Hello to all the English-speaking people who either are in France at the moment or just passing through the French regional forum and wanted to ask a few questions but don't talk French. It happened every year and know that you're all very welcome here.
Most of the regional forum will be in French but most of us speak English so don't be afraid to ask something or to introduce yourself or to come at the meetings. We held a few in English last year (and god, it was very funny to hear the ML speaking with such a bad accent.
We all hope to see some of you at the Meet & Greet or the Kick-off.
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2004 : A & W (L)
2005 : Le Baron Kevser (W)
2006 : Les Goules de Paris (W)
2007 : Derrière les colonnes (W)
http://azhureheart.livejournal.com/
50,086 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2008 - 10 06
I'd LOVE to go to the kick off, but won't be able to make it to Paris. Are there going to be any "satellite" kick-offs anywhere? I could "host" one in Lyon if anyone lives close by.
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
75,871 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2008 - 11 20
There seems to be quite a few people in Lyon maybe you could start a topic about that. And when I'll send the mail to the French Wrimos, I'll send your info at the same time (and of course put it on the calendar).
----------2004 : A & W (L)
2005 : Le Baron Kevser (W)
2006 : Les Goules de Paris (W)
2007 : Derrière les colonnes (W)
http://azhureheart.livejournal.com/
50,000 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2008 - 11 25
I'm over in Troyes, if anyone is in my area. I can't go to Paris for the kick-off, though I would love to meet up with other NaNoers during November. It will probably have to be in Troyes, because my exchange programme is very strict about travelling. :\
29,233 / 50,000
Oct 7, 2008 - 16 21
Oooh, we would love to come, Fifo and me – but we'll be away from the 29th to the end of October, and part of November… :/ We'll catch up with lots of write-in ^^
(An early kick-off wouldn't make much sense, would it ? :S )
50,086 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 04 27
Well, maybe instead of having a kick-off, we could have a Revival about mid-way through November. Get together, talk about how things are going, drink lots of coffe (etc.), munch? How much of November will you be gone?
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
29,233 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 04 56
Good idea :) (My husband will *love* the bit about coffee.)
We don't know exactly yet, we have to think about it. But we have things to do at home too, so we should be back around the end of the first week (we really should ^^°)
50,086 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 09 39
Good idea :) (My husband will *love* the bit about coffee.)
We don't know exactly yet, we have to think about it. But we have things to do at home too, so we should be back around the end of the first week (we really should ^^°)
Cool! Well, when it gets closer to time, send me a nanomail and we can set something up. Where do you usually do write-ins and such here? I noticed there are some pretty cool cafes with wi-fi around now. I love being back in Lyon!!!
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
0 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2008 - 09 53
Hi there - I'm an English woman, living near to St Tropez - speaking both English and French, but will be writing in English.
Anybody - speaking any language - close to me ?
Hersp
----------Hersp
0 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2008 - 14 34
Hi Chris here again, from York and Leeds in England!!!
I've got a query relating to the novel I've been working on for the past couple of years. Sex n drugs n rock'n'roll, set in Chalon sur Saone in Burgundy, London and Galway on the west coast of Ireland.
My MC is a mid/late 20's Irish girl, singer in a folk rock band. She's sat at the kitchen table in a farmhouse, reading a back issue of a French fashion Magazine. Actually I've got her reading Le Monde, but is that still the one she'd be reading, or is there another, more popular?
At the same time, her aunt is preparing a piece of lamb for the oven. I have her garnishing it with 'garlic, and sprigs of fresh rosemary'. How would a true French family cook their lamb, and what cut would it be?
Sorry for so many questions, but I'll be grateful for any help.
Best wishes,
Chris :o)
38,083 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2008 - 17 54
Hi Chris ;)
Le Monde is still pretty much one of the number one newspapers in France (actually I'd probably be hard pressed to cite another at the drop of a hat), I don't think you'd be far of reality having your MC reading it. As a fashion magazine though, that's totally not it (except maybe during fashion seasons [for summer and winter fashion], then they'd probably run a couple of articles on the latest shows), try Elle instead.
It's possible Châlon has some local paper that covers fashion locally, you could try checking with the Tourism Office.
I'm not very familiar with cooking lamb, I'm not a big fan, but lamb and garlic actually do make sense together, The rosemary, I'm not so sure, it strikes me as more of an English herb. But then again, my family's cooking tendencies are more southern than most, we put thyme and/or basil in pretty much everything.
I think there'd be good chances the recipe would be lamb leg (or gigot d'agneau in french) with garlic and thyme (seasoned with pepper and salt too, and some olive oil so the meat stays tender) served with a mix of green beans and potatoes.
