I thought we might put this to use. Seeing as today we had a meet up with a good sized group, but for the life of me, I can't put real names to user names. It doesn't help that I'm bad with names in the first place. So if you do plan on taking parts in group meets, maybe it's a good idea to introduce yourself so we know who the heck you are!!!
(And I stole this from another thread lol )
Preferred name/nickname: Leigha offline (Lay-ah) and (Nekko or Rikku online)
Age: 25
Previous NaNos: 2007 was my first year. My story was this fantasy gay/slash story that ended up being 50K words of NOTHING but rambling. I didn't get anywhere in that so called plot. In 2008 I tried to do nano by hand and got 3000 words before I quit. That story was about a dragon, and talking animals. My first attempt at a children story.
Recommend a book for us: Anything by Garth Nix, The Water Mirror by Kei Meyer is also a really good fantasy novel. I though it was very original.
More about yourself: I live at home with my mom and step dad (who is the devil!) and my half sister. I have a full time job at a daycare, which is 40 hours M-F, 7am to 3pm. I'm hoping this job won't interfere with Nano too much, because when I get home, I'm basically out like a light for the rest of the day.
I like reading (duh) and writing anything from fanfics to original stories. I like collecting loose leaf tea and I'm now saving up for my first BJD, as that's another of my strange hobbies! I'm kinda boring...
My stories are usually alternative style, aka the main characters are in a same sex relationship. *shifty eyes*
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy and modern real life. I'm really into drama/angst and romance stuff.
Your brilliant idea for this year:
I am writing a NOT vampire story. See my page for more details. But the story is going to eventually be about a NOT vampire and human romance (males)
----------
41,122 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2009 - 18 24
Great idea! I'm still not sure which username goes with which person. :)
Preferred name/nickname: Joey
Age: 25
Previous NaNos: I've been doing NaNo since 2005, and I am enough of a perfectionist/masochist to have won every year. My favourite stories are from '05 ("troubled teen" takes care of her dying mother and falls in love with her co-worker) and '07 (two strangers meet at a bar on a rainy night and decide to share a cab, which then has an accident - what brought them to that point?), which are incidentally both stories that I made up as I was going along, after scrapping the original plan on day 3. '06 (housewife and mother gets bored, starts volunteering at a shelter, falls in love with her supervisor and leaves her abusive husband) was a nightmare of cliches and stock characters and '08 (young woman learns that she's a witch and teams up with a vampire and an occult scholar to save the world) has the mother of all plot holes in the last third.
Recommend a book for us: I'm currently reading book 4 of the Morganville Vampires. Yes, it's a YA series, but it's really freakin' cute.
More about yourself: I'm new to Bloomington and a first year grad-student in English. I live with two insane yet lovable roommates. I have had an obsession with vampires since I was 8. I'm a feminist and I volunteer for an organization that teaches sex-ed. I have an enduring love affair with literature. I write poetry.
Preferred genres to read/write: I've yet to be able to figure out which genre my work fits into. Last year's NaNo was definitely fantasy, but that was my first foray into that genre. All of my other stuff is present day/real world, but it's neither romance nor mystery nor crime, nor any other genre I can think of.
Your brilliant idea for this year: Meet Ashley Simmons. She is 23 years old, lives with her roommate Jen and an adorable cat, and is studying to become a nurse. She was also born in a male body. This is her story: "From the Ash".
----------"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand
NaNo 2005: "Barefoot" - Winner!
NaNo 2006: "Break the Skin" - Winner!
NaNo 2007: "Chances & Choices" - Winner!
NaNo 2008: "Unbound" - Winner!
NaNo 2009: "From the Ash" -
16,339 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 05 32
Preferred name/nickname: Well, I don't feel comfortable putting my real name online. So y'all can call me Titus on here. If you want my real name, I can say it as many times as people want in person.
Age: 23
Previous NaNos: I've done it but nothing memorable.
Recommend a book for us: Writing Book - Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card. It is an excellent writing book. Also, Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood. (That would be the book I couldn't remember yesterday.)
More about yourself: I'm currently in law school and I like to write as a hobby. I am hoping to do well in Nano this year but we'll see. Finals in December, job search stuff... I am hoping this group will help me be more productive and to chill out.
Preferred genres to read/write: I used to read more fantasy but now I am in more realistic thrillers. I like a scare when it does not come from a guy with an ax.
Your brilliant idea for this year: An accounting firm (Pioneer, Inc.) audits most of the books for major fortune 500 companies. Its legal department has highjacked the company. It creates a second set of books. If someone doesn't pay the legal department members, then the legal department sends the books that are more damaging to the company or individual.
This allows for insider trading and cooked books by executives who can pay for the books to be wrong. Meanwhile, honest companies must pay two auditing fees to get accurate books and cannot change auditors or say bad things about Pioneer due to possible retaliation. This scheme has done plenty of damage to the economy.
The company's new CEO refuses to go along with the long-standing plan and recruits four others to help her: a blogger about economic issues, a jaded cop (or maybe ex-cop), the bartender where all the Pioneer lawyers go to drink, and a new hire to the company who was originally naive to the problems when she was hired.
