Who are you? Where are you?

Hi from Buzzz ... I live in Dallas, GA (Paulding County). i participated in NaNo last year but didn't win. I work full time as a manager at software company and have a 2 year old. I haven't come up with exactly what i'm going to write yet. I've had an idea brewing with a woman who "has it all" deciding she wants to run away from it all. She thinks she'd be happier with a life like her Grandmother had until she finds and starts reading her grandmother's diary. My plan to do better this year is to start now mapping out an outline and to put reminders in my outlook calendar for the number of words I need to have by that day.

Hi there!

Amber here, on the Buckhead/Brookhaven border and I'm a senior webmaster at Big Ol' Sports as I lovingly refer to it. I've done Nano every year since 2003, though I've only won twice. Before moving to Atlanta a few years ago, I was active with Nano down in Jacksonville, FL.

This year I've decided to do my first Mystery/Thriller, so I'm plotting away currently, trying to get everything in order for November. While I've never been terribly good at pre-planning, I'm hoping that this will help me not only get through Nano, but after November's over, I'll have something worthwhile as well.

It's great to see the forums open again... and early!

Amber
www.gipsysmusings.com/nano/

Amber
www.gipsysmusings.com/nano

I'm Lynn, from Barrow County way. I'm a wife and a stay-at-home mom to two (ages 14 & 8) who also dabbles in amateur photography. I joined NaNo last year, but unforeseen circumstances forced me to drop out early. I'm hoping to at least last the entire time this year, and if I could actually get my story halfway done, I'll consider that a good day.

Lynn
http://lynndaniels.com/blog/

2008: Chester and Rube (WINNER!)

Hi, I'm Cel. I'm in the East Point area (South ATL - ITP). I'm a returning NaNoWriMo winner who's planning to work on a Paranormal Fantasy this year. Just started working on my outline so I should be rip-roaring to go when NaNoWriMo starts. Good luck and good writing everyone!

-Cel

Hey, I'm Will. I'm a product marketer for a corporate travel agency, and I live in midtown. This is my first NaNo, though I've been doing creative writing off and on since I could write. Several of my friends are filmmakers, so I've done script work with them several times. My story's about a guy who sells everything he owns and moves to the beach with a plan to kill himself in one year's time.

Cheerful, yes.

I'm looking forward to this. Nice to see that so many people who have done it before come back again and again.

I'm Catherine and I live in Midtown (Civic Center area). I'm a corporate drone with a company in Peachtree Corners. This will be my fifth NaNo and hopefully, the one where I finally manage to win. I've challenged a family member in the Raleigh-Durham area as a way of perhaps giving myself an incentive.

I'm primarily a fan fiction writer but as a point of pride always do something original for NaNo. It's usually near-future, semi-dystopian sci-fi. I'm woefully behind on prep this year but so far I have a character, a couple of milieus, and some ideas. This year's work will have some sort of an ecological focus.

Hope to meet all of you soon.

--
Fifth NaNo, first one I'll win. I mean it this time!

http://lfvoy.net

I live in Lawrenceville and am a mural artist by profession. That is, after a career at a data center for 18 years! (More poor, but a lot happier!) Last year's NaNoWriMo was my first and I won! It was great fun and what a good writing discipline it is! Last year, I got plenty of words and met my daily quota by getting on the Atlanta Chat Room. Is it in the same place as last year? I'll have to look on my bookmarks to see where that was!

Didn't do any of the write-ins last year but hope to this year.

River Run-2007 Winner

As my daddy used to say< "If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly."

Hello! :D
I'm Klepto, and I live in Norcross on Peachtree Corners.

I entered and won Nano in '06 (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Star Array) and '07 (Mobile Suit Gundam: Consequences), and I also completed Script Frenzy this year (The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle).

This year I plan to write a completely original novel called "Siren" instead of a fan novel. Think of it as ["The Little Mermaid" meets "Journey to the West" set in modern Japan.]
I might have trouble meeting the goal, however, since I will be starting college for the first time this November. :D I should be going to the Art Institute of Atlanta - Decatur if all goes well.

