C'mon, all the other counties are doing it!
Seriously, though, I've been thinking about how cool it would be to have a write-in somewhat local to Burlington County, as there seem to be a fair number of us, and I know I had a lot of fun at the regional meet-up, even if it was a bit of a drive. I'm willing to host the write-in, and if people let me know their availability, I'll try and pick a time and place where the most people have the potential to make it, or even host a couple write-ins at different times. However, there are two big questions that need to be answered in order for us to go through with a write-in.
Where?
Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well our libraries here can accommodate write-ins, especially at such short notice. I unofficially talked to a couple people who know the library, and learned that booking rooms can be tricky even for official library groups, just because meeting room space is so limited (they're hoping maybe the library will find some money or a grant and be able to expand, but at the moment it looks like booking actual rooms at the library might not be feasible).
On the other hand, there are other places in the county we could go. I just recently learned of the existence of a coffee shop in downtown Mount Holly, The Daily Grind. I went to check it out today, only to find out that it closes by noon on Saturdays, so I'll have to try going back there to scope out prices, how big it it, how many outlets are available, how crowded it tends to be, and how the people working there would feel about a bunch of aspiring novelists coming in and hanging out and typing frantically away on their laptops, trying to rack up the most words in the time allotted, pausing occasionally to chat about their novels-in-progress, NaNoWriMo in general, or come up with new outrageous challenges for each other. Or maybe one of you happens to be familiar with the place?
I also heard there's a Starbucks somewhere in Centerton Square (actually, one of the librarians told me, trying to help me think up a good place for a write-in – we might not have a lot of meeting space in our library, but we do have some awesome librarians). There's also a Panera Bread in that general area where I'm pretty sure we'd be welcome to do our writing, and possibly we could even reserve the back room if there's more than just me who's planning on going. There's also a Borders in the Mount Laurel area, off of 38, although I think the cafe doesn't necessarily have a lot of space, especially when there's already a few people there working on their laptops in their own corners.
Or we could always use Burlington County College facilities. Pemberton campus has a nice lounge in the Parker Center, as well as a study room off the library. And Mount Laurel campus also has facilities where we could get together for a write-in without too much trouble.
What I need from you is which of these locations sound good to you. Which of them can you get to without too much hassle (provided people are willing to give directions as needed?) Which of them sound best to you? Do you have any other suggestions which I have neglected to consider/mention that you think might work better?
And When?
I work as a substitute teacher, which means I don't always know my schedule, but I'll try and list the days and times I'm generally available in November. If people who are interested in a write-in could do the same, we could figure out the best dates/times for the greatest number of people. And just because I can't guarantee I'm available at some day/time that works best for you, don't hesitate to list it. Obviously I can't host if I can't guarantee my availability, but that doesn't mean you guys can't show up and host, and it doesn't mean I won't be able to show up.
First Week: I can be available almost any day in the evening except Sunday the first and Thursday the fifth. On Thursday the fifth and Friday the sixth I can be available in the day. Saturday the seventh I can be available in the evening; I've got a church retreat during the day. If we don't do a Burlington Country write-in on Tuesday the third I might get brave and decide to find the write-in that's happening in Audubon.
Second Week: I can be available almost any evening except Thursday (choir practice) and Friday (I'll probably be going to the write-in in Voorehees). Sunday the eighth I can be available in the afternoon as well, as well as during the day on Wednesday the eleventh (which is Veteran's Day and hence no school) and Saturday the fourteenth. If we don't have anything happening on the tenth, I may again get brave and try to find (or go back to) the Audubon write-in.
Third Week: Once again, it seems that I am open almost every evening except for Thursday, as well as Saturday all day and Sunday in the afternoon. I might also be open during afternoons of Wednesday-Friday, which are early dismissal days (though I don't know what times the schools actually get out for early dismissal).
Fourth Week: Sunday afternoon of the 22nd is open, as are the evenings except for Wednesday (our church is taking part in a Thanksgiving Eve service) and Thursday. Monday and Tuesday are early dismissal days, so I might be able to do something in the afternoons there as well. Friday I also should be available during the day, if anyone thinks they'll actually be up for any write-ins the day after Thanksgiving; in the evening I'll probably be heading down to the write-in in Voorehees. Saturday during the day I should be all right as well.