Can the five of them manage to bring down a large, extortionate scheme?
41,753 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 08 03
Preferred name/nickname: Mary Kate or MK
Age: 18
Previous NaNos: none! I've heard about it, but this is my first time doing it.
Recommend a book for us: Um well I like anything by Jane Austen because I'm fascinated by the dynamics in that type of society. But I'll throw out a completely different book: Waterland by Graham Swift.
More about me: Despite the fact that I like to read Jane Austen, I am not one of those girls who secretly wishes she lived in that time period. No, thank you. I am perfectly content with the 21st century.
I'm a freshman (undergrad, obviously) here at IU, and my major is exploratory right now.
I really only write as a hobby, so I'm not too concerned with how my NaNoWriMo story turns out. This is all just for fun, plus it's a good opportunity to become a better writer.
Preferred genres to read/write: I like general stories, romance, I am slowly growing out of my chick lit phase, I like historical fiction, and some fantasy is good. But I'm open to others too.
Your brilliant idea for this year: Well I'm not quite sure which of my so-called "brilliant" ideas I'm going to choose. The one I'm thinking of at the moment is about a girl fresh out of college who doesn't know what the heck to do with her life. She lives with her parents still and works at their rather large flower shop. Two of her coworkers are interested in her, and she somehow sleeps with both of them and winds up pregnant. She doesn't know which guy is the father. So now she has to deal with her growing child, her developing feelings for one of her coworkers, her fear of what her parents are going to do about all this, and her struggle to find her self identity and how she wants to live the rest of her life.
54,931 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 14 22
Preferred name/nickname: Denise
Age: 29
Previous NaNos: I've done every year since 2002 and I've finished every year. I'm hoping to finish this year but I'm in nursing school and have very little free time so we'll see how it goes... I just can't imagine life without Nano!
Recommend a book for us: The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I loved The Hunger Games when I read it earlier this year, but I've not had time to read Catching Fire yet due to school :(
More about yourself: I live with my husband and two kitties. I work part time and go to nursing school full time. My life is pretty much exams, studying, coffee, and sleeping! I used to be the ML for Bloomington, but I'm just too busy so I decided to let someone else take over and it looks like that's probably a good idea! It looks like we're going to have an awesome group this year!
Preferred genres to read/write: Horror/mystery
Your brilliant idea for this year: A horror novel involving a killing spree inside of a hospital. The murderer is a very unlikely person!
----------Winner 2002-2009!
Attempting 2009 while in nursing school, I must really be insane!
62,404 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 14 32
Preferred name/nickname: Christine
Age: 37
Previous NaNos: I've done this every year since 2003 and I've managed to complete it every year. I love it! I hope to be doing this every November for the rest of my life.
Recommend a book for us: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. A new epic fantasy author. The world building is fantastic and the characters are amazing.
More about yourself: I've been in Bloomington for several years with my husband. We recently just bought a house and I'm pregnant. So I won't have to worry about work interfering with writing since I can't work! I love to write, read and travel. I'm also a big lover of games. Board games, RPGs, video games. They're my reward for making my word count every day.
Preferred genres to read/write: Urban fantasy/paranormal romance.
Your brilliant idea for this year: This year I'm going to do a paranormal romance. I'm going to use my real life experience of being pregnant and make my protagonist pregnant. She was impregnated by a werewolf, but she doesn't know that yet! She'll be suddenly thrown in the supernatural natural world and have to fight for her life as well as her unborn child's.
It's going to be fun and not completely serious. Maybe at times, a little ridiculous. Though I think we all need a little bit of the ridiculous in our lives now and then!
--------------------------------------------
"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." - Ray Bradbury
13,487 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 16 17
Preferred name/nickname: Nate
Age: 24
Previous NaNos: I've done NaNo for the past couple of years, but only really got anywhere with it last year. Ended up not liking my story afterward, but I'm hoping that it turns out a lot better this year.
Recommend a book for us: Right now I'm on a Terry Pratchett binge, so I'm going to have to go with Going Postal.
More about yourself: I'm a programmer. That's about it.
Preferred genres to read/write: My favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction. On the fantasy side, my favorites are Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and on the SF side I like Neil Stephenson and John Scalzi.
Your brilliant idea for this year:
I just have a few disconnected ideas right now. A marriage between a merchant family and a royal house to settle feuds. A love potion that throws a wrench in the works. Something dark living in the basement. And a very annoyed little sister.
I was thinking about writing a gentleman thief story, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside.
7,052 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 16 57
Preferred name/nickname: Your Majesty (I'm going with Titus on this one)
Age: younger than most people think
Previous NaNos: see my signature
Recommend a book for us: narnia Narnia NARNIA!!!
More about yourself: I love beauty. I stalk squirrels. I splurge on flowers and honey and books and fruit. I stop in the middle of the sidewalk to stare at sunsets.