I guess I'm a prolific writer. XD I'm an author of yaoi fanfiction with a dashing of original slash, general, het, and yuri on request for people I like.
My Fic Journal: http://utensil-drawer.livejournal.com/51748.html

For the interested, I run the largest Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's community on LiveJournal. It was created back in May, so is influenced mainly by the original Japanese version, but we do have help pages for those who have only seen the 4Kids dub.
Riding Duel!: http://community.livejournal.com/ygo_5ds/

Writing Journal: http://utensil-drawer.livejournal.com/profile
A fine is a tax for doing wrong, a tax is a fine for doing well.

Hello all!

I'm Erin, and this is my third year participating in NaNo. I've won both of the previous years, but I don't have a husband or kids to distract me, so that probably helps. :) I also particpated in Script Frenzy in 2007, and won, but couldn't repeat that feat in 2008. Script writing isn't my passion, novel writing is.

I live out in Duluth, but usually participate in the Atlanta/Decatur area activities. Though if anyone would like to get together around Gwinnett, just let me know, and I'll try and organize something.

I have vague ideas floating around in my head about what I'm writing about this year, and will be doing character development for the next few weeks. I know there will be baseball involved in my story, so how bad can it be? I can always write really long game descriptions, right?

I'm also participating in the Breast Cancer 3 Day walk this year, so someone poke me right before NaNo starts just to make sure I'm still alive!

Good luck to everyone! I hope to get to know some of you as the next couple of months progress!

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
2006: The Queen of the Corn Palace (Winner)
2007: A Man, A Plan, A Canal; Panama (Winner)

www.toboldlynano.com

Hello!

I'm Alicia, and I hail from East Point. I work in marketing and communications for a software testing firm in the Perimeter area, so I'll have plenty of time on the train as long as the laptop's charged!

I did NaNo in '05, but faltered in week three... that proved to me that the unexpected experience of "flow" is terrifying.

I've been focusing on a series of interconnected short stories for the past several months. They basically provide the backstory and world-creation for the novel I'm going to start on 11/1. I've known that there was a novel-sized idea lurking for quite some time, but I've been shy about committing to working on that portion of the tale.

Through October, I'm finishing those stories up and getting my notes organized. It's Sci-Fi, so there's plenty of weird language to whip up in advance.

I'm planning my life around Nano this year, planning on attending Write-ins as long as they are ITP, and drumming up support among family and friends.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2006 - 35K words of "Lorne" (as LiLi3333)
2008 - Children of the Moon

Hello, I'm Sara from Roswell!! This will be my first year participating and I am already shaking in my knees. I have been playing around with novel ideas for a while and then saw this, thought it would be a great way to get a jump start. I have also been writing Faffiction for about a year now and have completed some lengthy stories in short amounts of time.

I have a two year old and work nights, so my writing time varies, but I am ready to make a difference and focus on something that is for me! can't wait to get to know all of you better!

Sara
Write with Passion and only for your self!!
http://luv2beloved.webs.com/

Hello! I am Brandon Williams, I live in Fayetteville, and I'm an Armed Security guard. I've been writing for the past two years, this is my 3rd year... and I hope to make it this time! I've been writing for much longer, but I'm excited about sharing my work with others to critique.

I've been getting the e-mails about meet-a-thons around Atlanta... I, for one, can travel just about anywhere, and I'm pretty proficient in using MARTA... so that makes it a good bit easier for me to got from place to place.

I hope to meet some of you!

~Brandon

Hi all! I'm Val, and I've been participating in NaNo for about five years now... won some, lost some, but its always a challenge worth tackling.

I do a lot of cowriting, so the biggest challenge in NaNo each year is for me to write 50k -by myself-. I'm kicking around some ideas, at the moment my favorite is a paranormal Hollow Earth story, perhaps using a symbiont/human pairing, some bug eyed aliens, and some leftover dinosaurs. It'll be -quite- a change from my normal vampire/ghost/fantasy writing, and I'm looking forward to it. That idea might change a dozen times or so in the next month, though...

