Welcome to NaNo '08 & introduce yourself!

Hi, I'm Jeni, and this is my 7th NaNoWriMo. I live in roughly the center of the state, but I have easy access to a lot of regions due to living near several key highways (not that I have EVER gone to a NaNo-meetup, but hey, eventually I'll break down and do it, right?). This year I'll be writing a YA novel that's sort-of about superheroes, because for November I always write something that's in a style or genre that I've never done before.

Hello, I'm CJ in real life. This is only my 6th year of NaNo, hopefully 3rd win. I'm off in New Canaan, work in Manhattan, but am always up for a NaNo gathering. I'm aiming for a modest 50K this year as I'll be writing free hand on the train, and typing it up after work, that is unless I finally invest in a Neo or equivalent thereof. As for a random tidbit, I also lurk on the spork writer's group forums.

Karen here, cooking or otherwise. Honestly, I need a new, cooler name, but hey, I started after the gun last year and didn't know what I was getting into, so no wonder I picked a goofy name. (Although I do like to cook. Oh, and eat. Yeah, and drink too. And that writing thing is pretty good too.). Anyway, I am nearby CJ in Fairfield. This is my second year--my goal is to FINISH this year. Possibly even strategizing a plan of attack ahead of time. Imagine that.

Can't fathom writing freehand and THEN typing--go CJ!--but will get to juggle freelance jobs, teenager lives and other fire fighting activities keeping me on my toes while racing for the big 5-0 (words, that is).

Am thinking about fiction (chick lit--I hate that term-- or YA) this year, so any resource or advice is welcome. Last year I worked on a memoir/personal essay, so this is a new arena for me. Anything could happen. Looking forward to a NaNo gathering or at least some good kick in the butt encouragement to cross that line. Cheers, all.

'lo.

I'm Amalia, and new to Connecticut, but not Nano, although I haven't won Nano since 2003, mostly this is just because I lack discipline, and somehow, something always comes up in November to destroy my word counts.

I live in East Haven, but may or may not be spending part of the nano month in Virginia helping out my sister (another death to wordcount event!)

More information about myself? uh. Just moved here in January, terrified of driving (I learned to drive in North Dakota). I'm 24 and married. My husband is awesome and lets me stay home and write, instead of getting a job that pays. ha!

I guess that's it. I'm excited to meet some fellow writerly-nutmegger folks.

Ten years already? Geeze, and i was already complaining to a couple friends about feeling old, now this just clinches it. Anyways, the name's Tony and im looking forward to giving this a shot this year and hoping that i actually manage to grab the brass ring. Seems i was able once to sit down and pound out a decent story upon a time, but to say ive fallen into a rut would be kind. Still, like it says in the script, i get another shot!

So, right, i live and work in Waterbury and have been attempting this for the past several years. I love being able to go back and forth with other writers and am looking forward to this year. As for what im writing, ive got a few ideas here and there, and the main one seems to be a scifi/mystery that keeps bouncing around in my thick skull. Here's hoping i blow way past 50k, and end up somewhere in the 200k to make up for the years when i didnt quite make it!

Heh. also, if you ever need a sounding board, or someone to yell at, or whatever, send an address. The more interface the better. See you all later folks.

---Phantazm
*poof*

Howdy! I've missed NaNo. Sadly, I didn't get very much writing done at all after last November. :( School and work sure take a lot of time away... Anyhoot, this is my second season of NaNo. Unfortunately, I didn't "win" last year, but I almost broke the 12k mark, which is an outstanding accomplishment, so I'm still proud.

My biggest goal this year is simply to exceed 12k, but of course I'll be racing for the 50k. I have another YA in mind, definitely more fantastical than last year. It's actually the first idea I had after becoming aware that I'm a writer. I tried and failed many times at getting any of it written, especially since the original concept was way too much like Star Wars. But the ideas have circled in my mind and morphed since that initial moment of inspiration...what was it now, seven years ago? Yikes. Ok, well, basically what's solid is: three siblings--two boys and a girl--who have been entrusted with this mysterious crystal. I have some plot ideas down and several character relationships. I don't, however, have any idea what the crystal is, what it's for, and why the antagonists are so determined to get their hands on it. Any ideas?

