Come on n and introduce yourself!

Hey, everyone!!! I'm Stephi! I was born in Plano, raised in Allen, and go to college in Richardson (UTD!!!). This is my 4th NaNo attempt - I've never actually succeeded. I'm determined this year, though I don't have a prayer. Between college, practicing for a salsa performance, and greek life, I'm pretty certain I won't make it. Even so, I can dream!

I have no idea what I'm going to write this year. Every other year I've had a plot by now, but I haven't gotten one yet. I should have held off starting that Psych fanfiction... Maybe I'll do a dares novel this year.

If anyone needs writing buddies, I'm always online! Feel free to email me, message me, whatever!

--<3,
Stephi

2005: Harry Potter and Heredity's Gifts (Fail, 5K)
2006: Once Upon An Ever After: A Fairy Tale in Two Parts (Epic Fail, 2K)

2007: Spotlight on Center
Word Count: 0/50,000
Dares: 0/150
Cups of Tea Had: 1

Hey Grady! Nice to "see" you here again!

This is my 7th year writing (I Think ? 2001 to 2008. I write, I don't do math, maybe it's my 8th??? yes). Okay let me start over, this is my 8th year participating in Nano. I have 5 kids, my 2nd one just turned 8 so he was 1 the first year I wrote. I "won" 4 years out of the 7, and plan on NOT tying that up this year (haha). We'll see how I do with a 5-6 month old, he should start crawling during November I'll bet, that should be interesting ; ) The year I had a newborn (05) I bommmmbed miserably.

I did Script Frenzy the first year, started this year but because of a horrible accident (has it really been 6 months ?!) I had to quit. My son hasn't (and likely won't) recovered the feeling in his pinky (cut his ulnar nerve) but he has bounced back wonderfully from the accident, and has a "really cool" scar (Chicks dig scars is the phrase of the year around here). I didn't like my script anyway so it's just as well. I'll try again next year.

I'm sure I'll see everyone around this month, whether here or in person. I'll be the person with the cute baby in some type of carrier, if you happen to see me at any nano events.

Aisling

2007 ~ Seventh Year as a Nanowrimo Partipant

'Ello!

Just wanting to stop by and and introduce myself. I'm Cheryl. Or as many folks call me "kiwi" or "firefly". I'm in Plano. This is my 3rd year officially participating in Nanowrimo. I have also been a participant in Scriptfrenzy since its inception.

I am looking forward to this November although November 1st will be a hectic day. (A friend is getting married).

I'm off for now...

kiwi

I can believe anything, providing that it is quite incredible.~Oscar Wilde

Loose Ends

Hiya, I'm Nick.

I live in Lewisville, and this is my first NaNoWriMo. I'm thrilled about the idea, and I've already got my characters, story, background, and general idea in place. All I'm waiting for is the starting gun. Currently I'm finishing up high school and I hope start at CCCC in the spring.

I'm usually always on and willing to chat abouts whatever. Ignore the 's's I puts at some words. When I'm serious I'll stop. :D

Hey, Aisling! Good to see you too! And great to hear your son has recovered so well. My little one is now 7 months and while he's not "crawling", he is scooting around when he's on the floor, but he's also doing pretty good moving around on a "walker". He's also learning to entertain himself some, so that (I'm hoping), combined with his naps while the older brother is at school, will free up an hour or two a day I can use to write.

I can relate to bombing with infant. My youngest was born just over a month prior to the start of Script Frenzy this year, so while I tried for about a week, I quickly realized that I would not be able to put forth the necessary effort to complete the task. I was just too exhausted from taking care of the 2 kids and going to work :D Now, though, should be at least a little easier :)

Stephi, I used to live off Renner and Conner (I think that's the name... It's close to Alma) which is just a few minutes from UTD.

On another note, one of these days, I need to get the previous NaNos off them back burner and get it edited so I can get them published. :D

Any previous NaNos around here published yet?

See you at the finished line!

Grady

NaNoWriMo 2005/2007 Winner -- The Storm (WIP)
NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner -- Dragon Secrets (WIP)
Script Frenzy 2007 Winner -- The Choice
NaNoWriMo 2008 -- Untitled

Hi! I'm Jesso, and this is my... 6th year. It will be my 4th win. Will be. Or else.

Ahem! Anyways! I'm 23 and while I don't have kids, I do have work and class and two cats who like to demand my attention when they see I'm working on something.

This year, in order to up the challenge for myself, I'm planning my novel out. The first two years I tried NaNo, I failed because I had things plotted out and couldn't fill in the gaps. These last three years I've jumped in unprepared and succeeded. So this year, I'm going to defeat the monster that is plotting. It is kind of scary, but I'll do it. Or else.

