This may be premature and not my place but let's get something organised!!!
My enthusiasm is far too high...
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| Pandilex | Meets |
    34,500 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 5, 2008
Location: Bath, United Kingdom Posts:
28
Posted on:
Oct 11, 2009 - 03 36 |
This may be premature and not my place but let's get something organised!!! My enthusiasm is far too high... |
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39,256 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 05 19
The pattern the past couple of years has been meet-ups at the Watershed every Thursday and Sunday. The Watershed has free wi-fi, and essential writing fuel in the form of chunky chips and hot chocolate. We'll also probably have a Kick-Off Party just before November, so we can all meet each other, and a Thank God It's All Over Party. so we can all compare sanity levels after the event ;).
Looking at the calendar, it'd probably be best to do the Kick-Off Party at Thursday 29th, which would fit handily into the Thursday-Sunday routine. What does everyone else think?
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 07 13
Aww Bristol? :p
It's always stealing our limelight! ;-)
3,030 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 07 33
Thursday sounds good to me for the kick off party - last year were there writing meets happening in Bath as well?
----------Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
42,825 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 08 29
Thursdays & Sunday's suit me well. Happy to meet in Bristol, but Bath's easier for me.
Trouble is, I can't think of a brilliant venue in Bath - No free wifi at Starbucks, No chatting in the Library.
Best I can think of is The Bell Inn: http://www.walcotstreet.com/
Anyone got a better idea?
----------34,500 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 08 40
spoonies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
42,825 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 10 28
Errrm... Sorry - where's Spoonies?
----------3,030 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 10 46
Next to the cinema, but I dunno if they have Wifi... I thought Starbucks did have free wi-fi? :S
----------Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 13 55
Wetherspoons - they all have free wifi, huge open seating, and even a large area of the pub (40 ish seats?) that you can reserve with no deposit and no charge.
Every club/society ive ever been in has used their local spoonies, because of the huge amount of open seating - no diving walls or barriers or anything so huge groups can turn around and talk to another table of people easily.
3,030 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 14 14
Ah, I've only ever been in there once, and that was just because the cinema wasn't open! lol
Sounds like a good option, free wifi, drinks, food - what more could you need?! :)
----------Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 22 38
Call me crazy but if you usually meet twice a week, perhaps alternating venues would be best? I can't exactly go to Bristol twice a week, but I can make it once a week/fortnight and somewhere in Bath the rest of the time :)
31,881 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 23 11
Hang on a sec. All the Spoons I know only give you free wi-fi for the first 30 minutes, after which you have to sign up through The Cloud system.
----------Or have things changed since I last used a laptop whilst eating a spoons breakfast? :)
'An interesting character' - Russ Dallen (Bristol and Bath ML)
'Just as weird as the rest of us' - Chris 'The Skoot' Hill
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 11 24
No idea, I just know it says free wifi on the door.
Anyway it's a pub, what do people even want free wifi for if they're in a group? :p
I would like to propose a meet in Bath for those of us who would prefer to stroll in for a pint rather than hop on the train. This requires the consent of one or more people, so I don't end up loning out in the corner. Sometime after the big party in Bristol?
33,516 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 14 03
I essentially organised the Bath Write-Ins last year and despite the large number of apparent Bath NaNoers we only had two Write-Ins which were abysmally attended. We had a Write-In at The Raven, which seemed to work okay - they have free WiFi and there were power sockets upstairs. There isn't really a good place to hold a Write-In because access to power isn't abundant across the various cafés.
Wetherspoons seems a pretty decent idea, although it gets very packed at night with annoying rowdy students.
Honestly speaking, it'd be easier to go to Bristol, especially at the beginning of the month when there are looooooads of people there. If people really want to go ahead with Bath Write-Ins, I'd suggest having one a week, and going to Bristol for the other. I go to Bristol every Thursday evening and it's really not as far as everyone seems to think.
----------"It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache."
3,030 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 14 26
Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I've got a better job this year so I can afford the 10 mile trek every week.... lol
----------Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 01 59
Absolutely Bristol is the way to go. I'm not going to go there twice a week though, so I am just saying if anyone wants to go for a pint in Bath, I am up for it :)
69,313 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 03 31
What time do you meet on Sundays and Thursdays?
Watershed - doesn't it get noisy, being a popular venue for locals to drink? (I have never spent time there, so just asking a speculative question). I don't mind cafes and such, but pubs/bars usually get too loud for me to write comfortably, especially if there are drunk people around.
----------Writing Blog - www.lostwanderer5.blogspot.com
Journaling Blog - www.journal-addict.blogspot.com
39,256 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 05 18
Watershed - doesn't it get noisy, being a popular venue for locals to drink? (I have never spent time there, so just asking a speculative question). I don't mind cafes and such, but pubs/bars usually get too loud for me to write comfortably, especially if there are drunk people around.
We usually meet early afternoon (ie. around 2ish) on Sunday, and from 6 on a Thrusday evening, but people end up dropping in and out whenever it suits them.
As for your other question, you don't get that kind of person in the Watershed. It's the kind of place you go to have a few quiet drinks, not to get pissed. We've been going to the Watershed for two years now, and we only have a problem during the short film festival, and even that's because of the sheer volume of people, not because of drunkeness or shoutiness.
69,313 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 05 26
Thanks for answering my questions. It does sound great, so I look forward to dropping in, and see how it goes.
