Peoples!

Hello All!

I'm Julie - 2nd year NaNo. Really looking forward to starting my new novel this year. Been working sporadically on last year's NaNo novel - it's still miles away from being submitable (is that a word??) but I'm proud of it.

I hope to make it to Silverlock's Write Ins in Mission Viejo again - met some great people there last year, very dedicated writers.

I'm having a major surgery on my foot on November 2 - which means two things: 1) I am going to have to do a TON of writing on November 1, and 2) I won't be able to drive - so my husband will have to drop me off at Write Ins!

Looking forward to beginning and to meeting you all!

Hi everyone! I'm Raine Whistler. Well, at least that's who I am here ^_^ This is my fourth year doing Nano, and hopefully my third time getting to the 50,000 word goal. I've re-read both my finished nano novels since they've been completed, but neither of them are really publish-worthy, in my opinion, so they've been sitting quietly on my shelf.

I'm a writer by profession, unpublished as of yet, but I'm currently shopping a manuscript around to various agents. No luck so far, but I'm trying my best. I'm kind of a homebody, and don't drive, so I never really made it to any write-ins, but I've been on the thread(s) here to cheer everyone on, and to offer any support that might be needed.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all the new folks, and re-connecting with some familiar names, and I wish everyone cooperative characters, and no writer's block!

All writers are crazy, even if they don't admit to it. Who else has a job where you sit around actually listening to the voices in your head?

Hello I'm meagan, littlemissgluttonous on this site. This is my first year doing nanowrimo; though i did fail scriptfrenzy with great gusto.
I'm fourteen and succeeded in dragging a friend into joining me; we wish you all the best.
5ok sounds like a lot....

Just write the d@mn thing!
Mur Lafferty

The name's Sam! This is my second NaNo. And hopefully I'll win this year as well. It took me eleven months to get to editing my previous NaNo and with a great amount of luck I managed it. It's no where near completed nor publish-worthy but I don't think I'll be publishing that one anyway. It was just for fun. This one on the other hand I am doing differently. So we'll see how it turns out!

The write-ins are a blast and I can't wait to meet some new writers in my area!

Sam.

Some one once tried to steal my Starbucks
The police are still looking for their body...

My name is Rosie and I'm a fifth year wrimo. Two wins, two losses, one prior year as ML under my belt.

I live in Irvine and attend the Art Institute of California, Orange County. In my spare time, I write, ride horses, mess around online, hang out with friends...you know, the usual crazy stuff. This year, add in the fact that I'm engaged and my wedding is north of San Francisco...and I'm gonna lose it. No, just kidding. Overload is fun! :-p

Orange County South ML
----------

Hey, it's Just Jess.

This is my Year 7 of doing WriMo, first year since 2005 I am not in the O.C. (yay recession), but I will be back for the 2010 WriMo. People who remember going to the tiki bar in 2006 would remember me as "That Crazy Woman at the End of the Table Who Wrote 223,100 Words." Okay, not that you'd remember the number, but I was the one who wrote way too much for my own good. Which I still do.

Got my paralegal certificate last December, and I ended up still unable to find a job (though I did make Honor Roll and was a Phi Theta Kappa at the school I went to). So, anyway, not much to say except that I will be writing paranormal erotica this year (new genre), and that I swear it won't be the vampire one.

Remember, remember the month of November/ Character, setting, and plot!
O! Loud are thy wishes/ That laundry and dishes
Would not just sit there
Forgot.

Hi all!

I'm Teryn. I'm in highschool and I'm not really sure how many years I've done NaNoWriMo. Last year, I heard about this starting November 1st, therefore I started on November 1st. I do not recommend that at all. I started to write the novel, but never updated my page at all because, frankly, I was just too overwhelmed and confused. However, this year, I plan on going into this with a plan of action and a strong determination to succeed! I'll also try to make it to at least one of the Mission Viejo Write Ins- I live right by there!

All the best!

Hello, just stumbling into this now, so yes it is my first year. I'm not a very dedicated writer, i've always been the type to write short stories and be content with them as simple pragraphs or whatever so I thought I would give this a go as a good challenge to break my hideous habit. My name is aaron, I've recently come down with mono so I had to drop out of college and move back home to get proper care. I'll have allot of time on my hands between work and recovering in november so I thought I would give this nanowrimo contest a go! I'm in the laguna area and would love invites to any sort of meet ups. Grand to meet you all. :) I am pretty sure I will be video blogging about my experiences with wrimo on youtube. I'm known as PaperStory, I didn't make that my username here (granted it may be taken) I thought it could come off as either pretentious or a tad cheesy. Hahahah.