~Jesso~

Good luck, Jesso. For all 3 of my previous wins, I don't think I had more than a vague idea of the plot. But I did have several characters that I knew in detail before the start of NaNo. I think that if you have at least a vague idea of where you want to go along with a great mix of characters you know very well and at least a decent idea of where your story will take place, then you should have a fairly easy time.

I'll admit the biggest difference between that 2nd win and the other two I have is that I had a fairly large cast (about 10 relatively major characters and at least as many minor characters) fleshed out fairly well when I started or shortly after I started. In fact, I think it is more important to know your characters than the plot when starting out because when you write about what your characters would do, sometimes something totally unexpected happens and the story takes off in an entirely different direction. Though the plot you think you have may dictate certain characters. :D

Anyway, good luck! I'm going for my 4th straight NaNo this year. In fact, I'm setting a personal goal of 75K. I want to try a little bigger story and see if I can do it. I wound up combining 2 of my previous NaNos for a complete story that will be in one book, but I kind of planned on that last year. One of the things I want to do as I edit that one is to try and integrate the two stories a little tighter. I still need to get back and do that, though :D

This will be the year you get that 4th win!

See you at the finish line!

Grady

NaNoWriMo 2005/2007 Winner -- The Storm (WIP)
NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner -- Dragon Secrets (WIP)
Script Frenzy 2007 Winner -- The Choice
NaNoWriMo 2008 -- Untitled

I'm Brandon Basham, native Fort Worth, returning from obtaining a Bachelor's Degree of Arts in Religion which is now useless to me. (You can read my bio if you're curious. You'll probably have to PM me to even understand fully what I'm talking about from the bio.)

I'm a NaNoWriMo first-timer. I will win.

I hope beyond this thing, of which I am already confident, that people living near enough to me will be able to see me do it. Besides, one feels the need for community while doing this stuff. It's never for sure, but one night someone may sit there next to you, unconsciously contributing a key element in the thing you're writing. More importantly, that community often expands beyond the things you're writing. (I find it so unfortunate that one rule to this volunteer circus involves a hands-off policy to each other's stuff, at least in direct contribution. Individualistic.)

I had a child, so to speak (but not so to have sexually procreated) and it did not survive past its seventh year. In other so-to-speaking: I'm now trying to give these remains a decent burial, mourning it. So whatever I write in a month - it will concern either the funeral of old gods of mine or the search for new ones. I have no time for fantasy war epics; I've lived in one long enough and would like to envision the real one now.

Hi everyone!
This will be my second NaNo and although I made it last year, this year will be more of a challenge because...
this laptop is currently the only computer that's operational in our house and I am married to a guy who uses it for work. I also have three kids who believe that it is their right to have equal amounts of time on it for thier own 'work'. Well, okay, the third grader is doing keyboarding in school and they did say that practice at home would be beneficial. And the seventh grader is takin a technology class that requires him to have some at-home computer time...and the senior gal needs to do her homework... I think this NaNo year will be all about me cheering everyone else on and simply reading the peptalks and planning for next year! So, my good wishes will be with you all as I lurk out here, sighing with envy at all you are accomplishing!
Good luck, and I'll be waving the checkered flag at the end of November for you!
@nnie

"Talent renders the whole idea of rehearsal meaningless...you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading, or watching), every outing is a bravura performance,

Hi!

My name's Bethany, and I just moved to Dallas from the Nasvhille, TN area. I've done NaNo the last two years, but never won - and I guarantee that if I didn't win during my last two years of college, there's no way I'm winning during my first year of medical school, haha..... sob.

I think my biggest problem is even going to be getting in a writing frame of mind. I tried dreaming up character/plot ideas in class yesterday morning, but my brain is just too fuzzy from lack of sleep and studying all the time to get any kind of creativity going whatsoever... College was bad enough, but medical school is TAKING OVER MY BRAIN, with no room left for plot bunnies :(.

Also, the big reason NaNo's been so fun with me in the past was because I did it with my wonderfully splendiferous college roommate, but now I am in Dallas and she is in upstate NY :'(. So, if there's anyone associated with UT Southwestern or who lives in the Love Field area who wants to adopt a writing buddy, let me know! I'm betting there are lots of great places to write on Lemmon and Cedar Springs!

Hi, everyone!

This is my first NaNo. I won Screnzy in April and loved the rush.

When I registered in April for the Frenzy I used my main character's name. She had been floating around in my head for many months as I attempted to turn her story into a novel. I didn't know then that my user name would be unchangeable. Now I'm thinking I may have to keep her as my main character. I'm still madly in love with the old fashioned sounding name of Maisie.

