Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Interim Meets : 2007-2008

Loriba — Tue, 4 Dec 2007 07:34:21 -0800

Hiya,

If, like me, you've made some new friends this past five weeks or so and would like to keep in touch with one another, this post will interest you. :-)

We're going to have a couple of meets a month between now and next November, so we can generally keep in touch, and hopefully keep encouraging one another to keep writing even in the 'off-season' as t'were.

There will be a lunch time meet on the 1st Saturday of every month from 11am-2pm in CB2 Bistro, on Norfolk Street, Cambridge. These meets will be more writing orientated, kind of a more informal version of the Write-Ins that we had during Nano. The dates of these are:

5th Jan 08
2nd Feb 08
1st Mar 08
5th Apr 08
3rd May 08
7th Jun 08
5th Jul 08
2nd Aug 08
6th Sep 08
4th Oct 08

And here's a map to the venue if you haven't been there before:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=546106&y=258406&z=0&sv=CB1+2LD&s...

Then, on the third Wednesday of every month, there will be a pub meet in The Cambridge Blue, Gwydir Street, Cambridge; starting at 7pm and going on until at least 9pm. These are basically a chance to get together and natter about anything and everything - there won't be any writing involved, although there will no doubt be lots of talking about it. :-)

The dates for these will be:

19th Dec 07
16th Jan 08
20th Feb 08
19th Mar 08
16th Apr 08
21st May 08
18th Jun 08
16th Jul 08
20th Aug 08
17th Sep 08
15th Oct 08

And the map for The Blue is here:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=546267&y=258239&z=0&sv=CB1+2LG&s...

We have a table booked; to find it, go in the front door and turn left, walk past the bar on your right and into the conservatory at the back. Turn right immediately, we'll be at that table just outside the kitchen door. If you still can't find it, ask at the bar for the 'nano/book club people', they should be able to direct you to us. :-)

If you want a reminder about the meets, please set up your Nano profile to receive e-mail notifications whenever this thread is updated. I'll post a reminder a few days before each meet.

Any questions? Let me know. If not I'll hope to see some of you soon. :-)

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Word War Sign-Ups

Loriba — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:32:44 -0700

Hi all,

Well this is it. I've had positive rumblings from several of the other regions, so the time has come to stiffen that backbone and throw our hats in to the ring in aid of our region once again.

If you want to take part in this year's war, please check out the rules in the message I just posted, then post ONCE and ONLY ONCE in this thread to submit your name.

Once the War has begun, this thread will be used to keep track of participants' scores so if you post more than once, you might get counted twice or more times.

So who's game then?

Lottie

P.S. I'm in by the way (in case that wasn't obvious)

:-)
----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Regional Word War Rules

Loriba — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:27:02 -0700

Rules

Eligibility

You must live within the UK or Ireland, and be relatively close to the city or region you wish to represent.

Sign-ups

Your ML will provide a "Word War Sign Up” thread on your local forum to track word count. Participants will post ONCE in the Word War Sign Up thread by 8pm on 10th November stating that they wish to participate.

The Regional Word War

You must update your word count every two days, on the even numbered days of the
month, by 8pm. If you are unable to update your count, contact your ML.
During the last partial week (26th –– 29th Nov), you must update your word count daily, by 8pm. If this isn't possible, contact your ML immediately.
If you do not update your word count on four consecutive occasions it will be assumed that you have given up and you will be removed from the war (unless you already have more than 50k) If you know that you’re going to be away and won’t be able to update, let your ML know so that we can prevent this.
You must input your final (verified) word count by midnight on 30th November. After
midnight, you will no longer be able to update your count.

Scoring

You may drop out of the Regional Word War at any time up to 8pm on 20th November without affecting your region's count. If you do not drop out by messaging either myself or your ML, you will be in for the remainder of the competition, NO MATTER WHAT!
During the Regional Word War there will be a regularly updated leader board in the Cambridge forum.
Only the official word count from the "Word War Sign Up" threads on the NaNoWriMo web site will be considered when computing the final score.
After midnight on 30th November, I will compute the final score for the participating regions and will ask the other MLs from those regions (or their designated representatives) to verify the figures before declaring a winner.

