Introduce Yourself!

My name is Coe and I just moved to San Diego in August from Colorado. While I will be sad to be doing NaNo outside of the network I am used to, I am excited to meet some new people in November!

I did NaNo in 2005 and 2006. I won in 2005, but only made it to 30,000 words in 2006.

I have a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and currently work for Poway Unified School District with 3 to 5 year-olds with Autism. When I'm not at work I am enjoying the scenery, beach, and weather of my new place of residence.

I look forward to meeting everyone at some write-ins.

It's good to be back. I missed the insanity of November and have been pining for it since....oh....July when the Muse stuck her head in.

I reside in El Cajon and have been here for the last ten years. I got my first offical count in 2007, but have been doing same since 2005 and was addicted when I had the first 50,000 words under my belt.

I am a freelance writer and currently debating if I want to once again work as a paralegal (for which I have a degree and have done for 11 years). I am enjoying my writing and look forward to putting another book under my belt. If anyone needs a buddy in San Diego's East County - look me up and I will be more than happy to stand beside you during this time.

I'm Kelly, and I've been living in San Diego for four years, but this will be my first NaNoWriMo! I did Script Frenzy back in April and had a great time, so I'm starting to get really excited about November!

I'm a graduate student in Biology at UCSD and spend my free time writing fiction and doing some science writing, which I hope will pay the bills when I'm done with my PhD.

I'm looking forward to the write-ins!

Hi, I'm Kim, and I've lived in San Diego my whole life. This is my second year doing NaNoWriMo, though I didn't win last year. I hope to do better this year, but we'll see...I'm in college now, so that takes up a lot of my time. I'm a Biology major, but what I really want to be is a fantasy novelist. I'm so excited for November 1!

Hi!
My names Michelle and im 17 years old, This is going to be my first year doing NaNoWriMo and Im very excited, my friend promised me that it would be lots of fun!
I moved to San Diego last December and im living in Vista, Im a Senior in High School and when I go to college I hope to study communications, spanish, german and creative writing.

Hey everyone -

I'm Jason. Last year was my first time writing anything.
I chose a simple story, light romantic-comedy. Wanted something "easy" to cut my teeth on.
What a learning experience it was... but I finished, topping 50k words by a massive seven.
Biggest lesson: Having an outline might not be such a bad idea after all...

Since then, I've also Scriptfrenzy, won that, and even converted my novel from last year into a screenplay.

Back to Nano. Dammit, this year, I'm getting ambitious. Epic Science Fiction. Big, complicated, lots of lore, lots of sub-plots, lots of characters. I've been plotting (and scheming) for about three months now, on and off. Should be fun!

Looking forward to meeting some of you, and offering encouragement or tips if solicited!

Good luck everyone!

Jason

Hi. I'm Sean. I'm 18 years old. I am a high school graduate. I have lived in San Diego my whole life.

This is my first year doing NaNoWriMo. I heard about it six months ago, and can't wait for this year's to start. I have no idea what kind of experience this will be. It won't be a boring month.

Welcome back NaNoVeterans and welcome newbies! I'm Bettina. This will be my 7th NaNoWrimo. (Veterans should remember me as the local Municipal Liaison from 2004 through 2006.)

I look at NaNoWriMo as noveling bootcamp. My primary benefit is that the deadline forces me to put BIC and write. The secondary benefit is that I can try new things without an enormous investment of energy. Every year I look at what I've done before and where I struggled with my previous novel. Then I try something new to stretch myself. This year I'm concentrating on my two weakest points -- villians and endings.

I encourage everyone to show up to the write-ins! You will get lots of writing done, meet great new people, and find terrific inspiration. I have two regular year-round writing groups that originated from NaNoWriMo write-ins. Hopefully I'll meet you at a write-in or two.

I'm particularly excited about this year because, for the first time, I'll be able to start writing at 12:01 on November 1st . (Usually I have to get up for the all-important day job.) Since NaNo starts on a Saturday, I can write until dawn and sleep all day if I want. :-D I can't wait!

Hi

I actually posted this before the server went down then i lost all my membership and post. So ill do my best here to remember what i said and maybe say something different.

I live in Banker's Hill. I have written my whole life. I wrote a novel a while back, called Mundane. Its sorta meh. I shifted a while back, someone gave me a camera. It fit in my hands better than a pencil or the keyboard i guess. Currently, i am only writing interview questions (i do interviews for a music site) and texts for my picture story lines. I've been focusing on photography exclusively for the last 3? years. Lately, tho the love of words seems to be taking over.

Someone on flickr (the photo site) actually linked me to this website and turned me onto the idea. I'm sold. For me, its about really attempting it and giving myself a good run. I think its a great way to get back into writing, totally submersing for a time. i love the idea.

Because the time constraint is something i have no concept of, i'm leery but excited. I really look forward to the challenge. I also look forward to getting info and learning about the process from others.

Anyway, thats it.