My real name is Lezlie. I grew up in Northeast Dallas, then Garland. I've been in McKinney for a couple of years.

No kids. I currently don't even have a fur-baby. But when I do I'm partial to dachshunds.

Pie-in-the-sky goal: to be as successful as Mary Higgins Clark so that I could afford to do much of my writing from my stateroom on a cruise ship with 24-hour room service just a phone call away. Short term goal: I'd be over the moon just getting published. Immediate goal: to win NaNo.

Since April we spent part of our Stimulus Check on a laptop for me. Maybe now that I'm portable I'll get a chance to meet some of you in person.

Lezlie

Hello everyone-
I'm Tina, this is my second NaNo and I'm looking forward to getting started. Didn't finish last year's novel due to being seriously over-committed (which seems to be a trend around here), but am cautiously optimistic/realistic about what I'll need to do to finish this year's novel.

Characters started swirling around in my head one day last spring and are still there.... so hopefully.....

Question for those who have found success during NaNo..... what kind of prep did you do prior to the start date?

Hope to make a write-in or two this year.... I'm in the Southlake area.

Good luck everyone!

Hello!

I'm Criss. otherwise known as your Municipal Liaison. Feel free to PM me with questions, concerns, plot points, etc.

This is my fifth year doing NaNo; I've won each time (I have no kids and no shame - I can ignore all family and household obligations for the month of November with no problem). I also teach for a day job, which usually gives me a nice, long week off at the end of November to get caught up on my word count!

Hope to see you all at write-ins and other fun get-togethers!!!

:) Criss.

Criss, la Reina
DFW co-ML
www.crisswrites.com
http://crisswrites.blogspot.com

Hey, everyone! I'm Jess, if you've been to a write-in, I'm the one with the pink hair. At least, I'm pretty sure I had my pink in last NaNo! Anyway, this is my 7th NaNo, and I'm really excited about it this year, even though I have NO idea what I'm going to write about (same as every other year). I hope to see everyone at Coffee Haus!

Jess, I don't remember if you had pink hair or not, but I think I remember seeing you at the IHOP about halfway through. Glad to see you back again!

ReinaCriss, Hello again! Great as always to see you. Hope things are going well in the teaching world :D My oldest just started kindergarten, and he's loving it so far.

Tina, I have a thread in our area forum where I talk about what I'm doing to get ready. I usually do a lot of "how to" reading in October getting ready for November and try to get a lot of characters created. As for overcommitment, I know how that feels, but if you commit to doing this, you'll find the time :D With the help of a timer, I learned last year I could do the "daily" amount in about an hour and a half typing 15 minutes at a time (against the clock) and resting about 5.

Lezlie, congrats on your SF win! I won last year, when it was a 20K goal instead of a page count goal. I made the SF win with a tremendous amount of padding ;) But it was worth the effort. I didn't win this last April because I had newborn that was messing up my sleep (leaving me mentally fried) and occupied any spare time that I usually have. He's getting older and a little more able to entertain himself now, so while I still have to keep an eye on him, he no longer requires the constant attention he once did. I'm sure you'll be able to succeed at NaNo as well. :D (On the name front, you could always reregister with a different name, I think.)

Bethany, Welcome to the D/FW area! Med school can keep you busy, I'm sure, but if you try, i know you can find away to squeeze in NaNo for one month :D And as for friends, there are lots of great people here you can make friends with ;)

@nnie, It can be frustrating when you can't get time on the computer, but what I did in my first NaNo when I didn't have a laptop was to write out my novel by hand when I was away from the computer. Then, when I had access to the computer, I would type in what I had written. This is actually double effort, I know. But while you can "win" on word count, I thought the extra effort was worth it because of the bonuses that come with a "verified" word count such as the winner icon and certificate.

See everyone at the finish line!

NaNoWriMo 2005/2007 Winner -- The Storm (WIP)
NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner -- Dragon Secrets (WIP)
Script Frenzy 2007 Winner -- The Choice
NaNoWriMo 2008 -- Untitled

Hi everyone, The name's Jeannie

This is my 5th year in NaNo and I'm looking forward to the madness.

I'm a full time writer--thanks to my wonderful husband of 25 years helping me reach for my dream--of Romantic Suspense--un-published--and I will never give up the dream. Last years NaNo brought out my best writing ever. My novel, Paper Roses, has been sent to a number of contests (made the finals in one) and out of the 7 agents I've submitted to, I've only been rejected by 3. (it's been over 6 months and I haven't heard from the other 4)

I'm the mother of 4 and grandmother of 5. Caregiver of the zoo (4 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabit, 6 fish and 2 sugar gliders) I love to work in my garden (my DH was kind enough to let me play with 1/4 th of the backyard) I love to read. (Nora is my hero) and last but not least, I hate cleaning my house, but someone has to do it.