I'll check with my grans about the lamb recipes to be sure, they'll be bound to give me an usable answer :D I'll get back to you with their answers once I have 'em
Hope this helped a bit,
----------P.
I'm going to win this year. Or DIE TRYIN'.
0 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2008 - 02 15
Hi Poulpette, and thanks for the advice. I think Le Monde will do fine, it's not key to the plot, I just wanted my character to be sitting there, slightly bored maybe. Her French isn't that strong, so she'd be looking at pictures, picking up bits and pieces, that kind of thing.
On the lamb front, 'gigot d'agneau' is perfect, and will go straight into the rewrite, along with your version of the recipe. Actually, the lady doing the cooking is my central character's Aunt, a middle aged Irish woman who married a French farmer some 10 years earlier, and loves the life over there.
So yes, that's a great help. Many thanks, and best wishes with nano this year.
Chris :o)
PS My wife and I were in Paris a couple of weeks ago, a Ruby Wedding celebration! Stayed down in Cachan, and did the grand tour courtesy of The Metro. It was an amazing few days.
3,000 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2008 - 14 06
I'm in Lyon! I started a Lyon topic.
38,083 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2008 - 14 38
If you aim for pictures to look at absently, I'm afraid Le Monde doesn't make the cut, it's very dry on that front. It's text, text and yet more text :D (there are some pictures, but they're very sparse). Le Monde 2 is a more of a visual magazine, you could try that one instead (and it's still Le Monde, just another flavour).
----------I'm going to win this year. Or DIE TRYIN'.
3,000 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2008 - 03 43
Maybe Le Canard Enchaîné! Name-dropping that newspaper would add texture...I'm suggesting it because there are certainly a lot of cartoons in it.
50,033 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 22 44
I don't live in France, but I would like to connect with fellow writers to practice my French :D I'll be doing my NaNo in Spanish (I'm Mexican), so it'll be cool to meet people different from me. Anyone up for it? I have MSN and Skype.
50,466 / 50,000
Oct 24, 2008 - 06 42
Harlo everybody peeps.
English ex-pat now in the southern Deux-Sèvres (79). France is a big country to be travelling around, so if there's anybody in this neck of the woods, be pleased to make contact.
Cheers
----------"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead."
51,722 / 50,000
Oct 25, 2008 - 09 49
Les Deux-Sevres? Oh, you poor bastard... =P
(Got a friend from Parthenay living in Niort now - I never fail to tease him, but it's just teasing!)
Hi to the English speakers. I just want to offer my help as well if needed by anyone. I'm in the opposite situation - French speaker living in Ireland - but I prefer the French forums really.
On the "Le Monde" question: it's not a paper you read when you're bored (although you can GET bored by reading it!), and it usually has a language of pretty high -and dry- quality. Think Washington Post / The Times.
Le Canard Enchaine is a great paper, with lots of pictures, but it's a very opinionated, 'combat' rag - and absolutely choke-full of puns. If your heroin doesn't speak very good French, she'd be lost within two paragraphs...
More casual reading would be along the lines of: Voici, VSD for the 'people' press; Elle for fashion; L'Express, Le Point or Le Nouvel Observateur (shortened as Nouvel Obs) for political / news magazines, rather than newspapers. Plenty of pictures, articles about everything...
As for the lamb, thyme is the herb of choice, but rosemary (romarin) can be used as well - dunno if it'd be traditional though.
----------Also, I dunno if it'd help with the story, but not serving it with some sauteed "girolles" would be a crime! ^_^
"It's CHOCOLATE! You don't vanish chocolate magically! That's... that's WRONG!"
wordcount widgets
50,086 / 50,000
Oct 27, 2008 - 01 39
My father-in-law makes it with romarin, thyme and diced tomatoes in a cocotte minute. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. He usually serves it with diced potatoes frites a la poele in some olive oil. Dude... I'm hungry now, thanks!
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
9,742 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2008 - 10 12
I'm in Strasbourg... anyone else out this way?
59,995 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2008 - 13 00
Hi, I'm Gio,
Oops...
It came out in triplicate
59,995 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2008 - 13 03
Hi, I'm Gio,
I live in Paris.
I am a fantasy writer.
Sorry for the double posts.....
It's so slow, I hit the 'Post comment' more than once.
59,995 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2008 - 12 57
Hi, I'm Gio,
I live in Paris. Is there someone else? Someone going to the Halloween Kick-Off?
Roasted lamb recipe (Gigot): They grow rosemary in the South of France, but it can be found anywhere. In Paris, butchers bind the meat to roast, adding rosemary.
