this year. Last year's attempt was some completely hackneyed non-sense that I had no hope of saving, so I tossed it and I'm trying again this year with an old story that I keep restarting and refining, maybe now I can get a solid story line down for once. It's supposed to be a comic book, so I'm wondering if I should write it in script form or Novel form then adapt a script for it. Any advice from fellow Nano's? Last year I was in Iraq, which added a substantial amount of distraction and pressure, so hopefully I do much better this year.
I really like religion, science, philosophy, mythology and really just any crazy theory about what's really going on in the universe and whether its actually here or not. I'm attending DeVry for Game and Simulation Programming while I code mac ticket vendor programs for an army friend's dad by day. At night, I mostly just fill my head with more and more chaos from every corner of the world that I can find a book on. I'm hoping to get into video game development and story telling as well as attempting to get myself published somewhere. I really want to start kicking out some comic books with my brother, and if that ever comes around to happening, chances are we'll be posting it online as well.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I live in West Mesa, right off the 101 and Apache/Main St.
----------I believe myself to be
Something of a misnomer
42,508 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 21 34
Hey all. Gavin here. I'm writing for my fourth year and hoping for my third win. I'm a math major at ASU, hoping to be a research professor someday. In addition to the geeky career path, I have geeky interests: reading, writing, watching anime and sci-fi TV shows, and programming. I like any kind of speculative fiction, but I'm especially fond of sci-fi. Oddly enough, when I write original stuff it tends to be fantasy. I'm a total romantic sap (engaged to be married in February) and a feminist (as a product, I love kickass female characters.)
----------I'd describe my novel here but there's already a thread for that.
*
Fourth year writing; hoping for my third year win.
This year's novel: Herald of the Eye, modern fantasy with a sci-fi fan's twist.
5,025 / 50,000
Oct 3, 2009 - 12 07
Hello everyone! My name is Devan and I am a two-year tryer, one-year winner of NaNoWriMo (last year was my big win! Yay!). I'm a full-time ASU freshman and a part-time employee of Starbucks. While I have been pretty stressed out this semester, I'll put all-nighters to complete another NaNo...
I really enjoy writing and reading and am currently double-majoring in English Lit. and Global Studies. I would like to be a human rights activist someday...and maybe write a book or be a history teacher. :) We'll see how that works out for me.
I will be attending the Michael Stackpole event! (And I'll be in my lovely 2009 NaNo shirt!)
36,982 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2009 - 19 38
Hi, my name is Curtis. When I'm not writing I work at a retail corporation that is trying to slowly steal my soul (I have no proof yet) and trying to get my college degree in something I have probably not yet decided on.
I am a one time participant and winner (last year) and I'm hoping that I won't just win this year but that I'll write something meaningful and that might someday actually be readable for somebody. I will be writing a sequel to my YA/ Urban Fantasy story about a girl how struggles with dealing with her gift/curse of being able to hear voices and read thoughts and is one of the few people that stand in the way of our world being concurred by demi humanoid snake people who want to enslave the human race.
----------Nano 08 - The Jade Bandore (won)
Nano 09 - Lullabies
My current "time sinks".
The Wrestling Game- http://www.thewrestlinggame.com/wg.asp?w=111229739
Goal Line Blitz- http://goallineblitz.com/game/signup.pl?ref=35079379
41,570 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2009 - 20 03
Hi, I'm Jack. I live in south Tempe, I'm 28 and work in finance. This'll be my... god, I don't remember. Sixth? Seventh year? Doing Nano, but only my second involved with EaVaWriMos. I had a great time last year and I'm hoping to get my GF involved too, but we'll have to see.
5,315 / 50,000
Oct 4, 2009 - 21 07
HI,
I'm a 34 year old part-time cosmetology student (will graduate in Jan) and a full time mom. I joined Nanowrimo in 2007 and won. It was quite thrilling. I attempted in 2008, unfortunately I had some difficult circumstances at the beauty school I started at and had to leave and transfer to another school. It was too much to deal with and concentrate on writing. So I dropped out at a little of\ver 6,000 words.