Preferred genres to read/write: SFF, mostly speculative
Your brilliant idea for this year: Orphaned in the slave rebellion, Katy takes a government internship, only to end up hostage when Julea, former slave and rebel, escapes from prison. Irony of ironies, Katy's been organizing a Network to help slaves escape. If Julea doesn't kill her, she'll spend the rest of her days in jail for stealing slaves.
----------2006--Blackwing (pitiful, wimpy attempt)
2007--Blackwing--finished at 43K
2008--The Search for ArdRi--winner! and still not finished
2009--The Abolitionist
5,123 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 16 58
Name: Caitlyn Foley
Preferred Name/Nickname: Caitlyn works fine. My friends from Japanese class call me Luna.
Age: 18
Previous NaNos: I've been a member of NaNo for the past two years. My first story was about a Hawaiian girl named Kalea who was in a nuisance-turns-into-boyfriend relationship with a young man who worked in the same office as her. They were supposed to be helping out an indie band that practiced in the parking garage of their apartment complex, but I lost track of my plot somewhere in the third chapter, after Kalea's friend had spilt coffee on herself.
2008 was going to be a relationship story, about a girl who pretty much wrecked her life because of her relationship with a boy. I was inspired by (and attempted to name the story after) a song from A Chorus Line, which I'd discovered an acoustic cover of through Youtube. (Done by Adam Pascal, aka Roger from Rent! ^^) Unfortunately, I never actually sat down and wrote anything for that story. Heck, I can't even remember what my official word count for 2007 was. >.>
Reccommended Reading: Hm...in terms of writing self-help books, I think one of my personal favorites is The Fiction Writer's Brainstormer by by James V. Smith. That book was very useful a couple years ago...but I haven't been able to get ahold of a copy while on campus. (I originally found the book in the public library back home.) He also wrote another book prior to Brainstormer which I'm trying to track down. (Perhaps this "You Can Write a Novel Kit" is the re-published version?...)
More About Me: I was originally born in Downers Grove, Illinois, about an hour southwest of Chicago. I actually didn't travel to Chicago all that often (so it surprised me when I went twice in the span of three weeks this past June!), though over the past four years I've gone to Rosemont in the spring for the anime convention that's held there. (Anime Central, check it out! ^^;) I attended Downers Grove South High School, where I almost bombed Calculus (thankfully there was a lower-maintenance Calc course available!) but managed to wow everybody in the English department. (I was nominated as the top English student in my senior class! I won a national writing award! I got to take a class on Science Fiction and Fantasy! It was awesome! I still have the book! It's in my dorm right now!)
I am a member of the marching band, have been since high school. I'm jealous of my high school band, as they might actually make state finals this year. (I WANTED TO DO STATE FINALS. POO.) Oh well, at least the Hundred gets an away trip, and the fact that it's scheduled over Halloween weekend means that I at least get to miss the crazy drunken Halloween parties. Also, I can write on the bus back home!
I also was in the choir at my church through high school, and we always had a tour over spring break. I got to go to NYC and New Orleans! I was also in the concert band, eventually made it to first chair in the top band. I got to go to San Fransisco AND GERMANY with the band! ^^ (BUT NOW THEY ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD WITHOUT ME. POO AGAIN.)
My preferred styles: I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction stories; I was really influenced by J.K. Rowling and Orson Scott Card, with Tolkien, Garth Nix, and a few other authors earlier on. However, all of the stories I write have to have at least some connection to the real world. I started reading non-fantasy fiction in middle school and I find that can write better if there's some basis in reality.
My Brilliant Idea: Now titled "Dog Knows Best" -- thanks, Mary Kate and Leigha! -- my story for this year is structured similarly to the novella The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Since most people haven't read this book...it's basically going to be a series of vignettes that have a loose plot arc with several better-defined sub-arcs within it. The difference between Cisneros' book and mine is that Cisneros wrote about a Latin American girl growing up in Chicago...and I'm writing mine about a Cairn Terrier. ^^
Captain is a very interesting dog. He's outgoing, adventurous, and a risk-taker. He likes to have fun and cause mischief. He believes that he is meant to be one of the Dog Heroes of the world. What he doesn't get is that his owners don't understand a word he says to them...and they aren't going to stop calling him "Pookie" no matter how long he yaps at them.
Also, I'd like to add a little something called APPEARANCE NOTES so that people coming to write-ins will recognize me.
Okay...short blonde hair, glasses, gray-ish eyes. I am using a light blue notebook, and also have a copy of No Plot No Problem and an issue of Writer's Digest on creativity and beating writer's block. On Tuesdays, I will definitely have my laptop with me, on Saturdays I'm not sure. I can't come to a lot of the Saturday meetings because I will be at the football games with the Hundred. Also, as a better identifier...I have a stuffed dachsund that will be coming with me to writing sessions. If I get a free chance this Friday, I might try to find a look-alike of Captain (aka something that looks like a Cairn Terrier) so that my writing totem actually goes with my story. ^^
33,487 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 17 00
I'm Marie.
Middle-aged! 48.