In 2004, my first year, I successfully wrote a 50,000+ word sci-fi novel, and it was a blast. The next three years I proceeded to fail at writing a mystery parody, a spy novel of some sort , and an I-don't-know-what in '07, because I barely got past the first sentence. It was very frustrating.

This year I fully intend to succeed again, so in a flash of good judgment I will return to my roots and attempt another sci-fi story. I will also try to attend NaNo events for inspiration and motivation. Hopefully come December 1st, I'll have another haphazardly written novel to foist upon my friends!

My name is Mike, and I moved back to San Diego last year and had a great time finishing my second nanowrimo novel (two for two!). For everyone who is new, I strongly recommend attending the write-ins. Moreover, I recommend attending the write-ins already caught up or ahead because it can be hard to get work done amidst all the fun and revelry.

Every year I start off my nanowrimo pre-planning intending to write something serious and with a slight edge and I eventually abandon it in search of something edgy but also sort of madcap crazy along the Carl Hiaasen or Elmore Leonard lines. The same thing happened this year. Right now I have a vague idea of a character, a vague idea of a profession (thank you San Diego nanowrimo off-season group!) and a vague idea of an opening scene (thank you Matt!).

(Another reason to go to write-ins - people come up with crazy ideas that are sometimes well worth stealing and making your own).

Call me Tria :) This will be my third NaNo, and I have won the two previous years. I'm in 11th grade, will turn 17 on November 30th, and fully intend to have completed another fantastic birthday present for myself by that point. I also fully intend to attend more write-ins this year, so I hope to meet some of you there!

Hello, I'm back for my 7th year. Did someone say "addicted?"

Good luck to everyone.

Karen

I'm Matt (in the real world) and this will be my fourth NaNo. I've enjoyed attending the weekend write-ins in years past. They've been helpful as well as being a morale booster. I get many great ideas and a lot of good writing accomplished when I am there. We've had a small group of NaNo-ers meeting throughout the year and I look forward to seeing all of you again for this year's extravaganza.

I think I hav a good idea to start this year's NaNo. A big thanks to Kip, Bettina, Mike, Jason and Amanda for listening and helping me out with it. Between Halloween preparations (we decorate the house to extremes every year) and work, I am cobbling together my notes and ideas into ywriter4. So far I've set up a rough outline with chapters and scenes and I am breathing life into my characters- giving them some personalities through charachter sketches and backstories. This is helpful and gives me something to do until November 1 arrives.

I'll be using ywriter, q-10 and of course the alphasmart to take my novel from brain to paper in 50,000 words ... or more.

Well I'm ready to go- how about everyone else?

Hi, everybody! This is my second year doing NaNoWriMo. I won last year, but literally counted down my last sentence to hit 50k exactly. Then I popped open some... Tang?... and celebrated like mad. I attempted a grandiose novel with complex characters and a plot full of twists and turns, but abandoned it for what ended up a total smut book. Much easier to write than the deep, depressing literary fiction I set out with.

Last year I barely squeaked by with no commitments whatsoever. This year I'm in school 2 days a week, wait tables 4-5 days a week, and train for a marathon 4-5 days a week while raising money to benefit cancer programs. It's gonna be tough!! Especially since I don't have a plot yet... "No problem!"

I'm REALLY looking forward to Cosmo's again this year, as it was ALWAYS a blast last year. More than the coffee shop, I'm looking forward to all the faces =) I can't wait to see you guys again! And I'm definitely looking forward to meeting our newer Wrimos as well.

Hey all, I'm NibblesMD. I first heard about NaNoWriMo in 2005, but unfortunately only at the END of November. I was psyched to participate for the first time in 2006 but then found writing a novel was much harder than I anticipated. I gave up after the first week, though I enjoyed listening to the podcasts and lurking in the forums. Last year was the first time I participated in earnest, and while I didn't win (13,500 words sure feels like it should win...), I had an absolutely exhilerating ride. This year my goal is to beat last year's wordcount and to FINISH (last time I didn't draw up an outline for my epic fantasy novel of doom and ended up lacking a central conflict...). I'll be torn between the fun writing spots (I've enjoyed the write-ins at Cosmos and the Ink Spot), but I aim to show up SOMEWHERE for write-ins. :) Maybe this time I'll actually talk to some other novelists. ^^'

I'm Aerienne or Amy. :) I'm in highschool and hopefully will be able to juggle my classes (oh man, already have 3 essays due soon. -headdesk-) and NaNo! I've failed several times in the past, but I always enjoyed myself. I'm going to use Q10, also, this year. I'll do some word-wars or something like that with a friend so we can both finish for once!

Good luck to everyone... I can't wait till October 31st. ^.^

5th year for me. Hi Bettina!

I'm starting my NaNo dog sitting at cousins house which will be interesting. Two and half acres with pool. Distractions.

Hmmm....I work in accounting which means writing is my passion but not paycheck. Finished all the NaNos and enjoy the challenge.

Hey all, you can call me Bahumaut here and I guess I'm going to try again this year. I've won the two years I've done this before, and trying for win number three. Hopefully work won't keep me too busy, but thankfully it is a slow time for me and I can get those word counts in. I'm also hoping to make it to a write in or two, but still have no personal laptop, so that may be my only crutch.