Hi, I'm Dave. I live in north Bridgeport not too far from the North End Library. This is my second year and I haven't decided which of three ideas I want to write, although I can state with certainty that the prose will be dead rather than deathless.

Hi! I'm Erin, and I'm a NaNoWriMo rookie. (Try saying THAT five times fast!) I live in New Haven, and I'm hoping to actually finish whatever I start writing. I have horrible follow-through, and have never actually finished a novel. The plot bunnies are beginning to surface, and it kills me to wait almost a whole month to start this thing. Gives me plenty of time to think though!

Hi, I'm Kate and I'm brand new to CT, having just moved to Norwalk in August. I've done Nano from 2002-2006, and took last year off. I've won three times, hit 50K but didn't finish a story, and hit a wall in 2006.

I'm excited about starting up again this year, even though I'm not quite sure what I'm going to write about. I may spend October brainstorming for something new and different, or pull out some characters I've tried before. My first three were murder mysteries, the fourth was about a woman who had inanimate objects talk to her, the fifth was about a mutant detective named Bunny. I like Bunny, and I have another adventure for her, but I need to know how a certain poison reacts to standard tox screens. Anyone know a forensic toxicologist.

Looking forward to meeting everyone. I had some great people to write with in Nashville, I hope to meet some up here too!

Ororo/Kate

Hi. Thanks everyone for writing and introducing oneselves, etc.
I wrote the 50 thou last November. Some impetus was lost since last fall but must be retrieved somehow. Perhaps a new story line should be appended. I am trying to add a little mysterioso, supernaturala to the recipe but only a subtle flavor of the above.
Perhaps if I have no plot or purpose I will have to rely on the elves for movement. OK. I am looking forward to getting together with everyone.
Isn't it cheating to start writing now for the November marathon? Or is everyone doing that?
I am organizing my High School Reunion all by myself so I really almost copped out on the writing but I didn't let myself. I expect a lot of people to be writing to me asking me what all I am doing about that. Oh well. They should do something. Right.

Hello out there! I'm Kat, aka Autumn, formerly known as coldrevolution, from Seymour. This will be year 5 for me, with only one win under my belt. (Hopefully this'll be number two!) Right now, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to be working on- I had an idea for a satirical fantasy sort of thing, but I've lost all motivation and I have very little written up on it. So, either I'll be doing that, working on my existing novel-in-progress (which is a heavily revamped version of my winning NaNo, actually) or coming up with something new. But I'm very excited for the madness!

"Cogito cogito ergo
cogito sum; I think
I think, therefore I
think I am."
-- Ambrose Bierce

formerly coldrevolution, aka Kat
08: ?, 00%

Hi all,

This is my first year participating in NaNo. (I signed up before, but life intervened!) I live in East Haven and work in Hamden.

I'm happy to say I've just started working on something that I think I can stick with through the thick and thin of this. It explores creativity and memory in the generations of a family which, I hope, will give me many avenues to pursue.

I'm working full-time and will be fighting my annual battle with my 3 maple trees during November but think I've carved out enough time each day to make a go of this project. Have also planned one reward along the way: tickets to Paula Poundstone at SCSU on the 22nd...something to look forward to beyond those stacks of paper!

I'm on call on Sundays as part of my job, so I don't know if I'll be able to make the kick-off, but I'll keep it in mind. Would be great if there were some faces to match to your names.

Hi! I'm Liz. I'm 25 and live in Milford. This is my third year doing NaNo and honestly, I almost forgot about it. I just got married and was so caught up in planning and taking care of last-minute details, I didn't notice that autumn was coming until the day of our rehearsal when I realized I needed a sweater. ^_^

I'm not completely sure what I'll be writing about this year. Last year was a YA-leaning fantasy with just a hint of swashbuckling. This year I may revisit a couple characters from a short story I wrote a while back... flesh them out and see where their decisions in that story will lead them down the road. It's a thought anyway.