Recommend a book for us. Well. Hmm. Don't know where to start. I've just finished reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery - before that Anna Karenina. Both very good in different ways. Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery, which I'm reading now, is possibly even better than Hedgehog (but not than AK!). Other books that have been wonderful eye-openers for me in the last few years: A Passage to India; Samuel Johnson is Indignant, by Lydia Davis (an absolutely wonderful collection of short pieces of various kinds); A House in Paris, by Elizabeth Bowen.
Previous NaNos - only last year, 2008. Winner! I was in Berlin with my family and was otherwise miserable and NaNo helped make it so much better. I thought my novel was terrible but I was so thrilled I finished - lately I've been thinking there were good things in there. Anyway, I learned a TON from writing it.
More about yourself: as I said, middle-aged. Two kids. One just started college. Freelance editor. Starting a new business right about now. Feeling overwhelmed but looking forward to NaNo. I'll be gone in California for 10 days of November, on jury duty for a week, and in Chicago for a few days for Thanksgiving, and have a lot of editorial deadlines and as I said starting a new business so I'm thinking: is there ANY way i can do this?
One big thing in my life is I like to hang out with groups of women and do things (walk, talk) together. Another thing is that I lost 80 pounds 5 years ago and spend a LOT of time and energy trying to maintain that. And these are some of my preoccupations that are going to steal into my novels.
Preferred genres to read: non-genre stuff. Literary novels. Also romance and fantasy and historical novels and the occasional mystery. Preferred genres to write: All of the above, if only I could!
Your brilliant idea for this year:
- it's hard to know how to talk about it, feels like it dilutes it because I want to put the energy into writing it, when I talk about it the energy for the writing flows away. Do you know wha I mean?
- in a sort of general way, though - I'm thinking something set in Bloomington, in one of my women's groups, where there is some changing places taking places, i.e. people who end up having to trade lives out of unexpected necessities. A lot of women's talk and mundane stuff, with lots of background and interwoven stories that come up within those, interrupted by tragedies and deep connections, if I can pull it off!
53,227 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 12 12
Preferred name/nickname: Brigid is fine :D
Age: 16
Previous NaNos: Only done 2008 -- my story was about ghosts. Got to 63,820 words!
Recommend a book for us: Naked - David Sedaris
More about yourself: I'm an aspiring artist and writer (durr) and musician... I don't technically LIVE in Bloomington, but I'm there so much that I feel like I do XD I dunno what else to say.
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy and lit-fic.
Your brilliant idea for this year: Soul mates. Literally. Oh, and it's fantasy, which will be hard - I suck at fantasy.
----------"Books and movies don't need plots just emotion and passion" - ~Her-Dark Prince (some idiot on deviantART)
http://ohsosqueamish.wordpress.com/ --- my writing/art/etc blog!
NaNo 08: Sleep -- 63,820 words (won!)
NaNo 09: Written in Stone -- we'll see.
17,278 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 12 51
I'm John.
Age: 54.
Previous Nanos: 2008 (winner!) That year I wrote the prequel to this year's.
Recommended book: I like reading history, and sf-fantasy, but I'm not limited to that. I have about 200 books at home, just from the library (where I work). I recommend Michael Chabon's "Yiddish Policemen's Union."
More about myself: I work at the Herman B Wells Library.
Brilliant idea for this year: Last year's! Actually, a sequel to last year's, which I have already written much of, but which I will be re-doing, tackling it from a first-person viewpoint to give those characters their own voices.
I also have a steam-punk story I'm working on that takes place in the Middle East.
Strangely, I don't write much...
0 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2009 - 05 35
edit
4,528 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2009 - 09 44
Preferred Nickname: Hock
Age: 26
Previous NaNos: I did at least a little something every year from 2005 through 2007, winning in 2007 (albeit not finishing the story after I hit 50k). Last year I ended up being swamped with work all month and not being able to participate.
Recommend a book for us: Hate to look like I'm copying off Nate, but anything by Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman on the fantasy side of things :) Or both, for that matter - Good Omens was a great book that they collaborated on. I'm currently reading through the Red Mars series if you like hard/realistic science fiction. World War Z is also a favorite.
More about yourself: I moved to Bloomington the beginning of last summer for a job. I'm a computer engineer, which is fairly similar to a computer programmer, but with a bit more work on the hardware/electronics side of things, although in practice, they let the electrical engineers play with the electricity - big difference between comp eng and comp sci is that I tend to work a bit more on the embedded/firmware side of things.
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy, science fiction, modern war, and various combinations thereof.
Your brilliant idea for this year: Near future "superhero" type story. Sort of a blend of fantasy and modern science fiction. Trying to go for a much more character centric approach this time - I've never had much trouble coming up with plots, but I need to work on fleshing my characters out a bit better.
22,064 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2009 - 12 40
Preferred name/nickname: Brad
Age: 18
Previous NaNos: First timer
Recommend a book for us: Currently reading Tsotsi for class and its good. Would also recommend Prince of Tides, and Those who saved us.
