Scottish nanowrimoers living abroad

I am not so far away from there, just over the Dutch border.

I still hang around here like a bad smell (giving erroneous information of peat cutting *hanging head in shame*) cos I don't speak very much Dutch and this is a nice friendly little forum.

You are always welcome here. We'll take good care of you.

Hello,

I was born in Glasgow , living in Paris now.
Looking forward to popping in here.

am delighted to meet all of yous- has anyone done nanowrimo before? i am a first timer and am excited but clueless

yes tried it last year and it was a great experience.

I've completed it three times, with one abject failure as well. Excited and clueless is the best way to be, in my opinion. The thrill of it all is so much more intense. For seasoned authors, successful or otherwise, it just can't be the same fun. Watching your story and characters evolve in front of you (in a completely different direction than you ever thought they would or wanted them to) while also being very much aware of your sanity ever-so-gently unravelling is erm, um, an *awesome* experience. (I hate myself for using that word, but I could think of no other.)

It's nice to meet you both as well. I hope everything is going to go swimmingly.

And thanks very much, Anastasia, for making us ex-pats so welcome. It is very much appreciated.

Oh I do like to call along here for a wee look. Good to know about excitedness and cluelessness, thank you.

am meeting up with some frankfurtian nanowrimoers on sunday!
this could be the start of some epic write-in cafe extravaganza sort of thing next month. Or it could be just me- mental image of no one showing up at all. ..Or oodles of people wearing wellies (or carrying a vegetable of choice) show up and rampage through the city (the wellies or vegetable was my idea as to how we could advertise out nanomoness to one another- it seemed like a good idea at the time)( a turnip since you ask, as my wellies are in Aberdeenshire). How are you all sorted for this sort of thing- are you in splendid isolation or surrounded by nanowrimoers of every shape and size?
any rampaging going on where you are?
Yours filing vast quantities of paper under b for bin, Peggy

Hi Peggy,

I think I will be going to a 'get to know everyone' meeting in Paris on Sunday. No wellies or turnips though : )
Thank goodness, being the shy type It would only make metro trips across the city more stressfull with a huge turnip on my lap.
I will though have the pleasure of wearing my brand new t-shirt.

nano 2007 : Best Kept Secret
nano 2008 : The Willow Basket

I live in the US, but my parents (and therefore, I) are Scottish. But hopefully I'll be living there next year! Fingers crossed!

I'm living in the States but am longing for Scotland.
Almost all my books take place in Scotland.
My Nano is going strangely this year. POV keeps shape-shifting. I'm going to let this happen because its nano but it is still a bit disorienting.

Slainte

A

Hi yoos,

I am struggling if I am honest- have done 8000 words just free writing to see what comes out but am stuck in the land of tell the truth and seem to be incapable of writing fiction. Any thoughts gratefully recieved, yours utterly clueless and in urgent need of a beginning a middle and an end... Or a story even.... peggy

Peggy, you've hit a hard point. I expect your inner editor is fighting to get out.

One of my best tricks is to write a last chapter and then write my way back to it.

NaNo is about letting go of things like proper order. I've written the last chapter first and worked my way back. I've written parts of the middle after the ending. I've had things come from thin air with no ideas of where they started.

Ask a character a question. Use a narrator to tell a story to the main character. Make a meal. I once wrote a 1000 words on how to make a ham sandwich. Boring but every word counts. Write a letter to your main character or have them write one to you.

This isn't about doing things in proper order. It is just about getting the words out of your head. Proper order is something to be fixed later.

You can do this, the trick is just to keep typing. It is a first draft you are writing, not the ready to be made pretty between shiny covers. So absolutely ANYTHING goes.

A shifting POV can be fun to play with. It also gives you a chance to tell the same event over and over from each point of view. Great for lots of words.

Scotland is wonderful.

Keep at it you are doing great!

Thank you Marie Rex!
I have read your comments several times and they have helped. I am keeping going.
Never give up, never surrender
Peggy

You are so welcome.

You are doing really well, I'm delighted to be able to help!

No surrender, no quarter just write!

hello there,

my plan is to get to 20k this evening. That would keep me a little ahead.

You are doing just fine. I've no doubt you'll make it.

Carry on!

Hi everyone! Plot be damned. Get thee behind me Satan storyline etc...

I am on a mission to get to 30000 by the end of wednesday (tomorrow) I have got the bribes all bought (turkish delight) and have given boyfriend strict instructions that if I havent got there by midnight to eat the lot while i watch. So we will see. The group in frankfurt are a laugh and we all gather in various cafes and do the geek thang huddled round our computers while normal nonnanoers look on abit puzzled. So how are things in other parts of the world? Just avoiding writing,
Peggy

You really don't want to watch your boyfriend eat your candy. Trust me on this.

Get back to work! You can do it. I'm sure of it.