Hopefully before November I'll have something resembling a job. I always do so much better at churning out the chapters when my time is a bit limited.

Maybe I'll actually make it to one of the events this year.

Good Luck to All!

~Liz

Hi everyone!
I'm Lauren, and I live in Bethany. This is my second year of NaNoWriMo--I can't believe it's been a whole year! I won last year, and am hoping to do so again this year in the sequel to last year's story :)

I unfortunately don't drive yet, and my mum never has time to bring me to events, but I'll hopefully have my license by November, or at least partway through it (fingers crossed!) and I'll be able to come to one or two.

It would be great to get to meet you all!
--Lauren

Wow! Lots of new faces this year - which is a great thing. Welcome everyone!

I hope that some, if not all of you, can make it to the Kickoff Dinner, or one of the many other events that will be going on in the month of November.

:-)

I've seen her live, she's lot of fun! And I live a few blocks from SCSU. Who knows, I might go and ambush you. :D

Biogirl here, aka Ilana.
I did NaNo last year, but from Southern MA (and far from other Wrimos). We moved this past summer and now I'm in Woodbridge.
Last year was a mystery, kinda a murder mystery, and my first novel ever. I did finish it and edit it and it stands at about 90K. This year, I'm better organized and I can say that it'll be a murder mystery. I think I learned a lot about noveling last year and hope its a bit easier this year.

I was a biology professor (I'm still teaching a few classes online), but gave up my job when we moved (many reasons, distance being a primary one) and am watching the job announcements. Hoping this makes making the daily word count easier somehow....

I'm GeveraBert, or just Bert, or Miss Bert and I think this is my 6th Nano. It's been a long time.
I produce Mayan-Aztec calendars for fun and profit, and I also teach hands on healing (Reiki, Shamballa, Munay Ki, etc). You can find me online at www.obsidianbutterfly.com, myspace.com/geverabert, myspace.com/jaguar_nights, ofsinitiate.blogspot.com, and alzheimersdad.blogspot.com. My Nano blog is bertpiedmont.livejournal.com.

Hi everyone! I'm Neffy, otherwise known as Stefanie. I'm 23, recently graduated from college, and living in Stratford. I actually joined this site back in '06 but have never been able to win NaNo... actually, I've never managed to break 10,000 words. *cough* But I'm hoping that this year will finally be different! Sure, I have no idea what I'm going to write about yet, but I trust that it'll come to me... if not, that will make next month all the more exciting, right?

Oh, no, is it NaNo time already?! It snuck up on me this year D:

Well, anyway. I'm Ymmashcib (don't ask.), aka Taylor. I'm a seventeen-year-old high school senior who lives in the home of the Wiffle Ball, aka Shelton. This will be my third NaNo, and hopefully my first win. My first year was a horrid disaster, with my story reaching some ridiculously low number of words before I discovered a plot black hole that sucked my entire story into it. I gave up on the fifth day, I believe. Last year was far more successful-- though I didn't actually win, I wrote a pretty good story, created characters I'd love to keep, and actually ended up finishing a novel, which had never happened before and hasn't happened since.

I have no plot yet, which a good friend of mine (and the chica who introduced me to NaNo) is chiding me for. That crazy lady had her entire story plotted out two weeks ago, claiming that planning is the only way to go about NaNo. I prefer to wing it and see where my imagination takes me.

Odd factoid: the Wiffle Ball HQ is a ten-minute walk from my house, and my Criminal Justice teacher's sister is a famous comedian (whose name escapes me at the moment).

Good luck to everyone, and I hope I will get to meet some of you at the NaNo kickoff party! :)

Hola. Paul here. This will be my fourth Nano. Won every time, but only one of those was an actual story, with a beginning, middle, and end. Hoping to recapture the magic this year with a new handle.

Nice to see some new faces. Going to the meetings really, really helps, and should be especially good for the people new to CT.

