Canada :: Ontario :: London

Congrats and goodbyes

cjel — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 16:32:33 -0800

Another NaNo over and although the events in my life this year kept me from doing much writing, I was delighted to see so many 50K winners at the TGIO party tonight :) Congratulations to everyone for taking part this year and writing however much you did, and good luck to y'all in your editing and other writing-related plans. And thanks to all those who made it out to any or all of the meetings and especially to jenthesuperone for bringing us cookies!

That's it for my official ML postings - like I said, the job's open for next year because I'm moving to Ottawa on Saturday, whee. It was great to meet everyone here in London doing NaNo these last 3 Novembers that I've spent here in the city, and I'll definitely pop back into the forums next year if/when I'm settled in and back to giving the writing thing a shot :)

Have a good one, guys, and take care.
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

End of NaNo Plans?

DJR_tlof — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:45:58 -0800

Will there be a celebration? Party?

When? Where? How?

I really enjoyed the kick off party.
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

How is everyones NaNo going?

DJR_tlof — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:10:31 -0800

Just over half of the month done; so, I was wondering how your novels were going.
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Tuesday November 11th meeting...

jenthesuperone — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:18:49 -0800

Just a heads-up: In the eventuality that the tables in front of the escalators are taken by someone other than crazy NaNoWriMo people, I'll be somewhere near the escalators on the 2nd floor. I'll have a black bag containing cookies, a laptop with a NaNoWriMo viking hat sticker on it, and a box of kleenex (I have a bit of a cold). And I'll probably still be wearing my coat (mostly dark blue). Just so I'm easier to spot. :)

----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Jen!

Jaelyn — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 05:13:35 -0800

What the heck are you writing about that's got you hitting 50k in three days? o_O;; Or are you hopped up on caffiene and have stayed up for the past three days writing furiously in your notebook?
----------
To read my NaNoWriMo novel from last year and the current work in progress, please pop by my writing livejournal fated_colour!
8D

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Additional Meetings Post - find alternatives here!

cjel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:12:12 -0700

Anyone who can't make the official Saturday meetings, go ahead and throw in some suggestions here for places/times to meet up with other NaNo-ers and/or come by this post to see who's meeting up where!

Eg. "Hey guys, I'll be doing some writing at the Starbucks down at Wonderland and Southdale this Thursday around 7pm - who's up for joining me?"

"Hey anyone up in the north end want to meet over at the Masonville Chapters next Monday night?"

"I've got a PILE of Halloween candy left over and I'm totally going to eat it all before the next meeting - Help! Anyone want to hang out at Beacock and have a mini-meeting with mini-chocolate bars on Wednesday?"

And if you want your meet-up info added to the events calendar, simply drop me a line via the ML contact form (http://www.nanowrimo.org/mlcontact) and I'll get it posted ASAP. Thanks :)

- Carrie
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Introduce Yourself!

Jaelyn — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:54:09 -0700

Might as well break in the forum. So hey, come on down and say hello! :D
----------
To read my NaNoWriMo novel from last year and the current work in progress, please pop by my writing livejournal fated_colour!
8D

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Nov.8th Meet and Write In

deno — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 19:09:49 -0800

I couldn't make the gathering today. I was wondering if someone who went could share their thoughts and impressions with the rest of us. Were there many people there? Did you do some writing or simply visit? Were there cookies and were they yummy?
Just thought this might stimulate some participation in our region. If you want to, share how your writing is going. I'm a late starter because of other committments, but I've managed to clear my calendar next week to catch up.
How are the rest of you doing?
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

What're you writing about?

cjel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:24:24 -0700

I'm still utterly clueless as to what to write about this year (I don't even have a genre picked yet, eek) so I'm hoping to get motivated by hearing what other people have got planned. :)
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Upcoming Workshop

deno — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 09:56:04 -0800

The London Writers’ Society and the London Public Library present…

“How to Write and Sell Romance Novels”
~ An editor and an author tell all ~

Saturday, November 22
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
London Central Library, Stevenson and Hunt Room
Galleria Mall, 251 Dundas Street, London

Get the inside story. Whether you want to write chick lit (like Bridget Jones’s Diary,) or traditional Harlequin-style romance, this workshop will show you how. Learn the "secret formulas" and how to brainstorm a story line. Find out how much money authors earn and where the best opportunities are to get published now.

Workshop leader Brian Henry had been a book editor for 25 years, including seven years with Harlequin, the world’s largest romance publisher. He has helped many of his students to get published.

Guest speaker Brenda Harlen is the author of 15 romance novels for Silhouette books. Currently, Brenda has a Silhouette Special edition on the bookshelves: The Prince’s Cowgirl Bride. And she has two more romances coming out in October and December.

For more about Brenda and her books see here: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/brenda-harlen/

To register:

Please make out a cheque for $45 to the London Public Library and drop it off at the Program Services Desk at the Central Library, or mail it to…

Attention: "Writing Romance" seminar
Program Services Desk
London Public Library
251 Dundas Street
London, ON N6A 6H9

Please do register in advance. If we don’t have enough people paid in advance, the program won’t go. On the other hand, this is usually a very popular workshop. If you don’t pay in advance, there is no guarantee you’ll get a seat.

For more information or to check if there’s still room, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

MOAR inspiration.

queezle — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 15:27:11 -0800

Does anyone else get the thing where they have waaaaay too much crap in their head at all times, but when they try and pull some out to apply, it runs like an author offered coffee?
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Kick-Off Party - are you coming? Reply here ASAP, SVP

cjel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:30:22 -0700

Well it's October 22nd and I'm leaving tomorrow to go out of town for a few days. I haven't gotten any suggestions for the kick-off yet so here's the deal: I'm going to throw out a suggestion.