I'm a paralegal in Duluth, and providing I have gas, I'm pretty comfortable getting around the northern area as well as into Decatur and Midtown. The Springfield Missouri group, where I've been for the last few years, is very active with write ins, and those help me a -lot-, so I'm hoping to find a few... and also looking forward to meeting some fellow NaNo'ers in the area.

-----------

"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?"

I'm Adam, and when I'm not drinking vast amounts of coffee, I'm spending quality time with my hardened NaNo veteran wife and our dog, Gus, in our quaint 1940s condo in Buckhead. I work for a major cable news network here in Atlanta, and I spend a good chunk of my spare time volunteering for Fernbank Museum's "Urban Watch" program.

This year will be my second NaNo attempt, and since last year's attempt petered out at around 15k, I have taken a whole new approach. I've actually plotted out my superhero / coffee shop-based idea out on Luminotes (www.luminotes.com), so I will have a better guide for what and how I want to write this year.

Also, I will be holding a few write-ins this year at a coffee shop next to Lindbergh Station called Sip. So keep your eyes peeled for more information once the this monkey gets swinging.

I've never been in SIP even though I walk by it every day going into the office. Is it any good? If so, I may have to check it out.

-Cel

Hi! I'm Elizabeth and this is my first NaNo. I am pretty prolific and have been writing for a long time, so I am not too worried about writing 50K. Doing it in one month will be interesting, but I really want to finish the book, something I have a hard time with.

I live in Peachtree City and work at an Integrated Wellness Center in Tyrone. I am a Neuromuscular Therapist mostly but I do a little bit of everything there.

I would love for everyone to get together and hang out, even before NaNo if anyone is interested. I also suggested earlier before the board were cleaned that people in similiar areas carpool, so that's an option as well.

NaNo 08: Seeing Red/Heaven's Gate and Hell's Masquerade (unfinished)

Proud owner of a plot Wolverine.

I'm Lauren (some know me as Laurie) and this'll be NaNoWriMo #8 for me. I've won every year except my first year (2001) and a very busy year in the middle (2005). I live in Buckhead with my husband Adam, a.k.a. javamugboy, and our acrobatic dog. I also work in Buckhead; I write language proficiency tests and am an all-around professional grammar nerd.

I am a total nut for YA literature and I'll be doing a YA short story cycle this year. And I'll concurrently be revising a YA novel I first-drafted several NaNoWriMos ago. Five rewrites later, the current version has about 4 sentences in common with that first NaNo draft. Heh. I'm almost finished with it now -- uh, I hope. Anyhow, you'll see me at many write-ins. I usually write every Saturday in November at the Java Monkey in Decatur. I think Adam and I will be writing at SIP in Buckhead at least once a week, too.

I'm a member of several other writing organizations and regularly go to writing conferences and such. I'm also a real geek about the publishing industry.

I was the Atlanta ML (Municipal Liaison) a couple of years ago, and I've volunteered to do it again this year. I'll introduce myself in that capacity when (if?!) it's made official.

NaNo '06 - The Center of Gravity. 7 drafts since '06. Revising for editor!
NaNo '07 - Notes From Nowhere (YA novel, 50K)
NaNo '08 - Rob's Day Out! (YA caper)

http://weirdquietgirl.wordpress.com -life, writing, and YA lit

Does that mean Shawn (jazzyjinx) isn't going to do it again this year?

-Cel

Hiya Cel,

I'm not sure yet if Shawn will be returning as ML; I need to send her a PM today. I saw on her profile that she's listed as an Official Participant right now and not an ML. But she and I were co-MLs a couple of years ago, and the region is large enough (just checked: 965 affiliated members! Whoa!) that multiple MLs are probably needed, especially since folks are so spread out.

NaNo '06 - The Center of Gravity. 7 drafts since '06. Revising for editor!
NaNo '07 - Notes From Nowhere (YA novel, 50K)
NaNo '08 - Rob's Day Out! (YA caper)

http://weirdquietgirl.wordpress.com -life, writing, and YA lit

Wow, that is a lot of people. Cool beans. Just let us know how it all works out. I know it's a pretty hectic job.

