As we speed towards November, frantically running impossible plot lines in our heads, staring at strangers in restaurants and cafes, wondering if we can make characters out of them, keeping a handy doodle pad to jot down possible ideas about secret lives of the characters, and spending more time with the imaginary friend, wondering about what sanity could possibly be salvaged after the month that is to come, here is the first post to saying hi.
I am one of the MLs (I don't know how many of us have volunteered this year) for Bangalore, and I am going to be responsible - as and when need be - to facilitate write-ins, to get people together for feedback and peer support and for organising grand and lavish TGI December parties, distributing the NaNoWriMo goodies that come my way. It would be good if writers in Bangalore can start saying hello - not just to me, also to each other - so that we can do a head-count, order our kits and see, where, in this large and impossible to navigate city, we might all want to begin gathering.
Here is me doing the first round of introductions: I am Nishant. I am 27, I have been doing the Nanowrimo for four years (actually completed two of them), was the ML for Taiwan last year (where I was visiting) and am currently in Bangalore, wondering what insane impulses are guiding me to participate in the Nanowrimo this year, when I have a Ph.D. dissertation to complete.
I shall hope that more people flock in soon...
I shall wait to get the party started
cheers
Nishant
----------
Like the wheatfield, the sun, the poppy and the water...
50,070 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 04 21
'Ello Nishant!
Glad to meet the mysterious ML at last! :D sorry to crash the bangalorean thread I think I'll wander off now to create a madrasi thread :)
Chittz
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 04 34
Hey Chittz,
I didn't know I was the mystery person of the season. But whatever it was, it wasn't me. The Butler did it :)
Please do come and crash into the Bangalorean thread at will. If resources permit maybe we will have different regional camps partying at the completion of Nano, somewhere at the border :)
Nishant
50,070 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 04 43
The regional camps idea sounds absolutely wonderful! (though a tad painful to organize) let's see.. :)
27,000 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 05 06
I'm from Chennai, but I might end up in Bangalore mid-November for a week or more, so where does that put me? Hah. I don't think there are MLs for Chennai, so I guess I'll just say hi here. :)
50,031 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 05 26
Hi Nishant! Nice to see that we finally got an ML for India. Though you are calling yourself the Bangalore ML :( No fair!
Sorry for barging in on the Bangalore thread... I'm in Hyderabad, though I may visit Bangalore for a week or so during "The Month".
How does this work? How do you organize events for us folks in different cities, assuming there is a critical mass of WriMos in that city? Though I suppose that it is quite early to ask you so many questions, coz it's not even been a day :)
Ciao!
27,000 / 50,000
oct. 15, 2007 - 05 48
As said before, I might be in Bangalore too, for a week during the Month of Madness. It'd be sweet if we could meet up in a cafe and have a live, on-the-whim wordwar.
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2007 - 02 45
To sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come...
One can always dream. That is what EmElls are for, aren't they? :)
and of course this is still the first time that we have EmElls for India... so if it ain't this time, there will always be the next NaNo to plan things up :)
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2007 - 02 48
Hey Rulinian,
We would be more than happy to have as many Wrimers' joining us in the writeathon as we can find :)
If you are indeed dropping in to Bangalore mid-November, just leave me a note and I will make sure I get you the time , the space and the write-out schedules (I will also try and save some of the swag for you ) and you can join us in our enterprise.
I am not sure about the ML in Chennai. Maybe this is a good time for you to volunteer to be one... what say?
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2007 - 02 53
Hiya asheernut,
My apologies if I sounded provincial and cloistered by proclaiming myself the ML for Bangalore. However, that label was necessary to clarify that Bangalore (and given the size and the traffic congestions in this blessed city, not even the whole of Bangalore) is the only area which I might be able to serve as EmEll for. If I tried carrying the responsibilities for EmEllgiri for the whole country, I might as well fall upon the thorns of life and bleed :)
If you are going to be in Bangalore, do drop in note. I am sure we can have special writeouts for the time visitors from outer space are visiting us and have some much needed fun in the process.
I am currently planning out the venues and locations and the schedules of weekly write ups (probably weekends). However, I need to know the number of people who are planning to turn up for these events before I make a tentative plan. I can give suggestions to new MLs who might be interested in setting up things for their own cities but unfortunately that's where my facilitation would end. Why not volunteer for being an emell for your own city? the more the merrier, I say!