1 leg of lamb (6 to 7 lbs, bone removed)
12 garlic cloves
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons freshly-ground black pepper
739 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2008 - 04 21
I'm in Strasbourg too. Have two programs of study this semester so I'm hoping I'll still be able to do this... first year trying. Still trying to meet people here too, so if you want to get together, I'm game.
50,515 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2008 - 12 30
Hello! I have posted some messages on the Lyon forum, but it's great to be able to just write in English... my french writing sucks :P
jojolafrite, daelf, and anybody else speaking english in lyon, wanna have a small separate english write ins?
I wrote two books, unfinished though I won Nano these last two years, and now I'm trying to finish my trilogy - it's fantasy btw. And I'm a new mom, so weekends is easier for me - husband will take care of the son :P
Hope to hang out with the Lyon crowd soon!
----------0 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2008 - 13 50
Hello everyone and good luck this month!!!
This is my first year doing this and I can't really describe how I'm feeling about it ( excited/ nervous/terrified) as it hasn't sunk in yet that I have actually signed up!!
My sister-in-law sent me the web address only 2 weeks ago ( the first I had heard of Nanowrimo), so when I say that I have no idea what I'm doing, you can take it as gospel.
I live and teach English in Oyonnax, near Lyon. I don't have my driving licence yet ( trying to get your highway code in a second language is as hard as it sounds) so going to Lyon is not really practical and nobody in their right mind wants to come here!! So I'm hoping to find an internet writing buddy and maybe some friends.
Are there any other newbies out there? Holy Cow, what are we doing!!! Are you as overawed as I?
And is anyone willing to befriend a very bewildered 'petite anglaise' who thinks that she has bitten off more than she can chew?
Thanks for reading and again Good Luck to everyone!!
30 days to go!!
What's the target word count again?
Oh dear
Jen
55,098 / 50,000
Oct 31, 2008 - 14 21
good luck to you too. Good luck everyone !
Oh and I think it might be 50000, or so I heard.
: )
----------Aiyla
nano 2007: Best Kept Secret
nano 2008: The Willow Basket
50,086 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2008 - 02 27
jojolafrite, daelf, and anybody else speaking english in lyon, wanna have a small separate english write ins?
I wrote two books, unfinished though I won Nano these last two years, and now I'm trying to finish my trilogy - it's fantasy btw. And I'm a new mom, so weekends is easier for me - husband will take care of the son :P
Hope to hang out with the Lyon crowd soon!
Yes, yes, and YES!!! I'm not a new mom, but my ball and chain takes care of my three pretty well when I need to escape, so you just let me know when and where, yo. I'm there!
"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
10,467 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2008 - 03 54
Hi Chris,
I think Luinsar pretty much covered the magazine issue, but perhaps an Irish folk bank singer would be more likely to be reading Liberation (left wing, cultural) rather than Le Monde (or Le Monde 2). If you have her reading the Canard, you are suggesting that she's pretty much French rather than Irish...
Incitatus
----------2008: Cognac
2006: Taunt Embedded
50,515 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2008 - 15 28
@ jojolafrite
Sorry for taking so long but the NaNo server has been so slow these days that I never could get to the forum.
If you live close to the Parc de la Tete d'Or then maybe we can meet at the Cite International as mentioned. I'm actually free this Friday - but I will be out of town Sunday.
So if you can meet me Friday let me know - we can meet in some of the coffee shops there (there are a couple) or even a brasserie. I might not be able to do a write in though, depends if there are some power outlets... we can always just babble about our plots :P
Anybody else wanna meet this Friday the 7th at Cite International Lyon? Maybe for a quick lunch at 1?
----------50,086 / 50,000
Nov 6, 2008 - 01 12
Sorry for taking so long but the NaNo server has been so slow these days that I never could get to the forum.
If you live close to the Parc de la Tete d'Or then maybe we can meet at the Cite International as mentioned. I'm actually free this Friday - but I will be out of town Sunday.
So if you can meet me Friday let me know - we can meet in some of the coffee shops there (there are a couple) or even a brasserie. I might not be able to do a write in though, depends if there are some power outlets... we can always just babble about our plots :P
Anybody else wanna meet this Friday the 7th at Cite International Lyon? Maybe for a quick lunch at 1?
Dammit! I have something going on Friday (a lunch) and even if I didn't, I have my 1 year old. Not sure if you'd want me to bring her with me to lunch. She's pretty talented at spoon catapult! How about some time NEXT week (evening?) or next weekend? Just let me know. There's this ADORABLE little pub down near St. Jean, also, called The Sleeping Dog. I've seen readers/writers in there but have only been for a pint... Maybe we should try to write there on a Sat afternoon or something?
----------"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite
"It's a liger." ~Napoleon Dynamite