Starting a New Year of NaNoWriMo!

Oh, I've been in and out but didn't post anything. I tend to lurk. I was around the forum a bit before they cleared everything out and started over.

I've lived in Evansville since 1988. This is my third NaNo but last year was the first win.

I don't even have a plan yet, something that is disturbing since I attribute my success last year to having a plan and my failure the year before to no having one. However, I am hopeful that by the end of this month something will present itself. If not, well, I'm not sure I'll get far.

Look forward to getting to know my fellow NaNo E'villians.

Dixiegirl

I feel like Nanowrimo this year is sneaking up on me like that ninja cat video.

I've lived in Evansville since 1991 and I still don't know my way around downtown. I don't think I'm alone in this.

I have a vague idea for my novel. Now I just need a good plot, maybe a few characters, and possibly some sort of location. This is my fourth year (fourth?? oh man). Hopefully we can have a meet before all the madness begins. I'm determined to get out for more write-ins this year. I'm so easily distracted at home.

LOL, me either and I work downtown! I think it is all those one way streets! You have to circle the same block several times to get where you are going or you have to park on the next block and walk back. If you can find parking....

I have no idea about my novel yet. This year I'm struggling with the rhuematoid arthritis and "neuropathic pain" as my doctor calls it. Meaning most of the time, by the time I get home from work, I'm exhausted from trying to get through the day with it. I am NOT going to stop. I just got going good last year so, it will take more than a little pain to put me off.

Dixiegirl

May you be captured by a dozen ideas that you quickly convert to a good story.

Lol, I suppose that navigating downtown could be a bit tricky, hehe. I've never really noticed because I go on bike or just by foot everywhere I go, so while I go downtown a lot, I can easily break "rules" if I must. ((Riding up on the sidewalk, etc.)) Helps one to forget what normal drivers go through. I sometimes give bad directions because of it, but thankfully not too often. :P

And I'm proud of you, Dixiegirl, for fighting through your pain instead of using it as an excuse. You've no idea how many people I've met who claim they can't do NaNoWriMo for one stupid reason or another, even though I'd buy your excuse if used that way, but it seems that those who have legitimate excuses don't use them often. :P. I'm constantly trying to teach the people I know who use excuses to just stop making excuses about things, if they don't want to do something, just say so and give no excuse for it. What excuse does one need other than not wanting to do it? *rolls eyes* If you DO want to do it, nothing can stop you. Last year, I was without computer or internet access except at the library, and so I was having to write out my daily word count by hand ((which I found took about six pages to do if I didn't write too much dialogue)), and then type like mad once I got on the computer. I managed to win last year like that too. Just barely, but I pulled it off, hehe. To this day, I don't know how I did, especially once I started having to pull 6k days and whatnot. I can easily write that much if I have all day to write on a computer, but I have no idea how I did that when I didn't, hehe. It's amazing what one can do if they REALLY want to! :)

Anyway, best of luck to both of you this year. Maybe we can all meet at a write-in at some point, hehe. We'll see, I guess. ;) Take care, and have a nice day!

Melissa

This is my fourth NaNo. I've won the past three years.

I'm new to the region and am a student at UE. There's no way I'm going to let school get in the way of my writing this year.

I'm living in Minneapolis now so I can't really call myself one of you, but I went to school at the U of E back in the eighties and I like to lurk around your forum and see what's going on. You see: although I haven't been back to Evansville since I ran away, with no degree and my tail between my legs, I still think of your home as one of mine—albeit living largely in my memory.

And no, I never figured out my way around downtown either.

Love, admiration, and good luck,
Jay

Hi, I'm Qaddafi. I've just moved to Princeton from teh Chicago area, and according to my map, Evansville is close to Princeton. Not that I have any idea where anything is.

I've done Nano the past three years, and won all three times. This year I plan to write 100K or die trying. Appropriately, my novel this year is Satan in Suburbia, which should be filled with evil crack. (Yes, I'm the kind of person that writes stuff like this.)

Are there going to be any meetings or write-ins or anything? I'd love to meet everybody else here.

Welcome to the area. We usually have a meeting right before Nov. 1st and we try to do write-ins in various parts of Evansville. Princeton isn't too far away. You wouldn't happen to know your way around downtown Evansville, do you? I know Chicago is simpler to get around. Go figure.