More about yourself: I'm a freshman at IU this year studying chemistry. I'd heard about nano before but never got around to trying and figured i would this year. Hoping to fit this into my schedule and all. Lets see I play the guitar and am currently learning piano. Love to read. I'm currently developing a caffeine addiction due to the late nights college has to offer and just discovered that I need glasses! Fun! haha. Lets see what else. I'm a totally out in the open tech nerd. You can ask me about almost anything in consumer tech and I will have an answer for you, or i'll make one up. I'm also developing a love for all things Star Trek. After seeing the new reboot movie I'm going back through and watching all the old ones, usually with my dad who watched them when they came out.
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy Sci-fi. pretty much anything fiction however, as long as the story is good and its not too dense
Your brilliant idea for this year:
I'm thinking about doing a story centered around the University, write about what you know and all that haha. I'm thinking two brilliant students who are roommates save the world or something by using their superior intellect. Who knows where that will take me.
10,884 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 14 26
Preferred name/nickname: Anna
Age: 25
Previous NaNos: Last year was my first year! (Thanks to decemberjuliet/Denise!) I made it to 50,000 words with a story set in the present day with just a little bit of magic/fantasy thrown in...two cousins found a formula that they could cook up and paint on two surfaces to link the two locations wormhole-style. They are hunted by an evil woman and her henchmen who want to steal the formula, gather their own allies, and eventually defeat the woman by forcing her to confess and watching the police take her away.
Recommend a book for us: Currently reading Denise's copy of Catching Fire, good stuff....one of my favorite books ever is The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I'm also excited for the new Wheel of Time book coming out Oct. 27, but I'm afraid that with NaNo, I won't have time to read it til December!!!
More about yourself: I'm a grad student at IU in SLIS. I'm proud to admit that I went to Purdue for my undergrad. Podcasting has become one of my favorite hobbies this year. I'm a life long Bloomington native, work at a local doctor's office part time, and am very involved in my church. Follow me on Twitter: @echobase77
Preferred genres to read/write: Real world with little elements of fantasy thrown in. (Is that a genre? Ha.)
Your brilliant idea for this year: Colonial New England: a man wakes up each day in a new body, thinking the day before was only a dream. Each day he sees things that almost spark a memory but he can't quite put a finger on it: a symbol that pops up in various places, a woman who attempts to speak to him every day, phrases and code words that seem so familiar but he can't figure out why. After a certain number of days of this (maybe 8-12?) he is finally having a few memories, but he still thinks they are a dream, and after a talk with the woman who constantly seems to find him, he decides it is only a dream and that he will wake up if he kills himself. The book is told in first person POV so hopefully the reader assumes that the main character will not die...but he does. He kills himself, and the book switches to the woman's perspective. She describes looking on as he kills himself, then returns to where his actual body lies, in a coma in his house. She was betrothed to him, but he was a ship captain and was struck by lightning out at sea and went into this coma. So she hired an apothecary/witch doctor to help her bring him back to himself, but it backfired, and she spent every day searching for him only to finally watch him die. When she returns to the apothecary to mourn the final results, he gives her drugged tea and that makes her obedient to him, and he asks her to marry him, and she agrees and the reader understands that he will drug her the rest of her life to keep her in subservience to him...tragic.
40,070 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2009 - 14 17
Preferred name/nickname: Er...Well, my Name is Teeghan, but...uh...most of my friends call me Gilbert. Feel free to make up a completely new name. I'll answer to it!
Age: 18
Previous NaNos: This is my first year! Hurrah!
Recommend a book for us: Hm...Well, A College of Magiks or The Folk Keeper. I don't remember authors, but these are both in my top ten. I can't really think of any others right now.
More about yourself: I'm a freshman at Bloomington this year, and I'm majoring in Psychology. I am also a cartoonist, and so I am minoring in art. And Italian, but that doesn't really fit in... Obviously I love to read. My other hobbies include balancing chemical equations, hand-coding html for websites, and obsessing about complex genetics problems...as well as an addiction to researching fairy tales/ legends/ myths from the world over.
Preferred genres to read/write: Er. Fantasy, Mystery, Reality with slight fantasy. It doesn't matter what genre I write though, it all comes back to psychology at some point. Almost everything I write has to do with one psychological condition or another...
Your brilliant idea for this year: My idea has to do with Dissociative Fugue (arguably the coolest mental disorder ever) in which a person develops spontaneous amnesia and invents new personalities, and this is usually accompanied by fleeing to a new city. Then after a few weeks or months, memories are recovered, but they forget what happened in the fugue period. And this can happen over and over again. Anyway, in my story the character doesn't run from city to city, but rather through time periods, or possibly just to other worlds. It should be fun to write about, at any rate...:)
0 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2009 - 18 16
Thought this would be as good a place as any to tell you guys that my plans changed and that I won't be meeting you guys for write-ins and the like- I'm in Colorado! At the last minute, I got accepted to a volunteer program, so I won't have any time to write this year. Sorry, but thanks for the company. ;^^
754 / 50,000
Oct 20, 2009 - 19 47
Name: Ryan
Age: 19
Previous NaNos: First timer! I've been mustering the courage to give this my all for quite a while, and it's now or never. That's not true; I'd probably do it next year too.