Results

There will be two prizes:
The city/region with the highest average word count.
The city/region with the highest proportion of winners from the starting participants.

The MLs will compare results, and when all regions agree, the results will be posted on the NaNo boards.

Banter

Participants are encouraged to engage in good natured banter with participants from other regions in the various Word War Banter threads. Banter should remain good natured and within the bounds of good sportsmanship.

Our God-like powers

MLs decide what "good sportsmanship" means.
We reserve the right to remove folks from the competition for any violation of the rules and guidelines listed above.
MLs are the final authority in any dispute or question about the rules.

Trophies

To be determined...

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Your very own Cambridge spy!

elyoda — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:13:54 -0700

Hi all,

For those of you who know me, first things first *releases an attack badger with evil laugh*

For those of you who don't know me, I am elyoda, master of the 13K dash*, one of the creators of the Oxfordshire NaNoGroup's attack badger squad, generally overly enthusiastic muppet and also...

Defector!

Yes, if you haven't been forum hopping as often as some of us do then this may come as shocking news, I'm on my way to Cambridge! I have a new job starting in July and this weekend marked my last NaNo-meet with the Oxford group (except for the occasional jaunt back I'm sure) before I move across. Now while I do have a certain feeling of loyalty towards my various bonkers colleagues in Oxford this doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing in November and also in between NaNos, so I look forward to the opportunity of meeting some new faces and getting some new writing buddies. And possibly helping in the word war. Probably.

Right, that's enough for now - hope to see you around!

*writing a quarter of a novel in 1.5 days to finish NaNo on time and nudge my county towards word war victory [two years in a row!]
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----------
2007: Timeshift
2008: no novel yet, but still a traitor to the oxfordshire cause!

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Introductions

Loriba — Tue, 2 Oct 2007 05:03:47 -0700

Hi again,

Well, what can I say about myself,... um, I'm 35 (or will be for another couple of weeks), I'm originally from Norwich, but moved to Cambridge in 2000, and now I work in a Cancer Research Lab for the University.

I've been writing for the past 6 years (ish). I've started 4 different novels, but thus far have only managed to finish one of them, 'Dreaming of Jack' which I wrote for my first Nanowrimo in 2005. I wrote the first 83k during Nov 05, then it took me another 8 months to write the remaining 30k. It's slowly being edited at the moment. I've also started to write about a dozen short stories, but they never seem to appeal to me as much as novels so I've never managed to finish one. Silly, I know. :)

I have half a dozen ideas for this years event, but can't quite decide which one to go for. This is a pain, but infinitely better than not having any ideas at all!

I've already started to plan for November by bulk cooking pasta sauces and soup and filling up the freezer.

I've made several very good friends through Nano over the past couple of years and am looking forward to meeting lots more new people this year too.

If anyone needs any questions answered about Genetics and Molecular Biology (or anything Nano related), speak up and I'll try to provide some coherent answers.

Hugs

Lottie

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Beer Festival Meet - Friday 23rd May 2008

Loriba — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:05:25 -0700

Hi,

We've had several people express an interest in coming along to the beer festival tomorrow, so these are the final details.

The festival opens for the evening session at 5pm. Sniglet and myself will guarantee to be there from 6pm onwards, although we may get there earlier if we can.

As we're both members of CAMRA we'll be able to go straight in and will claim a spot to sit. This will probably be on the grass outside as it's much more pleasant than trying to cope with the crowds and noise inside. I will bring a blanket along to sit on, which I will happily share, but if you want to guarantee a place to sit please bring your own blanket/fold-up chair/ etc. Also, it has been rather cold in the evenings this week. It shouldn't be too bad tomorrow (they're predicting a low of 12 degrees C), but it would be a good idea to make sure you have something warm to wear, just in case.

They do sell food at the BF and it's relatively decent, although a bit pricey for what it is, so if you want to bring food of your own to eat, please feel free to do so.