Lol, I'd forgotten about this thread for the past couple day. *shakes head* Go figure. Kinda hopeless, isn't it? Hehe...well, welcome to those who are new to the region, as well as to those who aren't part of the region at all, but like to converse with those of the region. ;) ((I totally understand how that goes. I'm rather surprised that I haven't decided to participate in the central Oregon forum, hehe. Guess I'd never thought about it, but now that I have....hmmm....It's not obvious that I'm originally from Oregon, is it? Hehehe))

Heh, I've only got one more chapter to write of the story I'm currently working on before I'm finished with the rough draft, but for some reason it's being so. darn. hard! I don't understand that, as I've NEVER had trouble with the last chapter before! LOL! Usually the only problem area is the middle of the book, not the very end. ;) I figured that maybe I needed to take a break from it for a few days, so I've been doing things like free writing and such to keep my writing muscles strong in the wait. Heck, I've been wanting to write another ghost story for a while, so yesterday I picked the most cliche ghost story plot I could think of and wrote that. It being cliche ensured that I wouldn't take it too seriously, which is precisely what I needed yesterday, hehe. Even so, it was a lot of fun, and it'll still probably creep out anyone who doesn't regularly read urban legends about ghosts like I do. ;)

Lol, now I'm rambling. *rolls eyes* Anyway....um.......yeah....I'm out of words to say, which is never a good thing for a writer. *snickers* Guess I'd better go before I make myself look even stupider, hehe.

Take care, and have a nice day!

Melissa

You know, I don't know how many places are left downtown to get together... lovely library of course but not much refreshment there... or is that cafe any good? I've not been in that.

The walkway is now user friendly, I think.... has parking and everything! Imagine that.

Used to be a Blimpie's there. :(

And a nice Italian eatery that had a great cheap lunch. Probably not cheap anymore. Not much in the evenings I don't think which is when I'd be available. Come to think about it, all that downtown updating has kind of narrowed the choices... that or I am sadly misinformed. No, I'm just old and don't go out much.

Well, welcome to those of you who popped in after my last post. May your muse be a seductress and you succumb to all her charms.

My problem will be getting anywhere that isn't within about a mile to a mile and a half of campus. Unless it is on the bus-system. I'll probably be doing most of my writing late at night/the weekends/over Thanksgiving.

Lol, actually, yes, the cafe in the library is pretty good. It's just like an ordinary coffeeshop. Now, if you want to go to a really GOOD coffeeshop, try Penny Lane Coffeehouse. Best coffeeshop/hanging out spot in Evansville. ;) Maybe I'm biased, but I do consider the atmosphere to be awesome. It's got a bit of a hippie atmosphere, so you'd have to be able to handle, or even enjoy, a little eccentricity, but if you do, it's the perfect place to go. They've got Wi-Fi if you have a laptop, their food is excellent ((Not just "okay" like the rest of the coffeeshops in town)) and even THEY say their coffee is the best in town, so I know I'm not the only one that thinks that! LOL!

Anyway, I look forward to meeting some of you when I get the chance. Take care, and have a nice day! :)

Melissa

I've heard of Penny Lane. Can't remember where it is but I feel I should know that.

Hippy atmosphere? Well, let me see. In 1969 I was 13. Yes, I think I'd be comfortable with hippie. I once owned the most awesome purple bell-bottom hip-huggers. The bell part had round buttons from the knee to ankle.If yYou unbuttoned them they flared even bigger and it looked like you had a skirt on, one of those hip and thigh hugging ones that flared from the knee down. They were sooo groovy. LOL! But I suspect hippie today is a bit different from then.

Hope you all have a good week.

Lol, well, they obviously don't go that far there, unfortunately, though no one would mind if they did. ;) The "hippie" atmosphere at Penny Lane ((on the corner of Second and Mulberry, FTW)) basically picks up on a few of the philosophies so common back then and incorporates them into the place. The whole menu is vegetarian, not one speck of meat in any of the dishes, though they know how to cook it so that you don't miss it. :P ((I've tasted a lot of vegetarian food, hehe, used to be one. I can honestly say that Penny Lane knows what they're doing.)) There's occasionally some dairy in a dish here and there, but even that's not all that often. *snickers* I don't go there for the special cuisine though, as I'll eat anything, but the food it absolutely awesome! ;)

They also support local and non-conformist art. Every week or two, they bring in a new artist's works and display them all over the store for people to admire and buy, and I find it interesting to see what people come up with, hehe. It ranges from the more or less traditional formats to the really odd, and you never know what you're going to find from week to week.