Recommend a Book: Dave Barry's Greatest Hits. No book has changed me the way this collection of Dave Barry's funniest stories has. His beats, his setups, and his overall style easily make him one of the funniest men alive. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a laugh.
More about yourself: I'm a sophomore in the Kelley School of Business. Surprise! A business student who actually likes the arts. I play viola, piano, and guitar, do freelance graphic design, and have a passion for literature. I also shoot and edit videos for film festivals and the like, as well as act onstage and onscreen.
My stories usually have a humorous twist, as irony flows freely from my fingers at all time.
My Brilliant Idea: I'm thinking of writing about what I know best: college. A college freshman begins his university career with the idea that college will be like all the movies he has seen. He's right. From getting locked in the stacks of the library to stripper poles attached to bars made out of car doors, he soon comes to realize the absurdity of it all, and that college most certainly isn't 'the real world'.
Can't wait to write with you all!
36,366 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 12 06
Preferred name/nickname: (Real Name) Mandy, (Nickname) Lee
Age: 25
Previous NaNos: I've been at this since 2006, but not finished it yet. I'm such a slacker...
Recommend a book for us: Anything written by Laura Joh Rowland. Her Sano Ichiro novels are the greatest! (Okay, in my opinion anyway.)
More about yourself: I'm a library coordinator at a small university. I love reading, writing, watching anime, doing origami (gotta reach those 1,000 cranes!), listening to music, playing video games (bring on the Cooking Mama!), and, well, lots of stuff.
Preferred genres to read/write: I'll read just about anything, but prefer NOT to read romance. I'll write just about anything too. Mostly of the "bad luck with love" type. That and vampire stories. (Yeah, I was a vampire-lovin' 6-year-old and no, I haven't read the Twilight series yet. I'm getting there.)
Your brilliant idea for this year: I don't have a brilliant idea. My ideas are never brilliant. I do not have a clue as to what I'm writing this year. It has yet to hit me.
37,654 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 15 40
Preferred name/nickname: Sarah, though I have been known to answer to Jack
Age: 25
Previous NaNos: I did NaNo in 2006, but didn't finish. In 2007 I broke my arm on the first day and that really killed my enthusiasm. 2008, I forgot.
Recommend a book for us: I'm currently re-reading The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers, in time for Halloween.
More about yourself: I'm in Library Science (Rare books and manuscripts). I read Latin. I'm a rat lover. I play video games, and RPGs. I draw, but not very well.
Preferred genres to read/write: I love fantasy, especially weird fantasy and YA fantasy. I never met a trashy turn-of-the-century pulp novel I didn't like. I like historical detective novels, but I'm not really into modern ones. Historical fiction is pretty good, though I mainly like stuff set in ancient Rome or China these days. I love love LOVE horror, but I prefer horror short stories to horror novels.
Your brilliant idea for this year: There's this thing that's been kicking around in my head for years and years and years that I want to get out. It's mutated in bizarre ways, but right now it's a story about a city with a great university, built with a way of magic that's now lost. There's a girl who wants to be a scholar, but has other obligations; a boy who could care less about scholarship, but goes to the university anyway; a bookbinder so fascinated with books that he'll steal them without a second thought; a man who is very wise, but not so wise that he's learned to be a good man; also, assorted sorcerers and demon familiars and students and the like. Faustian bargains, heists, book and printing geekery, magic, adventure, a bit of melodrama. You know how it goes.
----------2006: The Hollow Man (YA horror/fantasy)
2007: The Lost Formula of Cagliostro (Pulp fanfiction, Adventure/Mystery)
2009: Thief of Words (Academic fantasy heist novel!)
12,339 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 15 59
Preferred name/nickname: chanel
Age: 27
Previous NaNos: Last year was my first year and I only made it halfway.
Recommend a book for us: Too many, but I have seen a few good ones recommended already: Narnia, Hunger Games.
More about yourself: I am a wife, mother, writer, teacher, reader, sister, archer, gardener, cook and lover of Indian food.
Preferred genres to read/write: I write a lot about kids and old people.
Your brilliant idea for this year: A ballet dancer gets pregnant and gets to know her grandma. IT sounds cheesy and sentimantel, but I am trying not to make it come off that way.
47,076 / 50,000
Oct 24, 2009 - 07 09
Thanks for getting this started!
Preferred name/nickname: Miss Piper online. If we meet in real life, I'll give you my real name.
Age: 27
Previous NaNos: 2005-2008. I won 2005, 2006, and 2007, but last year kind of fell flat.
Recommend a book for us: I am a huge Tom Robbins fan. For witty writing with a side of philosophy, or perhaps the other way around, you can't beat him. My personal favorite is probably Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates.
More about yourself: I moved to Bloomington from Seattle a few years ago, and I am currently employed at the IU libraries. Outside of writing, I enjoy music scholarship and performance, spending time in my kitchen, and web design.
Preferred genres to read/write: A little bit of everything. I like to read widely.
Your brilliant idea for this year: I'm doing a sequel to my 2006 novel, as the characters remain on my mind. Eventually, I may combine the two into one long novel.