Even if you don't have a laptop, you can still come to write-ins. Pen and paper will work too!

Hi everyone!

San Diego NaNoWriMo ML: 2007

Hey guys, I go by IncidiousInk on here. Ummm, I'm 25 and just finishing college and trying to fight the overwhelming impression that real life as an adult will not allow me the time to write. I'm a first year participant and am really psyched and interested about being here.
In real life, I am quite busy. I have my own catering business (hint hint if any of you need a caterer i have references), but I have loved writing since I learned how to. I think this will be a great move for me because I usually get bogged down with details and plot branches and never finish so this deadline will help out greatly, good luck and thanks for having me.

Hi, I'm Nancy and a Newbie here. I've lived in San Diego all my life (a pretty long time) and work full time as a writer/producer. I also write articles for the tech and computer security industry. And because I write all day for a living, I'm finding it really hard to write for pleasure these days. I'm hoping NaNo motivates into writing fiction again.

Hello everyone! My name is Jerry and although I've hung out in the San Diego forum for the last few years I have not met most of you. I used to live in San Diego, but currently my home is in Prague. I was the Municipal Liason in San Diego the first year they had the office, largely because no one else volunteered. I figured a bad ML was better than none, though I did test that theory sorely. It's good that organized and efficient people have taken over the job. Be sure always to say thank you to your ML!

This will be my eighth NaNoWriMo, and I have won all seven times in the past. The word count has followed a sort of bell curve, with 50032 words the first year, more the following year, peaking at (if I recall correctly) 130000, and I have been tapering off ever since, as I tried progressively more challenging projects. Time to reverse that trend! This year, pure fluff, and lots of it! Working title: The Quest for the Important Thing to Defeat the Evil Guy. If I need inspiration, I can pick up just about any fantasy novel. It will be silly, and it will likely get racy. Woohoo!

No, La, I will not be cheating and using my blog episode of that same name as the first chapter.

Anyway, hello to all of you, and if you need any help with Old European settings (especially bars), drop me a line!

Hi! This is my first year doing NaNoRiMo. I've written a bunch of short stories before, a novella (about 45,000 words) and lots of non-fiction. I used to work in the high-tech field as a marketing professional but these days I do a lot of freelance writing/editing. I recently recovered from tendonitis in my right thumb so I hope I'm not taking on too much with this. We'll see.

I like to write science fiction/fantasy/horror. I have two novels outlined right now and a third that I need to do background/world building on before I outline it. I figure I will pick one and do that. I started the third novel and got two chapters in a few months ago before realizing that I needed to know a lot more about characters and background before proceeding further.

Looking forward to this!

Janet

I feel so humbled!! This is the first time in about 15 years that I've done any serious writing. I'm a huge Horror and Fantasy fan and will be trying my hand and crafting a novel with both of those milieu (with a lean toward fantasy). I've spent the past two months worldbuilding and throwing together an outline. I'm SOOO excited to do this!

I'll be up on at 12:01am on Nov 1 to start writing and won't put my pen down until my head smacks the desk, too tired to continue. I'm also hoping to attend all the write-ins.

I've been in San Diego since Y2K and work as a programmer during the day, a voracious reader at night.

Hello everyone. My name is eternalangel and this is my first time doing this here. I have written a 50,000 word story in 10 weeks for a class before and this will probably be much the same. I can't wait to begin. I have a plot (beginning to end) in my head. This story will be one in a series that I have thought about a lot, but have not written yet. It's time to bite the bullet and get this story down. It will be a science fiction/fantasy epic with real world parallels. I already have the world dynamics set up in my head. This will be a good push for me!

NOTE: The novel I wrote for class (Through the Barn Doors) is NOT the same story I plan to use here. Through the Barn Doors is sadly on the back burner. This new story I have not written yet has been in my thoughts for a year or more now. I have to get it written or else it will drive me crazy (okay not literally crazy)!

Hi,
I'm Linda I am from the San Diego area and live in Point Loma right now. I've never tried the NaNoWritMo but I'm ready to give it my all.

Any advice on pitfalls to avoid?
Do we check with each other?
How do we get writing buddies?

Hi my name is Heather and I have been living in San Diego for about a year now. My hubby and I got stationed here last September and we plan to be here another two years. We live in Imperial Beach and are really enjoying the beauty of this city. I have never done NaNoWriMo before but I'm really looking forward to giving it a try. I write things here and there but have never done anything this serious. I look forward to meeting some new friends and challenging myself.

My name is Heather. I've been living in San Diego for the last 8 years, and this is my first attempt at NaNo. Nice to meet all of you!

Hi, this is my first NaNoWriMo. I've recently written and published a biography, which took several years of research and writing. The idea of cranking up quantity and going for finishing a draft in such a short period of time is both exhilarating and differently challenging. First drafts of anything still tend to be rather agonizing, so I'm charged to make this happen. Looking forward to meeting others trudging this road of happy destiny!

Camille