During the weekends, they usually have local bands come in and play in the evening, which is pretty interesting. I find their tastes rather intriguing. They used to have a Celtic band come in every Sunday evening. I don't know if they still do or not, but I definitely loved it when they did.

They have quite an unusual selection of books and decorations and heck, even menu items, lol. When I first moved here, I didn't think I'd find any place in the midwest that served fresh wheatgrass juice. Guess again! Penny Lane does it! *snickers* Not that I ever order it because I don't like the taste, but if they serve it, you KNOW they're health conscious, hehe.

Anyway, you should just drop in there one of these days and see if you like the atmosphere. I really like it there, and it sounds to me like you would too, hehe. Give it a try. It's a great place to meet up with other WriMos. ;)

So, reeks of atmosphere, huh? Sounds interesting.

Well, let me know if we are going to meet up. I don't have the bells anymore but I can probably scrape something artsy or crafty out of the closet. Maybe a caften and some beads? I'll wear my hair down and parted in the middle... it is about two feet long.

So, I'm living in Terre Haute now and don't really have much claim to this group... but I'm originally from Princeton. There was a group of us there that did NaNo, though I think we've now mostly "grown-up" and moved to other areas. Evansville is way close, and really easy to get to. So have fun at the write-ins and Welcome to the joys that are living in southern Indiana!

----
I'm a H.A.C.K. and proud of it

Welcome, Carrejo! Nice to see you here! :)

Dixiegirl: Lol, so I'M calling the shots on whether we meet up or not? Hehehe...I should've checked this thread a few days ago. *snickers* I don't mind being the one to suggest write-ins, I just didn't expect it since I wasn't the one who scheduled them last year, but I'm game, hehe. If I schedule them though, they'll be downtown, lol. Easiest place for me to get to since I get everywhere by bike. ;)

Anyway, hope you're all doing well. Take care, and have a nice day!

Melissa

Hey Carrejo,
It's me Katherine, Roo got me to do this this year. We figured since it's our last year together it'd be something fun to do.

Hi, Katherine! :) Glad to see someone else aboard. The board was getting rather dead as of late. :P Good luck during November! :)

Hi! Thanks, good luck to you too. I'm a little nervous about being able to write that much but I'm going to try. Better to try then not do it :).

Hello, I'm Stephanie from Evansville and this'll be my first year attempting NaNoWriMo. I've been wanting to try for the past couple of years but have always chickened out at the last second. I'm excited and more than a bit nervous, but I'm going to try my best. Good luck to everyone else as well.

You can do it! Welcome!

I was nervous my first year but then I realized that I was doing it all just for me. Being a wife and mom of two, it's rare that I get to do anything just for me so I probably get a bit over excited about it.

Lol, yep, NaNoWriMo is all about you. You just can't write it for someone else in the short time they give you to write it and meet that kind of word count. You have to do it all for you. Afterward, you can make it for someone else, but certainly not during November. ;) Last year, I actually pulled off my worst writing ever because I hadn't a clue what I was doing, and if I ever use that story, I will have to trash the whole thing and rewrite it, but hey, it gave me valuable practice, and that made it worthwhile. I don't regret anything about that year except that I didn't know how to use an outline then, hehe...I don't regret the writing at all though. :) It was very fun and exactly what I needed to carry me through that insane part of my life, so I look back on that as a wonderful experience even though I got no worthwhile writing out of it, hehe.

Good luck to everyone who's trying this! Don't be afraid of bad writing. Heck, that's what NaNoWriMo is all about! *laughs*

Hi, everyone -

I'm actually over the river in Henderson, Kentucky, which still leaves E-ville the closest NaNo group to me. Mind if I hang out with you nice folks? :) It's iffy that I'll ever be able to actually be able to make it to an in-person meet-up since my one attempt at night driving in E-ville scared me silly (long story, but bottom line is I'm not crazy about night driving anyway, and it was a frightening experience), not to mention the fact that I still barely know my way around (I can find the Central Library, though!), but I'd still like to hang out here and keep up with everything. :)