Hey everyone. I'm Alli, 21, from New Haven. I've been doing NaNo since 2002, and seem to have won every other year. This should, if pattern repeats, be an off year but I'm hoping school, two jobs, and my birthday won't team up against me this time around. Thinking about writing obnoxious teenage coming-of-age crap; apparently I'll do anything to get the word count in.

Good to see familiar names along with plenty of new people. :)

PS. Lizzie, for old time's sake, can we have a write-in at the Kimberly Diner?

Woo! It's NaNo time!

I'm Terry, from Norwalk - this is my fifth year or so of NaNo.

I failed miserably last year and barely wrote 8K. I will finish this year. I’m mapped, I’m outlined and I’m ready to go on a horror/adventure piece. I don’t usually find time to post on the boards much once we actually start NaNo-ing. Every minute I’m not at the office, I’m writing. Heck, there are times that I’m at the office writing – just don’t tell.

Hi! I'm Cate, and I live in Fairfield, and I am a rookie writer this year! I'm going to plan out my novel loosely in the next few weeks, and then relax and let it percolate until the November 1 gun! It's nice to e-meet you all and I hope everyone has fun. I'm really excited (as the surplus of exclamation points probably indicate)!

Hello fellow NaNo participants. My name is Shari and this is my second year with NaNo. Last year was a hectic one and I only made it to 7000 words. This year I plan on being verbose and better organized with respect to advance cooking 30 days worth of dinners for my family. I am hoping that my husband and my kids will clean the house and do the laundry. I know it's a pipe dream but I'm being optimistic.

I live in Hamden and work for myself. I look forward to meeting everyone.

whats up ?
like i dont know

so lets see...
this is sara talking to you; nano-doer and nano-winner of 2 years, however, i have yet to finish either story. who cares! you win, you win.
ill finish them someday....
yeh so, im trying to get myself a refurbished laptop for nano...and other purposes so im working and going to school which means i may or may not be able to make it to meetups.
but thats cool.
im not too sure what im writing about yet. i had really strong plots planned the past 2 years, but this one is just not commin to me. i have a halvsie sort of idea.
maybe itll fill out... well see.
really, im not sure how motivated im going to be for this nano; ive got a lot of stuff i want to do before moving (hopefully) in january so im just going to have a good time but i doubt that my little competative mind would allow me to not at least try.

well, feel free not to read all of that, i like to ramble.
good luck everyone!

Yo! I'm Stephanie and I live in New Haven (for a few more months, anyway) and this is my 4th Nano. I failed miserably last year due to school and I'm hoping that I can at least start writing this year. I've won 2 other Nanos, but I've never managed to finish the story I started on.

Hi- I am Erin and this is my 4th year...but I have yet to actually finish with an impressive word count so I am thinking 4 times is the charm? I write chick lit and will be working on a project I have had running around in my head for a while so I am hoping to get it all out in November. Looking forward to this!! - Erin

Hi,

I am just stopping by to say hi to everyone. Nice to see so many familiar names and quite a few new ones.

I've participated four times in NaNo and won it four times. I would love to write again but I have decided to take two classes towards my masters and don't think I'll find the time this year - not without going completely crazy, and I'll already do that without Nano, thank you very much. However, one of my classes is a creative writing class and I am using the time to revise my 2005 NaNo, posting it for class, and actually getting constructive feedback, Very helpful and actually a lot of fun. Otherwise my writing this November will consist of a 20 page term paper, and I don't think that will make for a fun story.

But, I already have another idea for my next NaNo and I am waiting for the time when I'll be able to participate again. Until then I'll be just lurking and cheering you on!

Good luck to everyone and have fun!!!

Birte

Hi all,
I'm Connie and I hope to make 50K through school and clubs. I'm a Newbie, although a few people at my school write for NaNoWriMo so I have help. :) I live in clinton but I reside in simsbury for school, and I'm hoping for a fantasy-like story. Other than that, I can't really think about anything else to share.
Nice to meet you all.
:3