If you need directions, the festival is being held on Jesus Green, and there's a rather good map at the official festival website which you'll find here:

http://www.cambridgebeerfestival.com/summer/information

If you are intending to come and don't already have my mobile number, please nanomail me and I'll send it to you. If you forget to do so and don't know what we look like, searchfor a Nanowrimo t-shirt. I won't wear the luminous yellow ML shirt that I have, but I will drape it over something to make us slightly more conspicuous.

Any other questions, please let me know, and I'll hope to see some of you tomorrow. :-)

Lottie
----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

NaNoEdMo

Loriba — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 15:10:05 -0800

Hi all,

Just thought I'd remind you that National Novel Editing Month begins on the 1st March and the forums are now open at www.nanoedmo.net

If you've managed to finish your Nanowrimo novel (or any other first draft for that matter) and want to do some editing in the same kind of supportive group atmosphere as you find here, please come over and sign up.

The basic premise is to complete 50hrs or more of editing within the 31 days of March. Winners receive a certificate just like with Nanowrimo (and hopefully end up with a much cleaner piece of polished prose too).

I'm ML-ing for EdMo as well, so there'll be various meets and Edit-Ins arranged for the month to keep us all going, so I hope to see some of you over there.

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

CamNoEdInCornWe?

Solidus — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:11:45 -0800

So, how did Cambridge Novel Editing in Cornwal Week go?
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2005: The Wolf and the Rose
2006: Dig for Victory! Winner!
2007: Freedom is a Sweet Word Winner!

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

TGIO Party

Loriba — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:03:53 -0800

Hiya,

Now we're past the half way stage it's time to be thinking about the end. I know, I know, a lot of you are a bit behind and don't want to have to think about the fact that November is half gone. I don't want to either, but that's because I'm having too much fun and don't want it to end. :-)

Last year I held a poll to ask people where they wanted to get together for the TGIO and by the time everyone had said, "Let's go the same place as last year" it was too late to book it. So this year, I went ahead and booked it anyway. :-)

So, the TGIO (Thank God It's Over) get together will start at CB2 from 4:30pm on Saturday the 1st of December, then around 6:30-7pm we'll move on to Cafe Adriatic on Mill Road where I have booked a large table for us all. We'll see what time we leave there and will probably move onto a pub of some description after that, where we'll stay until they kick us out and one or more of us has to accompany Arathalion back to the station to make sure he makes it onto the last train home!

What I need from you:

1. Whether you intend to come or not. I have to finalise numbers with CA by the Wednesday before, so please reply to this to say whether you'll be able to make it or not. If you can't make it to the meal, but want to come along to CB2 please tell us that too so we can make sure we have a big enough table in the cafe.

2. I need to know if you have any special dietary requirements. I had a very nice chat with the Manager and he assured me that as long as we give them a couple of days notice, that they can meet any special requirements you might have. So please take a look at the menu:

http://www.cafeadriatic.co.uk/

and if you do have special requirements (e.g. vegan, allergies) please choose what you want from the menu and let me know by the end of the 27th November. They will then make a special version of whatever you want just for you. :-)

Please be assured that you do not have to get to 50k in order to come to the TGIO. It's as much a chance to offer commiseration those who don't make it as to celebrate with those who do. Everyone will be welcome (even those who haven't made it to another meet all month )

Thanks

Lottie

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

UK & Ireland Regional Word War Leader Board

Loriba — Fri, 2 Nov 2007 14:01:19 -0700

Hi y'all,

This is where I'll be posting the leader board throughout the month. I think it's right but if you do notice any glaring errors, please let me know. :-)

Leader Board for 2nd November 2007:

1 Oxfordshire 4367.5
2 Ireland::Else 3679.5
3 Manchester 3389.67
4 York & Leeds 3038.38
5 Cambridge 2907.5
6 Darlington 2874.25
7 Scotland 2797.14
8 Essex 2750.33
9 London 2082.69
10 Brighton 2056.57
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*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Worst Sex Scene Competition

Loriba — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:33:57 -0700

Hi all,

In keeping with the past two years, we will once again be running the 'Worst Sex Scene' competition. The rules are simple, if your story involves a sex scene try and write the most cliched, corny sex scene you can possibly imagine and enter it into the competition.