Saturday night (Nov 1st), at ye olde Masonville Chapters - because I'm unimaginative and the 2006 kick-off there was fun - at 7:00pm or so, as that sounds like a reasonable time.

So there's my pitch. Now the worst case scenario is that nobody replies to this post and then nobody shows up on Nov 1st, so I sit around the Chapters Starbucks by myself, enjoying some hot chocolate and maybe getting some writing done. Hmm... doesn't sound too horrible. HOWEVER, I'd much rather y'all join in the NaNo spirit and have some fun before the many days of slogging through word counts ;)

Therefore, please please please take two minutes and post here if you intend to attend the kick-off party, wherever it may be. The details can certainly change but you have to want to go in the first place - if you don't, there's no need to post because I just want an idea of the interested participants. Then, go ahead and let me know if the pitched plan above works for you and/or tell me where else you think would work as a location, bearing in mind that we have minors in our group and not everyone has access to a vehicle.

Okay? Yes? Cool. I'll check in tomorrow before I leave but then I'm Internet-less until Sunday night, unfortunately, so talk amongst yourselves and we'll get this finalized by next week. Thanks everyone :)

- Carrie
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Stickers have arrived!

cjel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:31:38 -0700

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that the official stickers have arrived (and actually on time this year!)! They're possibly not as cool as last year's (imho), but are still pretty funky and feature the 10th anniversary coat of arms design that you may have seen if you've visited the NaNo store (http://store.lettersandlight.org/home.php?cat=6). I ordered the maximum number to make sure we've got some to last us through the month so that as long as you make it to at least one meeting, you're guaranteed a couple of these freebies :)

Yay! Only 10 more days!
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Municipal Liaison

jenthesuperone — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 16:44:45 -0700

Do we have one this year?

----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Meetings and Events in Nov

cjel — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:44:10 -0700

Hi London NaNo-ers :)

I'm Carrie, your ML this year - some may remember me as the co-ML of last year (I was the quiet one who brought the giant pencil along). I'll write up a quick introduction in the other thread when I get a minute but right now I want to talk about meetings for this year.

I plan to hold write-ins (slash social gatherings - you can pick which group to join in with) on Saturday afternoons at the Central Branch of the London Public Library on Dundas Street, as this location has served us well in the past. Some of the points in favour of this: no school on weekends/many workers have the time off, and the location is bus-accessible and has parking validation, is central so nobody has a vastly longer commute than anyone else, and features computers with Internet access for writing/research, hookups for laptops, quiet space for writing, a cafe for those in need, and is generally comfortable and free.

Hold off on the scheduling complaints for a minute if you will - it is an unfortunate fact that there is no day or time or location that works for everybody involved (much as we tried to find one last year). Therefore, I'm encouraging everyone to take the initiative and hold additional meetings during the month that are convenient to you; weekdays, evenings or mornings, north/south/east/west locations, whatever will solve the problem if you can't make it on Saturdays. We'll set up a post for organizing these and those confirmed I'll add to the calendar of events as needed.

Why come to meetings? Yes, it's true you can do NaNo at home and just connect with your local group on the forums, but meetings allow you to: meet new people in your city, get inspired by a different locale and tossing ideas around or talking about your novel, enjoy the generosity of those who bring snacks, engage your competitive drive (which is invaluable in churning out those word counts) by writing with others, and generally do something fun and different and special :)

If you're just too busy for weekly meetings though, I'd also like to point out the two events you don't want to miss - the Kick-Off Party, usually held on November 1st (a Saturday this year), and the TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over) party, usually held at the end of the month or December 1st (a Monday this year). We want to do something special for these so I'm open to ideas for the venue - in the past we've been to places like the Starbucks at Masonville Chapters and the Williams Coffee Pub on Richmond. Feel free to post your ideas here in the next week or so and we'll hopefully sort out the Kick-Off details by October 22nd (I'm out of town for a bit after that, and then it'll be Halloween).

Thanks everyone, and welcome to all the first-time novelists :)
----------

Canada :: Ontario :: London

Get Ready to Write by volunteering at the London Public Library Annual Booksale!

tegdib — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:44:38 -0700

One week before we begin the London Public Library Booksale will be taking place at the Special Events Building of the Western Fair.

We still need lots of volunteers (who...get first pick of what they want to buy on the Thursday night before the Friday start of the sale)!

Here's the details:
If you're interested in great deals on gently used books and other materials then mark your calendar now so you don't miss the Annual Booksale at the Special Events Building, Western Fairgrounds organized by the Friends of the London Public Library. Throughout the year, Friends’ volunteers have been diligently sorting books no longer needed by the Library system. In addition, growing numbers of supporters of the Friends have been donating materials from their collections to add to the variety of materials available at the annual sale.

The booksale dates and times are,

October 24 - 9 am - 9 pm
October 25 - 9 am - 5 pm
October 26 11 am- 4 pm (or until everything’s gone!)

Great prices!

• Adult Paperbacks $1 or 6 / $5
• Adult Hardcover & Oversize Paperback $2 or 6 / $10
• Children’s Books 50¢
• CDs, VHS videos, Books on Tape (boxed) $2 or 6 /$10
• Audio Cassette (singles) 5 / $1
• Magazines 25¢ or $2 bundle
• Special items priced individually

All proceeds go to Friends of the London Public Library to support Library collections & programs

The Friends are once again looking for help with the Thursday morning setup as well as help on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Families are welcome and students may use this event for their community service hours.

Interested?? ? Please contact Edna by e-mail at ednamaewalsh@hotmail.com or leave a clear concise message on Friends’ Hotline 519-661-2448. Scheduling is beginning now!
----------