I am so ready to start this year. It was like a little alarm went off on October 1st and I thought it's nanowrimo time. I am starting from scratch. When ever I do all that planning the story isnt fun anymore when I go to write. So I am going to try for minimal planning and lots of flying by the seat of my pants.
I probably wont make it to write ins (dang it). I'm still in school (I do nights) and I'll do most of my writing during days while the kids are away.
Colleen
----------azrainstorm
13,195 / 50,000
Oct 5, 2009 - 13 09
Hey folks,
I'm Anika; a 27 year old(as of Nov. 13th), mom from Queen Creek. When I'm not chasing my son down the street; I read, fold clothes, play piano, and read some more. I did my own Wrimo in early 2009 after a friend bought me "No Plot, No Problem" for Christmas, and the results weren't awful. So I am hoping to make some more progress and write the sequal come November. It's exciting!! I also look forward to networking with all you crazy wrimos in EVAZ!
----------And I will be at Stackpole's workshop with my mom, see you all there!
Anika
27,837 / 50,000
Oct 5, 2009 - 15 27
I'm Sandy (NANO handle sinaz = Sandy IN AZ) -
----------Have lived in Chandler for 12 years after moving out here from the Midwest. Love the desert so much I took the Desert Botanical Garden's Landscaper certification class and do landscape design as one of many part-time jobs, along with writer, substitute teacher and dog-walker. All this after quitting a full-time job in corporate technical sales with a national telecommuinications firm. I cannot tell you how much happier these last few years have been! Money truly doesn't equal happiness - although a best-selling novel would be the best of both worlds.
I'm a 4-time participant, first win was last year when I wrote the first 52,000 of my urban fantasy novel, Blue Moon.
This year, the saga continues with Song of the Ancients.
Nikowriteryan, feel free to visit at our house anytime: It's full of 20-pound black cats: Magick, Shadow Moon and Salem, all related, and all adopted from a now-closed local Occult store named Pandora's Box (Ray Road and Dobson). Magick and his mate, Psyche, were the store cats there until the establishment closed a couple of years ago.
Hope to meet many of you at the Stakhouse class on the 15th.
"Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and caldron bubble."
Thanks, Willie, love you!
41,570 / 50,000
Oct 5, 2009 - 21 27
Oh, I remember that place. It closed not long after I moved out here but I have friends who knew it well.
0 / 50,000
Oct 6, 2009 - 11 45
Many greetings. My name is Zane.
Three is the magic number. At least that's what I keep telling myself. This will be my third year. First was a bust - I dove into the deep end of a 'concept' and drowned. Last year was much better.
I am starting school October 25 in a Multimedia Writing course. I have already told my wife it's been good to know her, maybe we can rekindle our love in December.
By day I write and edit internal and external communications for a university in Phoenix. By night I am a photographer.
Good luck to everyone.
----------Zane
www.lloydzeffler.com
www.twitter.com/lloydzeffler
27,837 / 50,000
Oct 6, 2009 - 22 44
Yes, I miss Pandora's Box. As for the cats, I adopted the big daddy (23 lbs) and two of his litter born at the store. They will be in this year's novel. Shadow is the guardian of a magickal grimoire which guides my MC Samantha to the Witch of the Stone prophesy. Start with what you know and let the path lead you from there, right?
----------"Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and caldron bubble."
Thanks, Willie, love you!
16,294 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2009 - 06 49
Well, my name is Amber, and this is going to be my 8th year and *hopefully* my third win. Life has a habit of getting in the way of NaNo, and this year is no exception. Last year I had just moved into our first house and was busy renovating and making that livable- this year I work full-time, school full-time, parent full-time AND have an inflammation in my chest that mimics the pain of a heart attack. HUZZAH!