Ciao
64,484 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2007 - 04 05
Hi
I'm from Bangalore, too. I took part last two years, but I haven't decided about this year yet--
Cheers
Swapna
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 16, 2007 - 04 15
Hey Swapna,
Welcome aboard. I do hope you will get back to nanowrimo this year as well. If you do make up your mind, let us know about it.
cheers
Nishant
p.s. We can also arrange for a nagging committee that goads you into participating! he he.. just kidding!
0 / 50,000
oct. 26, 2007 - 02 58
Hi Nishant,
Am just getting the hang of this site, and am having trouble figuring out where the forums are for the regions. In other words, I have no clue how to say hi to the other NaNoWriMers who are in Bangalore.
My situation is that I am a Sri Lankan who lives in the US and is visiting Bangalore. I joined NaNoWriMo in 2006 and wrote a dismal 3000 words. So hope to do better this time. I will be in BLR till the 3rd, so if there are in fact any write-ins, I would love to know.
I am with a friend in Banshankari 2nd stage. I am embarassed to say I still do not have the lay of this city and have no clue where that is in relation to anything else. However, I will definitely make an attempt to make it to any events that go on.
Cheers
Brenny
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 26, 2007 - 23 42
yeah im doing nanowrimo this year, so glad we finally have a region.
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2007 - 02 30
Hi brenny. Good to hear from you. It will be awesome to have you joining us for the nano writeathon this time in bangalore. I'm updating the regional calendar tomorrow to announce the kick off party so keep an eye out for that. Also this is the regional forum for bangalore. So you've come to the right spot. If you wanna say hi to other participants, you can go to the author tab and search for writers by location. This tab, according to the faq, gets disabled when there is high traffic on the site. So you might have to wait for it to reappear if you can't find it at first go. As for the layout of the city, don't worry i'll give detailed directions and if possible pin it up on google maps. Considering the span of the city and the traffic conditions, i'm going to see if we can have the events in the centre, around m.g. Road so it is equal distance for all. Do write if you have any more queries. Hope to see you soon at the write-ins. Cheer, nishant
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2007 - 04 34
whens the kick-off?! and where? haha, we get goodies? but only if we win or what? last year i was ten words to winning, only i didnt realiseaand thought it was a thousand so i gave up on the last day...DAMN IT! my word cant count, the wretched thing...
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2007 - 04 46
I am making some final arrangements on the venue. Unfortunately, the head count is still not clear so it poses a problem. If it is just four or five of us, than we can get into any cafe and have a small kick off party. if there is more, we might need prior permission. anyhow, I shall wait till everybody registers (I am hoping it shall be done by tomorrow) and then announce the kick off party on the 31st of this month. So save the dates. I will make the announcements by tomorrow evening.
As for goodies... I haven't received the swag yet, but as and when I do get it, I promise to religiously hand it out to all who turn up for the write-ins. Last year we had stickers and tattoos and name tags... lets see what this year's swag brings in :)
And no, goodies are not for winners only. They are for everybody who participates... because, at nanowrimo, it is the thought that matters. And of course the word count :)
MS Word has a nice word count tool that I use obsessively in my writing. Maybe you should also use that.
Nishant
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2007 - 05 38
well, im not exactly an adult, so im not sure if i can even go to the kick-off without, you know, permission and everything. and thwe write-in? what is that? okay, i just realised that im severely under informed.
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 27, 2007 - 06 02
There have been several instances of non-adults participating in the Nano. As an ML, I am going to make sure that the official nanowrimo stuff in bangalore happens only in safe public spaces - the kick off party is at mocha, the cafe on lavelle road. Centrally located, safe, no-alcohol served. So that has been taken care off. if you continue to be a part of the nanowrimo community in Bangalore, I will also make sure that the write-offs and the eventual TGIO party at minor friendly spaces as well.
It might be a good idea to read the FAQ. It is fairly well written and answers most of the questions. But to quickly fill you in on the write-ins, a write-in is a day or night long event where the wrimers come together for the entire day, either in public or private spaces, and write together. write-ins are especially good for the second half of the nanowrimo when the first steam of writing has started thinning and you need support nagging and shouting to reach that word count :)
If your parents/guardians need more information on the nanowrimo, we can give them adequate information so that they know you are not really just whiling your time away. Also, they are most welcome to come and attend the kick-off party... who knows, they might get inspired to join the nano with you! :)
cheers
Nishant
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 06 42
Okay, thats excellent! I dont think I'll make the kick-off party but I'll definitely attend the write-in, as long as it's ina completely minor-friendly location. Thanks for the heads-up(:
Am I the only mior who will be attending or what?! Will I be lost in this complete mass of people who are waaaay older than me?!