----------Writing Blog - www.lostwanderer5.blogspot.com
Journaling Blog - www.journal-addict.blogspot.com
33,516 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 01 24
I may have found us a venue for our Bath Write-Ins - the Green Park Brasserie (very close to Sainsbury) do free WiFi for customers and have places to plug in, albeit for a 50p charge. I spoke to them last night about having a bunch of people in and they said if we call in advance to let them know how many are coming, they'll let us use the library area, which is away from all the general noise.
The only downside to this idea is that they have live jazz from Tuesday-Saturday, are shut on Sunday and Bath Spa Uni use Monday nights for their own jazz. So it could be a bit noisy while the band is playing (which is not all night, by the way, just two sets of about 45 minutes). The drinks are very reasonably priced though, the food is quite good and they don't tend to attract the general student populace so it could be a nice relaxed atmosphere.
I'd suggest Wednesday afternoon-evening (assuming many of you are students and therefore have Wednesday afternoon free) or Thursday evening. Any thoughts?
----------"It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache."
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 12 06
I'll join you, I don't really care about wifi though so I don't mind ;) I would probably not bring my laptop anyway, pubs are for socialising :p
3,030 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 12 38
The only downside to this idea is that they have live jazz from Tuesday-Saturday, are shut on Sunday and Bath Spa Uni use Monday nights for their own jazz. So it could be a bit noisy while the band is playing (which is not all night, by the way, just two sets of about 45 minutes). The drinks are very reasonably priced though, the food is quite good and they don't tend to attract the general student populace so it could be a nice relaxed atmosphere.
I'd suggest Wednesday afternoon-evening (assuming many of you are students and therefore have Wednesday afternoon free) or Thursday evening. Any thoughts?
That is weird, I was walking past it today and was thinking of mentioning it! lol
Definately sounds like a good one to me :)
----------Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
Doing a sponsored blindfolded piano playing for Children in Need - visit http://www.justgiving.com/blindfoldedpiano for more info! :)
33,516 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 02 15
....and Write-Ins are for writing. I get a lot of really good writing done at Write-Ins and if you decide not to write at them you're going to
a) get way behind because this a huge undertaking and you will need to put a lot of hours in.
b) get ignored a lot by those who are write and be really bored.
Just a thought.
An even better Write-In location would be the Assembly Rooms, which too have WiFi and plug sockets and is almost empty during the week. Yay! Lets try both!
----------"It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache."
34,500 / 50,000
Oct 21, 2009 - 22 35
That seems kinda odd to me, but if everyone feels the same way as you then I'll probably stay at home then. I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet new and like-minded people, rather than sit there typing all night.
16,708 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 00 05
Not the Assembly Rooms. That'd be slightly crazy. The Assembly Inn, perhaps?
Also, hello all, I am Jimmy. If you remember me, well done! I sort of vaguely attempted NaNo last year, but 1)started a week late and 2)didn't have access to a laptop. I will try again this year, though it may require some form of miracle to get me done.
33,516 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 06 22
Oh yeah. I thought something didn't look right when I wrote it.
Sorry if I sounded harsh, Pandilex. We don't *just* sit around and write all night, we do some socialising too, but I'd highly recommend you come to try and write because we really spur each other on. We have daft competitions to get the most words and laugh at each others plot holes. It's really good fun. :D
----------"It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache."
31,881 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 06 48
Pandlex, I quoted this on another forum, but i think it might help to have it here as well.
This is what happens in our meet ups...
Sometimes some of us rest our fingers and chat for a bit, or share the truly appalling line we've just written, and often people stop to discuss the hilarious web page they've just been using to procrastinate, but there's almost always at least 1 person beavering away at any one time. We tend to get quite a lot of writing done. In fact last year several of us hit the 50,000 word mark whilst sat in the Watershed ignoring each other, and eating chunky chips. Chunky chips make everything easier..
In short, though: Yes we do write at the meetings, so you should be able to use the time towards your word count.
Hope that helps clear things up
----------'An interesting character' - Russ Dallen (Bristol and Bath ML)
'Just as weird as the rest of us' - Chris 'The Skoot' Hill
40,029 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 10 47
Meeting new and like minded people while typing and writing are not mutually exclusive activities. I liked the write-ins and am looking forward to them.
I have started to wonder whether I should be writing anything yet. Does anyone else think of it as cheating?
Joanna
27,342 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 10 55
Yes, it certainly is cheating! Bad girl! Dirty girl! In your bed!
Sorry - couldn't resist the Al Murray reference! ;-)
But yeah - it's cheating.. Stop the writing. Think it, and maybe make odd notes of stuff, but not the actual writing...
I should be waggling my finger sternly, but it makes it hard to type... ;-)
Russ.
----------ML - Bristol & Bath Region, UK.
Procrastinating madly since 2004
40,029 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2009 - 11 35
I assure you that not a word has passed from thought to pen or computer yet!! it's just those thoughts....
:-)
69,313 / 50,000
Oct 26, 2009 - 03 11
Joanna
Totally agree with Joanna. I am really looking forward to attending my first write-in, but it would be pointless to waste all those sundays just chatting around, when you've got 50K to write. For me personally, the whole purpose of meeting other writers is that they appreciate and understand the work you have got to do. So for me, it will be chatting + writing - writing being the priority, I hope.
----------Writing Blog - www.lostwanderer5.blogspot.com
Journaling Blog - www.journal-addict.blogspot.com