Fifth Week: (aka the lonely two days at the end of the month). Sunday I should be good for afternoon/evening, and Monday evening should work for me. Provided people are still interested in write-ins at the tail end of the month, that is.
Now that I've spent entirely too much time going over my schedule, if whoever's interested could give me an idea of when might work for them, that would be amazing. Again, I'm willing to host, and even willing to bring some prizes (think silly things from the dollar store or candy bars rather than expensive shrimp dinners or emeralds and rubies, unless you would like to volunteer to bring in prizes from the latter category) so that we can reward highest wordage during writing sprints or other silly things. On a related note, if you happen to have allergies and plan to attend let me know so I can make sure there's something in the prizes that is appropriate, or if you have any suggestions of things that would make good prizes (remember, substitute teacher, so I'm not pulling in any big bucks here) let me know :-)
I look forward to hearing from you – I think we could have a great time!
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33,077 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2009 - 15 25
I'm in Palmyra. I wish I could help with location but I'm not familiar with any of the chain bookstores and coffee houses, etc. The only coffee shop I ever spent any time in closed last year. But if someone comes up with a place I'll do my best to be there. Time or day isn't really a problem for me.
3,093 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2009 - 17 28
The Daily Grind is nice but I am not sure of their space. Of course, the few times I have been in there are during things like Fire & Ice when it is mad crowded anyway.
There is also a Starbucks in Ironstone Village in Medford, right on Stokes Road, and it seems like one of the bigger ones! I am down for a BCC meetup, myself; I only have one class this semester in Mt. Laurel, Tuesday nights at 7:45. Wednesdays are no good for me due to family obligations, but most other nights are okay. My husband has military duty this upcoming weekend but other than that he is willing to wrangle children for whatever time I can meet up with folks!
46,017 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 16 43
Does having class mean you'd rather have a BCC write-in on a Tuesday, perhaps from 5:30 to 7:30 or 7:40, since you have to be at the campus anyway? If I remember right, the lounge on the first floor of Laurel Hall should be decent for a space...
Could be fun to write in at Starbucks, too - Medford's a nice area; I don't happen to know it so well as other areas, but it seems not to be too far away from a lot of the areas with Burlington WriMos. Do you happen to know anything about their hours offhand, or should I call them to double-check when they're open?
3,093 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 17 21
Laurel Hall does have a nice big lounge! I could be up for a write-in before class, if it's not too early for anyone else. Usually she springs us early, too, so if a later time works for everyone I can jump in then as well.
As far as the Starbucks, I don't know offhand what their hours are, but maybe I can stop by tomorrow and check. That way I can see if it's as big as it looks from the outside. Plus, you know, hot chocolate. Heh.
46,017 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 18 56
Absolutely, this is the prefect excuse to go and get some hot chocolate. Plus you can scope out the space inside, number of outlets open for use by the public, where a good place to set up might be, how crowded it seems to be - and if you end up chatting with any of the staff, maybe see how they would feel about an indeterminate number of NaNoWriMo participants arriving and typing madly away, possibly taking breaks to engage in various antics. Of course, you don't have to do the last if you don't feel comfortable doing so, or if no excellent opportunity presents itself for the asking of such questions. If you haven't managed to figure out the hours by Thursday or so, I've got the day off so I might call or get really ambitious and visit the place then.
As for class - how early is getting out early? And when does the lounge close? We don't want to upset the nice security people, after all. Or maybe we'll decide to have a really long write-in, and you can join us before and after class. Or try and convince your professor that participating is closely enough related to your class that your whole class should stop by the write-in and get credit for it (now I'm trying to think of the least-NaNo-related class BCC might offer and trying to figure out how to incorporate it into NaNo. Accounting? We'll play around with the spreadsheets someone made for NaNo, and throw some economic calculations into our novels. Statistics? We'll work out some stats on the populations of our worlds/towns/whatever, not to mention comparing our word count stats. Humanities? Perfect novel fodder...)