Hope to meet everyone soon

Jeannie G

NaNo 2008 Bridge Over Troubled Waters
NaNo 2007 Paper Roses
NaNo 2006 Turn of The Page
NaNo 2005 Any Way The Wind Blows
NaNo 2004 Bad Moon Rising

Hey Everyone!!!!! My name is Sarah and I'm from Carrollton, but I work in Lewisville. This is my first attempt at Nanowrimo and I'm hoping for the best. I am hoping to get some write-in's with others in the area, but for the most part I will be doing this on my own at home. I just want to wish everyone the best of luck for this year!!!!!

This is my second attempt (I didn't win in 2006, took 2007 off).
I live in Benbrook and work in Addison.
Anyone have pointers to the kind of prep I should do during October?
In 2006, I had done no prep and jumped in without any idea.
I do *not* think that is the only reason I didn't finish. :)

Richard.

Hey, everyone! I'm Tammy. :-) This is my second NaNo; last year was my first. I didn't win last year because I got real bad bronchitis a week into the month and was sick until after Thanksgiving -- kinda cuts down on writing time. But I have big plans for this year! I have a real good idea of who most of my characters are, a better-than-vague image of the backdrop, and a fairly solid concept of a rather interesting plot. It's gonna be not-quite a parody, in a not-quite-high fantasy vein (as comfortable as I am with the 'thee's and 'thou's expected of high fantasy, they just won't fit this tale), with a touch of magic, prophecy, and political intrigue coming from a most intriguing source!

Anyway, last year I was in Alvarado, but now my sister (and fellow NaNoer) and I live just a block and a half away from the Barnes and Nobles in Hulen. We could be there practically every day for write-ins or what-not. 8-) I look forward to getting to know the folks here. :-D

See y'all at the finish line!

Tammy

***
Ms_Tamany
tammy@purple-platypus.com

Hello fellow DFW WriMos! I've posted eslewhere on the board, but haven't properly introduced myself yet. My name is Cassy, and this will be my second serious attempt at NaNo (I won in '06 but couldn't get myself in gear for '07). I'm in the Eastchase area of Fort Worth, and am looking forward to actually participating this year.

That's pretty much it for an intro. Hope to see people at write ins!

Grady - Thanks so much for the warm welcome.

Criss - I remember you from SF. I loved your title "No Child Left Behind: The Musical." (I'm mortified if I'm remembering it wrong. But if I did, I've had mono since then, so I will blame it on the fuzzy brained moments.) My sister is also a teacher and we have spent many phone conversations taking your title in vain. Every time she'd have a gripe about her principal or fellow teachers or parents, I'd mention the title, we'd both laugh and then would riff on various plot ideas. Happy to see you're our ML.

I'm Chris, I won the 2006 Nano then had to skip 2007 for various reasons. This will be my second attempt, and I'm going to avoid the "sophomore curse" come hell or high water.

***

2006: The Zaqqum Tree (Victory is Mine!)

He's baaaaaaacckk! Hi folks, Derek here again, for my 4th NaNo. Lost 2005 (22K words) and 2006,(about 5K words) but made up for it with 51,545 words last year, in what was essentially only 21 days of writing - I had 2 days with zero word count, and another 8 days that totaled 1707! I've even still got my 2007 NaNo Report card to prove it!

I've looking forward to next month, though I'm not exactly sure how many write-in's I'll be able to make. We have a few "waiting for the other shoe to drop" things going on at home right now, so making it to write-ins might be a sporadic and/or not at all thing. Time will tell.

Anyone who thinks they can't finish this is crazy! Last year at the end of Nov 16th I had an overall word count of 15,224 (I' written a whopping 9 words total for the day) and still crossed the 50K barrier on Nov 28th! If I can do this, anyone can.

I don't care if this is your first Nano or your 10th, LETS GET SOME WINNERS THIS YEAR! I'm challenging this group to have a high Winner Count at the TGIO Party!

(Edit for spelling, to clarify a thought, and because my keyboard still has a hangover from LAST YEAR'S NaNo. ;) )

Indecision May Or May Not Be My Problem.

Hi all! I'm Jess, I'm 28 and I live in the Lakewood/East Dallas/Downtown Dallas area. I have a sweet understanding husband and a full-time job that I am hoping will stop eating my soul sometime around the end of October, heh. Part of what I do for a living is write, so I am determined not to let my "real" job burn me out for NaNo!