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 06 42
Okay, thats excellent! I dont think I'll make the kick-off party but I'll definitely attend the write-in, as long as it's ina completely minor-friendly location. Thanks for the heads-up(:
Am I the only minor who will be attending or what?! Will I be lost in this complete mass of people who are waaaay older than me?!
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 29, 2007 - 05 32
You do realise that you will be universally hated if you play the young card and call us all waaaaaaay older than you! he he
Just kidding. if you are feeling too much in a minor er... minority, you can always recruit some of your friends and get them ticking on nano, you know.
50,688 / 50,000
oct. 30, 2007 - 05 52
thats impossible; im the only one into the writing scene, sadly. anyway, were all bogged down by school work so much, i doubt i can pass 50 words this year, my tests start on the 19th! nanowrimo is hardly on my head anymore, if you ask me my name ill probably tell you to factorise x-10xy-20, which is
(x-2)(x-1)
AAAH! see what ive been reduced to?!?
2,810 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 00 27
hey All!
I am a software engg who enjoys reading and writing , targets and goals get the best out of me ..and thats what excites me about this contest ...I am new to this contset and will give my best to finish my first novel here ...
I am not aware of the kick-off meeting ....lets plan something ..
good luck to all
--Preeti
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 02 38
Well, as your friendly neighbourhood ML with special superpowers (nagging) and extra incentives (goodies!), I will hope to help you, if help is what is needed, to convert the 50 words into 50,000. Remember, that at the end of the day, the entire system of complex mathematics boils down to "=" :)
The first write-in will probably be on the 1st of November, it being a holiday and all, and will probably be at a centrally located cafe somewhere. I shall keep you posted about it. Do keep an eye on the regional calendar.
Here is to differential dimensions
Nishant
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 02 40
Hi Preeti,
Glad to have you with us this Nano. As you already know (because you RSVP'd on it), the kick off is tonight. I shall look forward to meeting you and your friend who have both signed up for the nano this year.
See you at Mocha tonight,
cheers
Nishant
8,829 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 02 49
Aaaaarrrggh!!
I've lived almost all my life in Bengaluru, and it's just killing me and tearing me apart to see you guys making plans to meet up and stuff, while I'm stuck in far-away Delhi.
Drink (coffee) hard, and write even harder. Enjaai maadi!
500 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 03 04
Hello!
I'm hari .. an airline executive by profession.. software engineer by qualification .. a pilot by passion and a writer by insanity.. never cared to write a novel so far although used to spam websites with articles and reviews. Came across nanowrimo last year was thinking all this while... jotted down somethings but now its a clean slate and less than 12 hours to start on something :)
Anyways glad to see a lot of fellow bangaloreans in this too!!
Haree
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 03 17
Hey Rags,
it is still not late... and if you want, you can always catch the next flight to Bangalore to attend the Nanowrimo kick-off party :) I promise to get your name in the news papers if you do it he he.
But failing that, you can always become an ML for Delhi and get your own thing going there. Isn't there a forum for wrimers in Delhi, already?
If you are traveling to Bangalore during November, let us know and we will try to have a special write-in just for you!
cheers
Nishant
29,877 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 03 21
Hiya Hari,
Now that is what I call a profile to beat everything else. I am now very curious to see what it is that you are writing about. At today's Nano kick-off party, maybe we can also exchange tips on how to survive the nano and maybe pair people up as writing (read nagging) buddies, who kick on the shins to get the writing going :)
See you in the evening.
Nishant
8,829 / 50,000
oct. 31, 2007 - 03 27
Hey Nishant
If I do catch the next flight out, my boss will ensure that I don't ever need to come back to work. Then I can stay at home all of November and do a killer job on the 50k.
Delhi unfortunately has so far only thrown up 3 people, one of whom is not even in the country. I guess a quiet coffee might be in the offing next week or so, but nothing really in the form of a kick-off party.
I will let you guys know if I'm travelling to Bengaluru in November; I'll shout it from the roof-tops.
Cheers, and let the word count.
Venkat