As this is an All Ages forum, you can't actually post any sexual explicit material directly to the forum. So, if you want to enter the competition, post it somewhere else and then post a link to it here. If you don't have anywhere online to put it, let me know and I'll put it on my livejournal page and we can link to it there. Please note that I will not accept responsibility for anyone under the age of 18 reading any of this material. If you are under 18 and know that your parents/guardian would disapprove of you reading such things please do not click on any of the links.

The winner will be chosen on a purely democratic basis. There will be a vote on which scene people believe to be the worst, and this year, the winning author will receive a prize!

Louisa Mae has won the competition two times in a row now, so come on everyone, let's give her a run for her money this time around! :-)

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Thanks!

sniglet — Mon, 3 Dec 2007 02:00:14 -0800

Thanks to all of you for being a mighty mighty fine bunch of Wrimos indeed! A big round of applause to everybody as well - even if you didn't get to that purple line, even if you barely squeaked out any words at all, you at least signed up with this NaNo madness in the first place, which is a heck of a lot farther than most people get. So **well done y'all!!**

And an absolutely *immense* thanks to Loriba, my inestimable co-ML, for not only keeping everything chugging along smoothly and shouldering all the ML tasks which I didn't know about/forgot to do, but also managing to churn out millions and millions and millions of words in the process! [not exaggerating either - just check the forums&chatrooms ;-) ]
YAY LORIBA!!
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______________________________________
Anne-Lise [ML for Europe::England::Cambridge]
~2007: the umbran alliance
~2006: adaptation
~2005: a life in the day
~2004: trinity

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Word War Banter

Loriba — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:39:11 -0700

Hi all,

This thread is for light-hearted banter between Word War participants from different regions.

A certain amount of jibing and name-calling is to be expected in here, but please remember to use emoticons where appropriate as they do help in keeping things civil.

I'll update this thread with the regions who are taking part as soon as I know that they've started their own Word War Banter threads, so that you can head over there and start giving them hell as soon as possible.

Have fun!

:-)

----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Post-TGIO messages

alextfish — Sun, 2 Dec 2007 11:43:58 -0800

Hello, all! It was great to meet you at the TGIO party, and congrats to everyone! So many of us had finished, which was awesome. Even those who didn't deserve a hearty pat on the back.

Some of you were asking about the other NaNo I did, NaNoRenO. This is a NaNo-style contest to create a "ren'ai game" within the month of March: that is, a graphical story-driven computer game, where the player reads narration and dialogue, watches the characters, and makes decisions which influence the outcome of the story. They're a tradition which comes from Japan, and they often have a romantic element. See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren'ai_game and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishoujo_game.

I've done NaNoRenO twice, in '04 and '06. '04 was the first NaNoRenO, and twelve of us started it, with four of us finishing within the month. I produced When I Rule The World, a conspiracy-theory story of a schoolgirl, Selena, who's going to be the future ruler of the world.
I didn't do it in '05 – I was too busy planning a wedding. But in '06 I knuckled down and used NaNoRenO to finish a game I'd been idly working on for four years, Elven Relations, a fantasy romance story. Both these games are free to download from the sites linked above!

Nina was asking at the party about clichés in the genre of computer role-playing games (RPGs), since my '06 NaNo novel, Ultimate Dream (which you can read online), is a parody of a stereotypical RPG. I referred to a list called the Grand List of Console RPG Clichés, which you can find here.

And when I write the final 1500 words or so of this year's novel, I'll decide whether or not I want to put it online. If I do, I'll link that from my homepage. :)
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NaNoRenO 04: Won - "When I Rule The World" (conspiracy-theory visual novel)
NaNoWriMo 05: Won - "Horizons" (sci-fi/fantasy, 50k words, story unfinished)
NaNoRenO 06: Won - "Elven Relations" (fantasy romance visual novel)
NaNoWriMo 06: Won - "Ultimate

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

WSS competition - Votes needed!

Loriba — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 17:22:30 -0800

Hiya,

We need your votes people!

In order to determine who has won this year's competition we need to have some more votes. Please see the Worst Sex Scene competition thread for details of the entries and then cast your votes in this thread!