This is my...let's see...5th NaNo? I've never actually won during November, but my last two NaNovels aren't dead yet...I am still working on them! I'm looking forward to starting fresh this year and am actually doing that fun thing called PLANNING to get myself hyped up to finish. I've never planned from start to finish and now I know that's what has hindered me in the past, so I'm spending this month outlining and researching like a fiend! That way I won't lose steam and forget the story I'm trying to tell.

Bethany, if you're interested, I would love to have a writing buddy since I'm in generally the same area as you are. :-) I hope to meet many more of you at write-ins and such...I love going to the Half-Price on NW Hwy to write, and I'm on the lookout for a couple other "regular" haunts nearby. I'll be the one with the tiny pink laptop!

www.papergraffiti.com - found your writing on the wall

Yay! Can't wait to meet you at the write-ins!

Hello! I'm Cat, I'm in the Dallas area - Greenville Ave., if we're being specific. I recently got a roommate who will be doing NaNo, too, so we'll be encouraging each other to keep going.

I'm 23, I've got aforementioned roommate and plenty of pets - my two lovely cats, two Russian dwarf hamsters, a guinea pig, and a fish. And yes, I live in a one-bedroom apartment. It's absolutely ridiculous, but I love it. I work a part-time retail job at the Dallas Galleria, and teach music in Grand Prairie a couple of nights a week. Hopefully none of this will cut TOO much into my writing schedule!

Howdy, I am Wendy and I am in Burleson, (just south of Ft Worth). I am a big Texas Rangers fan, obviously. I am the stay at home mom of 3 girls, 9,5 and 4. Oh I am also an aspiring writer. I happened upon this challenge and was totally stoked about joining! I think it is just what I needed to get my booty in gear.

I don't know if I will be able to attend any parties, but there is a cool coffehouse here in Burleson called JJ Mocha's (which is on Renfro, right off I35W) and if anyone is willing to make the drive during the day while kiddos are in school, we could write there. They have free WiFi and great coffee! I plan on spending time there to write...too many distractions at home that will be calling my name to clean them or dry them or vaccuum .... I am sure you get the picture.

So, this is my first year, I am still kinda wingin this trying to figure out how it all works. I definitely need some buddies to help hold me accountible, I work better that way, kinda like Weight Watchers. Although I don't know how to get them, so some instruction there might be good...

Anyway, enough of my endless rambling, if you are in my area (or not) and want to hang out and not talk to each other, let me know. Or in the meantime, we could meet and hang out and talk, that would be fine too.

Looking forward to a great season!
Wendy

Hello, my name is Tom and I'm a writer. What's the first step? Oh, right, NaNo. Got it.

I'm writing an Urban Fantasy, working title is "Welcome to the Jungle." You know, Urban Fantasy - vampires, werewolves and witches. I estimate it will be a 100k novel when complete. I'm pretty confident I can make the 50k wordcount for NaNo in a month, since I wrote 3 novels last Sep thru Dec before Christmas (all in same urban fantasy series I've yet to start trying to sell.) So I'm a fast writer. Of course, with Thanksgiving and everything....

Brandon,
While there is not a "read each other's work" mandate, there is definitely no "hands-off policy" rule for NaNo. The community is the basis of this endeavor (Exhibit A: the forums) - we are here to motivate and challenge each other, and, yes, write together.

Attend any write-in and you will see there is very little writing done, but a whoppin' whole lotta talking. We gripe about what our characters are doing (with and without our permission), we ask for input and ideas, we ask for a random word to include in the next scene, we dare each other to make our characters do something or another.

NaNo is what you make it. You can sit at home and write, alone, making no effort to share or interact (these people usually end up posting disparaging things about NaNo and my hero, Evil Pope Chris Baty... but then we make fun of them at write-ins, so it's okay); you can interact with your fellow Wrimos on the forums; you can attend your weekly write-in and share brains with the crazy characters (literary and flesh-and-bone) that meets at your local coffee shop.

I look forward to seeing you at a write-in!

:) Criss.

Criss, la Reina
DFW co-ML
www.crisswrites.com
http://crisswrites.blogspot.com

My name is Sean. I live in Arlington, and I go to UTA. I'm also an English major, so this is right up my alley :) This is my second year doing NaNo. I won last year, so I think I should be able to win this year, too. Although, being that it's my first year of College, we'll see how busy I get. I also did Script-Frenzy in April (was it April? I think it was), and won that too (actually found it extremely easy compared to NaNo).

This year I'm shooting for 100,000 words over two novels. I hope I make it!

"Friends are just enemies who don't have the guts to kill you."