I'm over in the Rebels forum as one of NaNo's rulebreakers, so that should tell you something about me, though exactly what I'm not sure. ;) My novel is a young adult fantasy and violates NaNo technically in that I'm picking up on something to go into a book I've already worked on before this month, in addition to the fact that I work with a collaborator. However, I do first drafts independently, meaning I'll be writing all 50K by my little lonesome self, and we've found the "quick and dirty" method of just trying to get it down onto paper is useful for making progress on the novel. My first year I didn't win, but I used work in this series designed to be background filler for us, and we gleaned a lot of useful information about our main characters from it. (We've finished the first book in the series; it was about 150K, but we trimmed and tightened to about 107K, and we're getting ready to submit it.) The other years I've tried and simply had to give up. I can't say that I'll make it this time, but I'm certainly going to try, and even if I don't make it I'll make some progress, which is useful for the book, win or lose NaNo. :)

Dixie (if I'm remembering the first part of your name right), I can relate about the peripheral neuropathic pain. . .I have that as well. It's hard, isn't it?

Well, about me. . .I'm 35, married, and enjoy reading, cooking, and volunteer activities. . .and of course writing! I love E-ville's Central Library and maintain a card there; the Henderson library is great, but nothing like the size of EVPL, which has saved me tons and tons of money on books for research for the novels.

Anyhow, I look forward to spending the crazy month of NaNoWriMo here with all of you, if that's all right! :) Happy Almost NaNo, everyone! :)

-LadyAislin

Hehe, I think I can safely speak for everyone else in saying that we don't mind a Henderson person hanging out with us, unless there's some sort of Evansville/Henderson conflict I'm unaware of. ;) *snickers* You'll have to forgive me, I'm originally from Oregon, so sometimes I make these crazy cultural blunders around here because everyone takes things for granted that everyone should know these things, even though an Oregonian won't. :P People have told me that they like hearing me talk because "I say such funny things", meaning that Oregonian vocabulary is a bit different from Hoosier vocabulary, hehe. Strange, but true. If I call someone a "cornball", I get everyone stopping and staring at me in puzzlement around here...and I probably just did that again with this whole thread. :P

So...now I'm rambling, aren't I? Hehe...oh well, I think sharing histories is kind of fun. And I think that's cool that you've decided to be a rebel and come right out and say it. I admire that in a person, whether anybody agrees with me or not, hehe.

As far as the night driving, it appears that individual members are calling the shots as to in-person write-ins, so if you wanted to attend one, you could always set one up yourself. Most people are off work on the weekend, so you could probably get away with an afternoon write-in if you planned it well. Entirely depends on what you want out of it though. ;)

In any case, I wish you good luck on your novel. Take care, and have a nice day, and have fun! :)

Melissa

*laughs* No, no Evansville/Henderson "things" that I'm aware of! And so far I'm following you just fine. . . . ;) I'm originally an Appalachian girl myself, so I'm not originally from here either, though at least I'm still from just the other end of Kentucky, so it wasn't a total change. ;)

Thank you! :) I'm feeling rather like the resident "wild child" in this escapade, but it's exciting. And I'd LOVE to arrange a daytime write-in, perhaps on Saturday, November 15th. I'm already booked for the 1st and the 8th, and I may or may not be in town on the 22nd (almost definitely won't be on the 29th), but the 15th and possibly the 22nd might be good write-in Saturday candidates. I think I know just the place, though of course I don't know whether it'll work for everyone. . . . Would afternoon or mid-morning be better, do you all think? :)

Again, thank you so very much, and good luck on your novel, too! Hope you've had a great day and are ready for our fun and wild ride ahead! :D

-LadyAislin

Lol, like I said, when you set up the write-in, you call the shots, though I understand if you want to have it be accessible to as many people as possible. Me personally, I keep a swing shift schedule because I live with my brother and he works swing, so I'd certainly not be getting up in the mornings. :P I'd get up for the afternoon though. I'm just one person, hehe, so you'll have to find out what would work for everybody else who would like to come and then...I guess pick the time based on the larger group? ;) Write-ins are generally pretty small anyway. You'll be lucky if you can get more than one person to come, but if you can, take it! ;) Even one person is pretty fun though, hehe. It totally depends on what you like and all. :)

In any case, I once again wish you good luck, both on your novel and on figuring out your write-ins, hehe. Take care, and have a nice day!

Melissa