I'm 24.7 years old, hope to become an archivist, always listen to music, have too many hobbies and not enough time for any of them, a hardcore procrastinator, and a fangirl extraordinaire. Looking forward to getting
----------absolutely nothingso so much done at the write-ins this year, the return of the pumpkin fiends, thousand blank white cards galore, and maybe another illicit screening of Twilight. For the lulz, of course.-Amber is ML: East Valley
41,570 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2009 - 10 43
Hey, New Moon is coming out on the 20th, isn't it? XD
725 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2009 - 20 41
Hi all,
My name is Lori, I'm currently residing in Tempe with my wonderful husband of four months. Still newlyweds :)
----------For that reason I'm very nervous about Nano this year, and still undecided if I should do it. I barely have time for homework as it is, and don't even ask about the state of my house...
I'm attending ASU for an English Linguistics degree. I love to read well written books (sorry Stephanie Meyer fans - those books are terribly written), and I love to analyze language and see how it has changed through time. However, as my English classes have taught me, it's okay to say ain't! In the proper setting, of course :)
I'm taking a creative writing (emphasis on short story sci fi/fantasy) class, and I love it. It's giving me all sorts of fun plot ideas that I manage to forget to write down... and then I forget them... so I don't have as many as I WOULD have, if I was smarter and wrote things down.
ANYWAY...
I look forward to Nano this year if I get the guts to do it... Wish me luck! :)
GrammarQueen90
People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history. ~Dan Quayle
33,950 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2009 - 16 32
Hey all - Rachel here. I'm 27, live in Tempe, work at ASU, and this will be my fourth year of Nano. I've only won officially once, but I consider my first year a great success, too, even though I didn't get to 50K. I wasn't able to make it out to any of the events last year so I'm looking forward to the opportunity this year to meet many of you.
Been doing some planning and it looks like I'll be writing another fantasy novel this year. And I am so excited!
----------"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Check out my blog Book 'N' a Mug
31,888 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 01 34
Hello, all!
I'm actually from south Phoenix, but I'm often driving through the East valley anyway, so it's not inconvenient for me to associate myself with it (and used to live out there, so I'm biased from that, too) :)
So hi, I'm AD, or 'Jessica'. Whatever works, I guess! I'm 23, and quickly becoming a serial Nanowrimo-ist. I'm so anxious to start my book but I will (somehow) wait until Nov 1st, as difficult and painful as that is. I'm not 100% sure of what my book is about, because I'm trying to decide between two ideas. One is a romance, the other is a supernatural/surreal romance. Either way, I'm a sucker for unconventional love stories and I love writing them.
I hang out a lot at the forums in my down time, so if you're hovering around there you'll likely see my name appear a few times. And I just love to post weirdly specific questions in the Character & Plot Realism section, because my novels get weirdly specific and realistic like that. I'm a nerd for facts, and I don't subscribe to the "write what you know" idea :) That'd be boring!
I'm currently a student working on my second degree, so hopefully that doesn't conflict too badly with my novelling frenzy this coming month... :)
39,016 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 10 48
Hi Everyone
My name is Kelly. I'd love to say that I'm a chic 40 something living in a condo on the new Scottsdale Waterfront, dining nightly in one of the many fabulous restaurants there... alas....in reality I'm a way to young empty nester living amongst way too many kids here in Gilbert. If you were one of what seemed like millions that drove by the Extreme Home Makeover a couple years ago .... then you know my street.
This will be my first Nano. I was introduced to it at a Writer's Retreat last year. Many of the participants were Nano winners and since I was working on "my" script I was encouraged by them and won my first ScriptFrenzy last April completing a Play. Now, with much apprehension I will attempt this crazy endeavor and hopefully, by the end, have a perfect trifecta of a script, a play and a novel, all under my belt.
I loved reading everyone's posts and am most inspired by the youth in the group. I'll admit to being intimated by those of you perfect in your knowledge of grammar or who know how to get weirdly specific and realistic - lol..... but just bear with me please - I'm still trying to find my voice - ha.
Looking forward to the write-ins. ScriptFrenzy was kinda screwed up this year and I couldn't find my group so other than the forums it was a bit lonely. I do belong to a small writing group of five. We "meet" on a conference call every Tuesday morning and we are all attempting Nano so along with this group I should have plenty of support and encouragement. So write away people because nothing inspires me more than trying to keep up with the crowd.