Hi! I'm Jessica, and I've been away from NaNo for years and years. I completed it three years in a row, but got burnt out on creative writing classes during college. I'm taking a year off before applying for grad school (I want to do library science too Elijah!) and I thought this might give me something to do so I don't miss school so much. Not much plan for a novel yet, but I hope to make it to a few write-ins this year, since I have a car now and the ability to get around a lot better than when I was in school. Hope to actually meet some of you in person!

Hi, I'm Megan. This will be my first NaNo after contemplating it for several years. My and my Mom are both going to try and complete it this year. I will be writing a fairly straightforward fantasy and she will be writing something about ouija boards and the desert.

A little about me: I am an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I work full time as an assistant manager at the green aproned fabric store. I'm 22 years old. I live with most of my family and I have a boyfriend whom I love very much.

Nice to meet you all!

-Meg

NaNo 09':

Hi everyone! I'm Arden, although you can call me moonlitmists, I'll answer to either. This is my first year doing NaNo after hearing about it for a few years from a friend. I finally decided to just jump on and do it! I'm also a first year at UC Irvine studying drama. So far I haven't met anyone here who knows about NaNo, so I'm hoping to maybe change that? Anyway, I'm really looking forward to starting this project. It's very exciting!

Hey, I'm Chelsea, and this my second year doing NaNo. Elijah got me into it last year, and I am quite excited for this year, although I don't really have anything that could remotely be considered a plot yet. I'm a sophomore English major at Vanguard University with a minor in Religion and Spanish, and aspire to do something English-y after I graduate. I look forward to meeting those I haven't met and reconnecting with those I have this November!

Hi, I'm Robynne, or prettycat, or prettykitty or just cat. I'll answer to any of them. This is my second year, hopefully my second win. I'm praying that this year I won't suffer another laptop disater and end up having to re-write 25k!

I'm a ballet teacher (work afternoons and evenings) and single mom so as much as I would love to come to a write-in it's most likely not going to happen unless someone else happens to have the same crazy schedule as me. If anyone is free during the day and wants to meet up give me a shout.

Hi all,

I'm Theresa and this is my third year on NaNoWriMo. The first year I had a lot of distractions, including company that arrived in mid-November, but last year I won. I completed a romance that has been sitting on the back burner while I've been working on a mystery.

I recently enrolled in a writing class and learned that I still have a lot more work to do on the mystery, but I got a lot of positive feedback too. Haven't decided what to work on this year. Guess I'd better hurry up and figure it out.

I'm very interested in finding a writer's group to get some critical feedback on a regular basis. If anyone is interested in joining such a group, perhaps we can work out the details during Nov. I live in Irvine.

Best of luck to everyone! Happy writing!

Hey everyone!

I'm Liz, or wanpie...either way. I'm a junior at UCI, English major and Queer Studies minor. Arden you're not the only one from UCI! I hope that we can get enough people participating from the school to have some write-ins near campus. Anyway, this is my fourth year doing NaNo, and hopefully my third time reaching 50k. I'm taking 20 units this quarter and studying for the GRE so hopefully I'll make it, should be interesting. Either way, it's always a fun experience.

Can't wait to get started! Although I should probably be planning, I've never outlined before and that always gets me into trouble.

I'm Bill (or Silverlock, if you prefer screen names), and I've been writing on-and-off since college (which for me has been about 20 years now). Last year was my first NaNoWriMo, and winning meant that I finally had something more than another half-finished novel to show for my efforts -- so I guess it worked. :)

Since the last NaNo I have published a children's book for my 8-year old son, and I'm really excited about the plot for my NaNo book this year, so it looks like I am finally deciding to "get serious" about writing, even though it has to happen outside of normal working hours. (My left-brain-centric creativity pays the bills, thanks to my web interface design Product Manager job.) I love the fact that I get to be organized and creative at the same time at my job, and I guess that's kind of what makes a fiction writer successful as well.

I'll be "hosting" the Monday night write-ins at the "It's A Grind" coffee house in Mission Viejo on Monday nights, so I hope to see a lot of you there. I will be the one with the black HP laptop proudly displaying the white NaNoWriMo sticker on the back. :)

NaNoWriMo 2008 (win): "A Stacked Deck"

I'm excited to see other UCI students here! We should definitely meet on or near campus soon.