22,928 / 50,000
Oct 25, 2009 - 19 49
Preferred name/nickname: Online, JCarioca...but if I meet you in person, we can trade real names.
Age: 28
Previous NaNos: This is my first year!
Recommend a book for us: I work at a library, so right now I'm catching up on kid's literature. Just finished Persopolis (a graphic novel about Iran that made me cry) and absolutely drooled over Lips Touch, by Laini Taylor from the Sunday Scribblings blog.
More about yourself: I am in transit, currently living with my parents and recovering from life in a war zone. I am dreading winter after living for years below the equator. Currently I pay the bills by freelance writing gigs, translations and the librarian job, which is really fun. I read a couple of books a week, though that may change in November...
My stories are all over the place and I love to borrow ideas from real life. So my tentative NaNo idea is a YA book about a girl living in extreme poverty who makes it into an elite high school and has to discover how to deal with the twin realities of her life, while suffering normal teen angst, the violent death of her grandmother and losing one of her best friends to the drug trade.
37,411 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 07 09
Preferred name/nickname: MzHartz (as in Ms [or Mizz] Hartz) online, Michelle Hartz in the "real world," if such a thing exists
Age: 28
Previous NaNos: Last year was my first year, and I won. It's a story about a woman who is addicted to chocolate in a time where chocolate is illegal. I have edited the first dozen chapters a handful of times, but never seem to get past that point to actually edit the whole thing. Someday I'd like to edit it and maybe even send it out to a few publishers.
Recommend a book for us: Jhereg by Steven Brust. Good for people who like cynical and snarky humor. I lent the whole series to a friend who doesn't read fantasy, but she loved it.
More about yourself: I'm a graphic designer by day with an eclectic range of interests. I plan to go back to school next year to eventually study marine biology and science education. I do tai chi. I'm a crafter and a seamstress. I like to watch drag racing. I do personal income taxes as a side job every winter. I live in a townhouse with my husband, two cats, fish, and a turtle. I'm a crazy cat lady. If my nose isn't buried in a book, I'm probably playing a video game.
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy and horror. Add me to the Neil Gaiman crowd. Although I'll give just about any genre a try.
Your brilliant idea for this year: I'm torn between a couple ideas, neither of which will become a serious book. (I'm mostly looking to write something I don't have to edit later.)
Either: A generic zombie story, perhaps with a couple of unique zombie-fighting inventions thrown in, something more fun to write than read.
Or: A woman's husband becomes a vampire, but they intend to keep it a secret and make it work. There's also an illicit drug trade for vampire blood, when drunk by a regular mortal, it has a stimulant effect.
I'm leaning toward the vampire story at this exact moment, but I'm also reluctant to make it my next novel for two reasons. First, I've heard this is a theme in TrueBlood (which I have yet to see, darnit!). Also, I'm noticing that I'm tending to write alternative drug trade type novels. Not ever having been a drug user myself, I don't want to give people the wrong impression, and I don't want both books to be too similar in plot structure.
Appearance: Since I plan to attend events, I thought it would be good to follow suit and add this as well. I'm 5'2", slightly overweight, with long, brown, wavy and usually messy, hair. I always have a pair of sunglasses either on or perched on top of my head. My current pair of sunglasses have brassy colored frames and mirrored greenish lenses. My husband makes beaded jewelry, so I usually have a beaded necklace on as well.
----------41,122 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 08 16
[MzHartz - the addictive properties of vampire blood is also briefly a plot point in "Moonlight". Can't remember which episode, but I can look it up if you're interested. I think if there's a common consensus that vampire blood can be a stimulant to mortals, then you can take that as your starting point and do your own thing with it. It doesn't have to be new to be unique!]
----------"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand
NaNo 2005: "Barefoot" - Winner!
NaNo 2006: "Break the Skin" - Winner!
NaNo 2007: "Chances & Choices" - Winner!
NaNo 2008: "Unbound" - Winner!
NaNo 2009: "From the Ash" -
37,411 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 11 54
[Thanks BlackEyedGirl! I really need to watch more old "Moonlight" episodes. I've only seen one, the one with Donovan Shepard (sp?), the cult leader, because my friend and favorite actor played him. But I liked it. If you could find out which episode it was, that would be great!]
----------41,122 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 13 39
Apparently this happens in episode 6, "B.C.". If you're interested in vampires, you should really just get your hands on the whole thing, since it's only like 16 episodes total and you can get the box set for fairly cheap. It's a very cool show, the characters are engaging and the writing rocks. The plot goes a bit wonky towards the end where you can tell they were trying to wrap it up with a neat bow mid-season since the show was being cut, but it's still good.
----------"The question is not who will let me, but who is going to stop me." -Ayn Rand
NaNo 2005: "Barefoot" - Winner!
NaNo 2006: "Break the Skin" - Winner!
NaNo 2007: "Chances & Choices" - Winner!
NaNo 2008: "Unbound" - Winner!