I think I can get to Mount Laurel by 5:30; most of the schools I work at let out by 4 at the latest, which would give me time to stop home briefly if I needed to and still make the drive to Mount Laurel. I'm not sure about anyone else, but even if it's just a couple of us who are definitely going we can get it up on the calendar and in the announcements, and who knows who might show up, or else happen by and ask us what we're doing and thus get sucked into NaNoing themselves?
46,017 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 19 23
How does Mt. Laurel or Medford sound to you? Part of the reason I asked about location is that I know some people are more comfortable driving in certain areas than others, and some people don't like to drive too far from familiar locations while others are comfortable driving some distance. Also, with BCC in the consideration, I know sometimes people aren't comfortable going onto a campus where they aren't current students. I don't think BCC will mind; I used to play D&D with a group of non-student community members on one of the campuses on a regular basis, and we never had any issues.
0 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2009 - 18 43
Location isn't an issue for me. If Im available I'll find you guys, where ever.
46,017 / 50,000
Nov 5, 2009 - 19 15
All right, let's plan this thing one write-in at a time. I think Friday evenings are generally the best for me, so I called the Starbucks in Medford earlier today, and Friday hours are from 6 am to 10 pm, so a Friday evening write-in would work there. Since there's no write-in on Friday the 20th, how does that work for you guys? Maybe starting at 6 pm and planned to go through 9 pm-ish, though if we decided to stay longer we can always hang out until closing? As long as I don't get resounding "No's" from everyone, or suggestions as to a better time, I'll plan on hosting a write-in then (which means I'd probably better get over to the place sometime before the 20th just to make sure they have space, and possibly to chat with the people who work there and see how they feel about having a write-in there, though if they're advertising as one of the bigger WiFi spots I can't imagine that they would protest a group of us coming in and typing madly away on our laptops).
There's also a couple people who want to have a write-in at the Mount Laurel Borders who started another thread at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3417358, so that could potentially be another fun experience within Burlington County. I'll leave the timing of that write-in up to them, though.
Also, do we want to have a Tuesday night write-in at the Mount Laurel BCC campus, or does that make too many write-ins in the area? Not that I'd object to going to several write-ins (I think I'm already planning to drive down to the Friday night write-ins in Voorehees, and possibly to at least one of the Monday night write-ins in Audubon, because I love the idea of write-ins), but I don't want to have so many that everyone is going to a different write-in and we miss out on a chance to get a slightly larger group together....
14,675 / 50,000
Nov 6, 2009 - 13 13
hey! I am so into all this. I would love to be able to go to a write in... but I'm sort of only 15, and I'm not sure my parents would let me go, but if they don't mind me hanging around a bunch of basic strangers and talking about our novels and writing and junk, i would love to go to one...
I live about 5 minutes from the Mount Laurel Campus, so that shouldn't be a problem for me...
Mount holly is also very accessable to me...
my school lets out at 2:27, but i generally don't even get home until 3, so i think that maybe I could go to one at 4, if my sister was home... I really am good for any time... and im sure if it were like in a reasonable distance from my house my parents wouldn't mind, like anywhere in the burlington county area, lol.
I would love to know if there will be any BC write ins!
46,017 / 50,000
Nov 6, 2009 - 16 04
Obviously your parents' concern for your safety has to come first. Maybe if they're not sure about you going, they would feel more comfortable if they and/or your sister came along to check things out? I don't think anyone should mind a couple extra people hanging around. And especially if we happen to be somewhere like the Borders, once they've had a chance to see the situation and what's happening, they can have the option to go and look at books themselves if they don't want to sit around staring while the lot of us are staring at our laptops typing away. Or maybe if you had a friend doing NaNo, or even who would like to come and sprint-write short stories or something, your parents would feel more comfortable if you both went together - I have a sister about your age and usually my parents feel better about her being in a place if they have some idea about who she's with and what sort of things are likely to be happening.
The Starbucks in Medford is apparently about 19 minutes from the Borders in Mount Laurel - could you manage to get a ride there? I'm thinking of hosting a write-in the evening of the 20th, which is a Friday so it's not a school night. I haven't actually been there to check the place out yet, so I'm not sure what else is in the area or what it's like, but it's supposedly one of the bigger Wi-Fi hotspots, which implies a desire for groups of laptop users and thus the potential that we'll have a few outlets where we can plug in.