-Cel

Hi, I'm Mary (probably not the only one, what with there being 965 of us) from Dacula. FYI, you say it as Dah-Cue-La ... not Dah-Coo-la. Sorry, I just like to make fun of y'all that have no clue where it is or how to say it! It is a strange name for a town, located in northeast Gwinnett county. I'd love to go to a write-in around the Gwinnett area.

This is my first NaNo and no, I'm not prolific but I've roped in a member of my book club (she's from Dawsonville, way up above Cumming) and hopefully we can shame each other into getting to 50k. I have two children in elementary school and work part-time from home as a freelance business/marketing writer. I may soon be going back to a cubicle full-time, though, and I'm worried about keeping up with my writing for NaNo.

I've been preparing to rewrite a YA novel that's currently a flimsy first draft. I read right on this thread that someone else is revising for this year's NaNo. I didn't know I could do that! And here I was trying to come up with a new idea when I've been eating-sleeping-drinking the other work-in-progress for so long!

I've been using Dramatic software to delve into the inner workings of my story, and I really appreciate how it forces me to actually think (instead of surfing the 'net). Anyone else use Dramatica?

Oh, that was me who mentioned the revising thing. I won't be counting my other novel revisions as NaNo words. It's just that I can't tear myself away from my other novel for a whole month while I do NaNo. Like you said, I've been eating-sleeping-drinking the other WIP! I really want to get it finished.

But for NaNo, I'll be writing a new work, too. Technically, the words from a brand-new novel should be the only things that go toward your word count.

Welcome, Mary! I hope your plotting and revisions go well.

NaNo '06 - The Center of Gravity. 7 drafts since '06. Not dead yet.
NaNo '07 - Notes From Nowhere (YA novel, 50K)
NaNo '08 - In Other Words, I'm Anarchy (YA short story cycle)

http://weirdquietgirl.wordpress.com

NaNo '06 - The Center of Gravity. 7 drafts since '06. Revising for editor!
NaNo '07 - Notes From Nowhere (YA novel, 50K)
NaNo '08 - Rob's Day Out! (YA caper)

http://weirdquietgirl.wordpress.com -life, writing, and YA lit

Aside from the fact that parts of it look like it fell out of an Ikea catalog, it's really a great coffee house. Their French press coffee is really some of the best in the city, and they actually have baristas that deserve the title. It's also a rather cozy place to sit and write for long stretches of time with Wi-Fi, plent of outlets, and a large communal table for groups to sit at.

Oh sweet. I'll certainly have to check that place out then.

Thanks!

-Cel

marykayems,

Don't feel too bad. Before I can walk by it everyday, I first have to drive to the MARTA station and ride 30 minutes on the train up to Lindbergh station. Then when I'm coming out the station, I get to walk by it. LOL. Sorry to hear about your local shop. I live in East Point so I still have to drive 10 minutes away to find a decent coffee shop. To find a 24 hrs one, takes MUCH longer. Many of the places where I can go around here are the turn and burn variety. Get'em in the door and get'em out.

-Cel

Hi. I'm Shanti and I live south of Atlanta in Stockbridge. This will be my first NaNo, and I'm quite nervous about the whole thing. I will be working on book two of my 'After Camelot' series which follows the life/trials of Lancelot and Guenevere's daughter. I home educate my two sons while running my household (semi-effectively) and writing every second I can eke out of life.

Name's Hollow and I live west of ATL in Douglasville. Crummy little place. Graduated high school last year. Joined the U.S. Navy and was subsequently "Separated" (kicked out).

This year will be my first NaNo and I'm very much looking forward to it. Been writing since before I can remember, as I'm sure many of us have. Right now I write mostly screenplays but I decided to venture into novels and try my hand at it. Not much else to say, so... good luck to all, and to all a good night!....?

Hi everyone :)

I'm Dan, and I live out around Duluth. This is my first year attempting a NaNoWriMo, even though I have watched others participate for the past couple of years. I have a few good ideas, at least I think so, and I can't wait for November to arrive now :)

Hey everyone, I am Kristopher from Decatur.....
This is my first year at NaNo, so I am very new to this. I haven't really started connecting my Ideas to my novel yet, so I have a lot of planning to do.Like everyone else probably feels.... Can't wait for November to come!