NaNo 2009: "From the Ash" -
15,554 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 17 24
Preferred name/nickname: Joe
Age: 22
Previous NaNos: None
Recommend a book for us: Taliesin by Stephen Lawhead(any of his Arthurian Trilogy is good)
More about yourself: I live on campus. Student in Linguistics at IU. I'm really bad at telling people stuff about myself because I can never think of things to say so that is about it.
Preferred genres to read/write: Fantasy and Scifi(I don't like writing Scifi as much though)
Your brilliant idea for this year: The world of men is being invaded by an army of darkness led by vampires. Seven Nations once swore oaths to stand against the darkness. Ulftir, one of the kings of these nations', nation is attacked. He calls on the others to help, but they due to the counsel of Lucius Aurelianus Caelinus decide to break their oaths. A year later, Ulftir joins the darkness to save his kingdom. A year later the armies of darkness are attacking Cumria. Cumria is defended in part by the young and honorable Selendi, who though a commoner has received command of large portion of the army due to the death of his general. Lucius Aurelianus Caelinus has been convicted in his wrong-doing due to the death of his wife and infant son at the hands of a vampire, and now leads a small force to aid Cumria. However, he has not been able to convince the kings to join in the struggle. The war is going incredibly bad for the good guys.
36,149 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2009 - 20 53
Preferred name/nickname: Audrey will do just fine.... I also answer to Mommy, Mom, Mama, and Hey You!
Age: 34
Previous NaNos: This is my first attempt. I was issued a challenge of sorts when a friend asked if I was going to do it this year. I had never heard of it and therefore saw the suggestion as a thrown gauntlet. (I like challenges, it helps keep us on our toes!)
Recommend a book for us: Wow, books... Hmm... I highly recommend Guy Gavriel Kay to anyone who loves fantasy. His work is excellent!
More about yourself: If you couldn't tell already, I have three small children. I am hoping they allow me the time I will require for this project. My oldest is only 5 and a half, so trying to reason with them is kind of like talking to a wall, but we shall see. Kids can be amazing at times. I really hope to get out to a couple of the write-ins. I would love to have the chance to meet with some of you wonderful writers!
I do write in the spare time that I have. I have a degree in General Studies from Ball State that I have done nothing with. My minors were Anthropology, Classic Cultures, Pre-Professional Writing, and Creative Writing. So technically that means that I can write about ancient dead people that didn't really exist anyway and publish it myself... yeah still working on that one.
My current big project, that I am setting aside for November (because I just didn't quite get it finished), is a novel that I first started working on 16 years ago when I was in high school. It has come a long way since then and is nearing completion, although I keep getting distracted.
Preferred genres to read/write: I prefer to read scifi and fantasy. Historical romances can be fun on occasion. I am proud to say that while I was pregnant for my kids I went through a Star Wars phase and read basically everything that happens after Return of the Jedi in SW universe chronological order. I have about 150+ Star Wars books at this time. Currently I am rereading the Twilight saga again because a.) it is comforting and familiar and b.) the new movie comes out right around my birthday!
I prefer to write realworld with a touch of supernatural or high fantasy. I have shied away from high fantasy for the last year as switching between the mindset of the two is not easy. As a side project I have also been rewriting fairy tales in a more adult fashion and adding unexpected twists. I have also written a couple of historical romance novellas in the last couple of years.
Your brilliant idea for this year: I am hoping to use this project as a serious jumpstart for the sequel to my current novel. It will take place 8 months later and the focus with be on a different character. Chris Darknight and his twin sister Ann moved to Bloomington 9 months ago. Ann met her boyfriend Scott shortly after they arrived. Scott introduced the twins to the world of magic around them. He protected them from the crazy person in his family who would have used them both in a deadly ritual. Ann also helped his mother cross back over from the limbo she had been banished to. It all happened One Dark Night.
In the sequel, Another Dark Night, Chis and Ann go camping with Scott and his mother, Evelyn, at Lake Monroe while the rest of their family goes away on their own camping trip out of state. Chris has a job renting boats at the lake and continues to work while they are there. The family that camps next to them has two teenage girls with them, one of which Chris begins to feel strongly for. It is when he notices a ripple in the energy around him at the same time the campfire does something strange that he begins to suspect that Sienna might be more than she appears. Can he help keep her safe when another camper is found badly burned? Are she and her sister behind the strange rash of fires in the campground? Is it really safe to fall in love with a fire dancer or is it doomed to end in flames?
1,099 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 06 55
Preferred name/nickname: William, Will, Bill...whatever lol
Age: 21
Previous NaNos: None so far. I'm a newbie.
Recommend a book for us: I would suggest the Hood series by Stephen Lawhead. Its a new twist on Robin Hood.
More about yourself: I go to IU, sophomore. I plan to be a history major and hopefully move to France some day. I honestly don't have a huge amount to say, but I quite enjoy historical fiction and non-fiction, as well as fantasy. I really hope to be able to do the 50k words this month. To be on honest, I'm flying by the seat of my pants with my story, so we'll see what happens.
Your brilliant idea for this year:
I'm writing a fantasy story about these two old friends who live in another world, not unlike ours. Basically there's a war about to break out and an evil force is at hand and what not. check my novel info thingy for more details lol.