My novel is kinda desperate housewivey in nature but BETTER.
----------~trying to create images with words~
'09 ScriptFrenzy winner
Author of Death of a Fisherman - a Play
Author of A Need for Speed - a Script
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MsScript
37,727 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 19 14
Hey Hey,
This will be my fourth year. I'm trying to decide which plot to use this year - it's likely I'll go with a 4th novel in the Holy Rollers series. Unless I don't.
I've blogged each novel so far, and this year I'll do so again. Link to follow!
----------"If you wish to be a writer, write." - Epictetus
Read my novel here: http://holyrollers-immortals.blogspot.com/
3,961 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 23 25
Ahoy ahoy!
I'm Danica, I'm 20 years old, and I live in Gilbert and I'm a student at Chandler-Gilbert CC and Mesa CC.
I'm on my sixth year of NaNoing (no wins, sad to say, school always eats my soul and brainpower before I manage to finish) and have a good feeling about this year!
27,025 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 23 42
Greetings all,
I'm Katherine, 34, and a Tempe resident for a decade now. I am an author, a collaborator with my husband Eric. He thinks up the plots; I write all the details. We each think we have the easy job. My first book, Lucinda at the Window, was released a few weeks ago. It's an exciting and fairly nerve-wracking thing.
This will be my seventh year participating in NaNoWriMo. With work, it'll be my third win. My husband and I use it as a chance to force ourselves to work on world-building. Necessity seems to work as motivation for us.
When I'm not writing...or rewriting and editing..., I love playing ultimate frisbee and the occasional *cough* massively multi-player online game (time sucker!). I hope to make it out to some EVal events this year. I'm a bit of a wallflower, so bear with me.
Happy writing!
----------~K
Lucinda at the Window by Katherine Nabity
Available from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. (Just search for Nabity!)
Journal: http://katen.livejournal.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Katen
11,246 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 12 57
Hello,
My name is Aimee, I just turned 30 again (31) and I live in Gilbert with my boyfriend, a 15lb polydactyl black cat named Iggy and a 9 month old black lab puppy, Bella. (Not named after any characters). I was recently laid off, so I have the time I was praying for to write and work towards my goal of becoming a published author. I'm currently working on a novel about a Vampire who is part Dryad. I'm still tossing around the idea of telling an off shoot story of one of my characters from my current project or doing something comepletely different for NaNo. I'm leaning towards a ghost story instead of keeping the vampire story going, though. This is my first NaNoWriMo and I'm both excited to get started and a little nervous of what to expect. I am confident, however, in my ability to keep the word count up. I can't wait to get started and look forward to meeting fellow writers at E Val events. See ya Thursday! :)
~Aimee
----------~Noelle Black
11,181 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 13 59
Hello, I'm Kay. I'm 22 years old and currently a student at SCC and MCC. This is my second year participating in Nano. I'm not an original writer, just a fan fiction writer far too immersed in fandom for my own good. At the moment, I'm unemployed (though not for lack of trying) and working on my pharm tech certification. Otherwise, there's not much else to know other than I'm your typical, textbook-case introvert and that I love cats.
0 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 22 34
absolutely nothingso so much done at the write-ins this year, the return of the pumpkin fiends, thousand blank white cards galore, and maybe another illicit screening of Twilight. For the lulz, of course.Best comedy ever... Oh, wait, that's a vampire romance movie right? Could have fooled me... XD
My name's Cathy, I guess... I'm a full-time student @ ASU Tempe slaving away on my bio sciences major, but I live in Gilbert... Barely won last year, and I've forgotten the title, and this year will be interesting with a "reading and writing intensive" course... I'll be reading 3 books and writing essays on them in November... I'll be at as many of the events as possible, including the Stockpole event on Thursday (joy for the Jupiter) and both plotting events. I look forward to meeting everyone this year...