Votes already cast have been noted (thanks guys! )

I'll leave the voting open until midnight on Tuesday in order to give you all enough time to make your choice. :-)

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Winner's lounge

Platypus Bill — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:31:47 -0800

I thought I'd built a winner's lounge. It's still being furnished and decorated - feel free to rearrange to your heart's content. So far you'll find:

- a quiet corner to put your feet up and pull a cold drink from the fridge - you've earned it by your hard graft;
- a balcony with rattles and whistles and such like, with a clear view of the finishing line, to cheer on people dragging themselves over the finishing line;
- a mirror to admire your self-satisfied smile you're no doubt wearing now that you've made it;
- a printer and some empty frames and wall space to mount your winner's certificate.

I must say that this year it's been harder than the last two. Not helped by the fact that I have now three completely different strands to my story, all based on the same story line, if with wildly varying plots. For now I see them as three parallel universes, but come Saturday they will be split into three separate files.

--Ornitorinco Pico

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Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Virtual Write Ins

Loriba — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:38:05 -0800

Hi all,

It has been brought to my attention that I still haven't posted anything about holding virtual Write-Ins. This is very remiss of me and I would like to put it right right now.

I'm proposing that we start with a couple of Virtual Write-Ins, see how they go, then schedule further WIs later on if they prove a success.

So, the first Virtual Write In will take place tomorrow evening (Mon 12th) between 7 and 9pm.

The second will take place on Friday evening between 7 and 9pm.

They will happen in the Cambridge Chat Room which you can find here:

http://www.chatzy.com/842603389333

The password to get in is cambs167

If they prove popular, I'll try to increase the number of online Write Ins over the rest of the month. As with the real life Write Ins the emphasis will be on writing, although obviously there will be a certain amount of chatting involved as well. I'll try and organise it so that we have say 10 minutes of chat, followed by 20 minutes of frantic writing. But we'll see what works best on the night.

Hope to see some of you there.

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

NaNo Sins - are you a sinner?

Mad Mara — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:27:58 -0800

Have you been committing sins in your wonderful NaNo novel? Have you used contractions in speech or text?

I usually write in the first person but I’m using third person for NaNo (you can fit a lot more description into third person without it getting too stilted!). I noticed that I had some contractions in my main text – hadn’t, couldn’t, didn’t, etc. – so I used the wonderful Find/Replace tool and fixed them all! By running it every now and again I find a few more and boost my word count. I think I’ve increased it by three hundred or so words so far!

So when you can’t find the words you need to move forward and are staring glumly at your word count give it a try! This is NaNo, words are what matters not elegance or accents. If you feel that your characters really need their contractions to sound like themselves add a character from the keyboard that you never use in your writing (#, %, £, $, ~ for example) and mark the change with it (can# not – remember not to fill the space between the words!) then come Dec 1st you can go back and contract them all to your heart’s content.

Has anyone else got any ideas for increasing word count without actually writing? :)

----------
2005 - Team 324 - contemporary action smut - 53K (now 57K) unfinished
2006 - Dragon's Breath - fantasy romance smut - 82.5K (still 82.5K) unfinished
2007 - Dark Masters: Smoke - sci-fi smut
(I'm better at the unfinished part than the smut part!)

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Pub Meets

Loriba — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:08:27 -0700

Hiya,

Have just realised that I forgot to mention anything about pub (or relaxation) meets during November.

You may have noticed that the Write-Ins post did not say anything about Wednesdays. There is a good reason for that. Wednesdays are reserved for getting away from the computer/notepad/post-it notes and scrap paper* and letting yourself relax for a little while. During the hours of 7-9pm (and usually longer) you can partake of the poison of your choice and *talk* about novelling, rather than actually doing it!

These meets are an excellent opportunity to have a good moan about how your muse has gone on a month long holiday trekking in the Andes, how your FMC spends all her time shopping and preening herself in the mirror, and how you spend all your time trying to persuade your MMC to get up of his arse and do something. Your friends and family may not understand, but we will. :-)

The venue will be The Cambridge Blue pub in Gwydir Street, Cambridge. Here's a map:

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=546286&y=258226&z=0&sv=CB1+2LG&s...