So, hello everyone! The most productive thing I've done all day is draw little comics of Freud during a lecture. November will be interesting, haha. I failed miserably last year and I was only taking 12 units; now I have 20, and all my classes are writing-intensive. All the more reason to meet up with other writers, right?

Can't wait to get started. :)

My turn!

Hi, I'm Jennifer...aka Carrots! Yes, a four year old gave me that nickname and, though I was unaware at the time, I did used this nickname in the official capacity. I worked at a camp this summer and the first duty was to come up with a nickname. Carrots I became and shall remain, forever! I'm a senior at Vanguard University, majoring in English with a minor in Religion. I have the possibility to go to graduate school for my Master's in Divinity. We'll see how all that pans out...you just never know :)

This is my first turn at NaNoWriMo and have never aimed for anything close to 50,000 words, but hey, why not try? Elijah, the man who started this thread, said I had absolutely no excuse not to do it. So, here I am, ready and waiting.

My fingers are itching to type!!

Hello, all.

My name is Jack. I won my first NaNo back in 2007, but I forgot last year. Story of my life. Anyway, I'm giving it a go again this year and wanted to start off by introducing myself.

I am 44, and I live in Aliso Viejo with my wife and daughter. I have been writing off and on since I was a kid, but my internal editor and low self-esteem as a writer has always managed to sabotage my momentum. I've collected my share of rejections, but my only published work is a couple of articles for Dragon Magazine. Pushing through with the 2007 NaNo was so refreshing because for the first time I wasn't stressing out over whether my story was "good enough." It didn't need to be good for anyone but me, and I could just focus on exploring the story for its own sake. I don't remember why I missed last year. Captain Flaky-pants, that's me.

My experience in 2007 was interesting in that the story idea I started with just completely fell apart. My writing faltered and the ideas dried up, and I nearly surrendered. But then, at about day 10, I decided to start over again with a completely new story idea. See, it occurred to me that the worst thing I could do would be to give up when there was really nothing at stake. So I told myself to stop worrying about the 50,000 words. That goal seemed out of reach anyway. One word a day. That was my new goal. If I sat down and only wrote one word, I could stand back up again and congratulate myself because it was better than just giving in.

As it turned out, there weren't any days where I only wrote one word. There were a few where I could only manage a sentence or two. But most days I had to pull myself away from the computer to get to work on time. I actually managed to get to 50K with a couple of days to spare, and I allowed myself to stop there.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can. And I respect any goal you choose to set for yourself. But if this is your first NaNo and you are nervous about the amount of work involved to win, don't forget that by doing this - by forcing yourself to sit down every day and write - you are already a winner. And if you start to feel like you will never make it to the end and are ready to give up, make yourself a promise that you will write just one word a day. If you can do that much, you are already doing more than if you just surrendered. This is your chance to succeed no matter what. Don't let despair and self-criticism get in your way!

just what I was looking for here, Jack. I'm not even a writer, but I love words and keyboarding. I have no problem running off at the fingers and I've written poetry and travel narratives for friends, and of course tons of email - never anything else. not educated in writing either - but a lot of my friends are writers - lol.

this seems like so much fun and I think I can handle Word Count. I'm sure one gets weary of racking up word count, so I'll try to remember what you've said: ["don't forget that by doing this - by forcing yourself to sit down every day and write - you are already a winner. And if you start to feel like you will never make it to the end and are ready to give up, make yourself a promise that you will write just one word a day."]

I like so much what you said - to have fun, to set my own goal, which I guess is to hit 50,000 words, or however many I end up with during November.

thanks for your most encouraging post.

Genevieve

Hi everyone,

My name is Steve Tremp, I live in Mission Viejo, and this is my first time participating with Nanowrimo. I'm very excited and ready to go. I look forward to meeting you all and learning from you, and hopefully you can glean something of significance from me.

I've self published my first mystery thriller entitled BREAKTHROUGH, an action suspense series weaving together breakthroughs in physics and technology with greed, murder, and mayhem and available online and in brick-and-mortar-stores Barnes and Noble, Borders Books and Music, and Amazon. My goal is to write 50,000 words for my next novels OPENING and ESCALATION. My blog is http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com.

Best wishes to you all on your journey, your quest, or road to serendipidity, or where ever this crazy path leads you.

Stephen Tremp
Author: Breakthrough - an action suspense series weaving together breakthroughs in physics and technology with greed, murder, and mayhem
http://www.stephentremp.blogspot.com

Hello,
I'm Caroline and have been meaning to get back to writing since my first child was born almost 12 years ago. I found this website a couple of days ago and have decided to go for it. I have no idea what I'm going to write, but then, it doesn't really matter does it? To simply write and trust a bit of genius will leak out amidst the rubble is my goal. Before I mostly wrote in a journal and a bit of poetry. A 50,000 word novel in 30 days? Sounds completely insane and just what I need. Hopefully will make it to some write-ins. Glad to be here.
Caroline

Heyyyyy, everybody!

I'm CoRri. It's fun to see several Vanguard students in this forum, as I graduated from VU in 2008, and my husband works in the Communications department. I majored in Film and minored in U.S. History. I've been attempting to do NaNoWriMo for about a billion years, but I always have some excuse as to why I don't finish... or don't start, as the case often ends up. I'm committed to actually getting it done this time. :o)

Hello all.

I'm J.C., nineteen, and this is my fourth year doing NaNo, and it will hopefully be my second year winning! :D I look forward to hopefully seeing all of your word counts increase, and possibly see you guys at write-ins! :D

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." ~Ray Bradbury

"So often is the virgin sheet of paper more real than what one has to say, and so often one regrets having marred it." ~Harold Acton, Memoirs of an Aesthete, 1948

Hi I'm Ashley. Student at Vanguard University. English major, creative writing emphasis. First time doing NaNoWriMo. Pretty excited!

Great to meet everyone. I'm Veronica. I wrote a book years ago, Please Pass the Vodka, but did little with it. As a Mom and full time lawyer, the whole publishing thing was too time consuming. I've had a children's book rambling in my head for years now that started with my son on a whale watching trip (no whales but a story idea, so a success nonetheless). Since then I went part-time with baby number two and I'm currently on maternity leave with baby number three, so I'm not pressuring myself to win this year. If I can hit the halfway mark, it will be a huge success for me, and more importantly, guarantee that I'll write this story for my children. I probably won't make a meet up. Not sure where I'm going to find the time to write as it is.

Hello! I'm Jikie (also Joanne and a few other things) and this is my second year doing NaNo. Last year was my first year and I managed about 4000 words when my USB decided to die (lesson: always back up your work!) and college apps. took over my life. This is my first year at IVC and I'm undecided on a major, though I'm leaning towards sociology at this point.

I hope to attend one of the write-ins this year (I don't get out too often) and to get to the halfway mark.

Best of luck!

Well, with such a diverse group of what sounds like very nice people, I'll join in :)

I'm Elizabeth, ie MirthGirl. Actress, stand-up comedian, and JK Rowling wannabe. Though ironically, the stories in my hand aren't for children - yet. But to wind a story as beautifully as she is my goal. I get frozen by perfectionism, which is why I failed last year, my first NaNoWriMo. But I don't want to be one of those millions with "meant to get to that novel" on my epitaph, so I'm not giving up!
I live in Long Beach, so I'm on the cusp of Orange County, and my folks are still there, hence my joining this group - which also seems to be a bit more active than the LA folks!
I hope to make it to one or two write-ins and put faces to names, and titles.
I've just read through Stephen King's "On Writing", which I had checked out from the library, and was so inspired by it I bought a copy for myself, and highly recommend it!
Here we go!
All the best!
E.

"I ain't here to play Nostradamus to these people!'

Hi! My name is Irina and this is my second time attempting nanowrimo. Last year didn't work out so well because I had too many ideas, all for different stories as well as college apps to perfect and send out. Right now, I'm a first year at UCI majoring in biomedical engineering and eager to try writing a novel again. Hopefully I'll have more time to work with this year and just write without giving in to new plot bunnies.

I see a few fellow UCI students in this thread. Maybe we can organize a write-in? I didn't go to any last year but they sound like they would be helpful in meeting new people, sharing ideas, and just generally fun.

Hi, I'm Michelle. I'm a Canadian (Montreal) transplanted in OC 5 years ago because of my husband's job. We've got 3 young kids, so I don't know when I'll find the time to write, but if I put together all the story snippets and random thoughts I've written down over the years, I would have the word count covered already... so I want to take this month to focus and accomplish what I've always wanted to do.
No plot yet, no concrete characters or storylines, but lots of themes and vague ideas running around my head. I'm hoping it will all come together when the time comes.
I won't make the first MV write-in (husband travels a lot) but will hopefully come to the second. Would love to meet some of you!
Michelle

Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and