The pub has recently changed hands, but the new owners are promising to keep everything the same and seem very friendly, so we hope that it will be just as excellent a venue as it has been in the past.

Hope to see some of you there. :-)

L
----------
*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

The word count Validator

Louisa Mae — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 12:54:21 -0800

I just typed my 50000th word so I thought I would try out the validator again - it gobbled up just under 600 words, so guys, beware if you are planning on getting a nice roundy 50k, you might need to type an extra long sentence or three to get your purple bar....
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Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Funny Type O's

Platypus Bill — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 02:27:20 -0700

transliterature instead of transliterate.
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Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Procrasstinators and ways to waste time

Snarfgirl2007 — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 04:31:37 -0800

I know it is week three and that in about two weeks time NaNo will be over but I am having troubles sitting down at my computer to write my 1,667 words for the day. I am finding myself procrastinating by playing games on the computer, cleaning the house, cooking meals from scratch and many other types of distractions that keep me away from the computer.

I was wondering does anyone else have the same problem that I do and how do you overcome these gremlins when they strike?

Take care,
Snarfgirl2007
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Take care,
Snarfgirl2007

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Dares

Loriba — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 08:09:05 -0700

Have just realised that we don't actually have a dares thread this year, so I'm going to start one. So there! :-)

As a subscriber to the PG news feed, which sends me an e-mail every time they post another book to Project Gutenberg, I have decided that the very next book they post is going to end up in my novel, in some form.

I'll let you know what it is as soon as I know. :-o

Anyone else have any dares, either for themselves or everyone else?

Edit: It is 'The Crofton Boys' by Harriet Martineau, which I've never heard of. Hmm, wonder if any of my characters will have?...
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*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

Half Way Post - How's it going?

Loriba — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:52:15 -0800

Hiya,

So how's everyone getting on? We're now half way through (or will be at midnight at least) which means that in theory your word count should be sitting around the 25k mark. Don't worry too much if you're a bit (or even a lot) behind, there's still plenty of time to catch up.

I've been very pleasantly surprised this year, my characters seem to be getting on very well and are actually getting through the plot a lot faster than I had dreamed was possible, so my ambition of breaking the 100k mark this year may actually be realised!

How's your story going? Are your characters behaving themselves or are you having to cope with a full scale mutiny. Newbies, are you finding it easier or harder than you were expecting? Veterans, how does this year compare with last?

If you're experiencing the dreaded Second Week Slump, take heart in the knowledge that everyone else is going through it too. Unfortunately the only way to get through it is to force yourself to sit down and write that next word, then the next, then the next. Eventually it will start to flow and the going will get easier again. And once you've reached that magical 25k, it really is like reaching the top of a hill and looking down the slope the other side. The words seem to come much more easily from then on.

On Friday night they'll be sending out a pep talk from one of my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, and it says exactly what I wanted to say here (but much better of course) so look out for it.

In the mean time, keep slogging along and perhaps consider coming along to one of the many Write-Ins that we've organised for the rest of the month. They're the perfect occasion to get out of the house, away from the miriad distractions and somewhere warm and conducive to getting lots of words written (plus there's coffee, tea and cake which is always a good thing!) :-)

If you need to know where and when they are, check out the Regional Events calendar at the bottom of the Cambridge forum.

:-)

Lottie

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*Hugs*
Lottie
ML for Europe::England:: Cambridge
cambridge_england[at]nanowrimo[dot]org
2007: Rising Angels, Falling Apes - ??
2006: An Ordinary World - 84k+
2005: Dreaming of Jack - 83k+

Europe :: England :: Cambridge

iBook word war

Platypus Bill — Fri, 9 Nov 2007 09:47:49 -0800

Since everyone knows that iBook users are an inherently superior class of human beings, I am proposing a word war between aforementioned persons in the Cambridge region.

A cynic might suggest that I am only doing this because because there exist a yet more superior class of mystical beings called 'MLs', who exist in both this and a parallel universe, and, by pooling their words counts from both, achieve twice the word count of mere mortals.

Either way, whose up for it?

--Platypus iBill
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