Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Beach Hut Write-In!

Magenta — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:13:04 +0000

Some of you may have heard tales of the intrepid group of Fruity Writers who trekked out to Scarborough last year and wrote part of their novels in the snow. Well, this year we're hoping it won't snow but we're going to see if we can't get out there again. Since I've been busy and a bit rubbish, it's gotten a bit late but we're going to go with Sunday 29th November. That's right, the very last Sunday of NaNo. Those of you who are already done can come along to encourage those of us who are still writing.

A few points:

1). We owe this escapade to the generosity of MissMac, who is once again opening up her beach hut and welcoming us in. So thanks to MissMac!

2). Snow or not, it's going to be cold. Make sure you wrap up nice and warm. There'll be facility for hot drinks, but it's your own responsibility not to catch a chill.

3). About laptops - sand and expensive electronics may not be the best mix. If you bring your laptop, it's at your own risk. You might want to consider pen and paper instead (though last year the ink froze in my pen, which made writing interesting).

4). Cars. We'll be driving across there. So anyone who can volunteer a car to help transport people, please do.

5). We'll meet in the car park of York station at 1pm to head out there. That should give us a decent amount of time to write before it gets dark.

And 6). If it rains, the whole thing is off. Sitting on the beach in the snow is a thrilling adventure. Sitting out there in the rain is just miserable. So if the weather sucks, we'll go and have a last hurrah in Monty's instead.
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Claire - ML for England :: York & Leeds + Moderator of Newbies

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

50,000 already? Brag, boast, crow, yell! Be amazed at yourself!

spicycauldron — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:41:24 +0000

I hit 51,112 words this morning! *dances the happy author's dance*

It ain't over until the fat lady sings (there's no fat lady yet, so I reckon I'm heading towards 100k, I just don't know).

This is my first-ever NaNoWriMo and I remember, back on November 1st, being absolutely terrified at the prospect of trying to produce 50,000 words in a month. I'm so pleased I decided to take part. The pressure of that November 30th midnight deadline helped me to discipline myself, and keep going. Now I've got into a rhythm, I'm going to stick with what works for me, and continue to the very end of my story.

http://spicycauldron.com/2009/11/21/my-first-ever-nanowrimo-and-ive-done...

I will always - always - be grateful to the organisers and volunteers for making NaNoWriMo happen, and for helping all of us to unlock our potential, have fun, and learn much in the process.

Anyone else got there yet and intending to keep going?
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Half Way and a Week To Go....

lex-a-like — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:12:18 +0000

Not all of us have had brillient NaNoWriMos, indeed some of us haven't hit half way yet... those of us who haven't, who is pushing for completition with a week to go, like a mad starving man desperately hunting a mere morsel of hope?

I am, I've booked my hotel break on the coast, two uninterupted days of writing, away from the realities that are so distracting.

How is everyone in else in similar positions going to handle it?
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--
"If you happen to be one of the fretful minority who can do creative work, never force an idea; you'll abort it if you do. Be patient and you'll give birth to it when the time is ripe. Learn to wait," Robert A. Heinlein

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

York Peeps

Galadriel1010 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:48:56 +0000

There's been some interest already in a York writing group, anyone else fancy it? I'm fairly new in town, so I don't know where people would suggest, but Monty's Cucina on Monkgate is wonderful and has WiFi at least.
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NaNo09 - The more you write, the less you die.
www.fanfiction.net/~Galadriel1010

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

40,000 come and brag!

Kythe — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:00:52 +0000

I've just hit the 40k mark! SO happy and still typing!!! My muse is a happy bunny today!
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2008: Blood and Shadows - Lost
2009: Fragments of a Life - Won, 17th November

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

The Last Sentence You Wrote...

Magenta — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:12:45 +0000

First lines are all well and good, but if we want encouragement to keep writing then how about posting the *last* sentence you wrote? Because your first line will always be the same, but the last line keeps changing as long as you keep writing.

My current last line is:

She wanted to refuse, but the pain was such that she couldn't envisage walking all the way home.
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Claire - ML for England :: York & Leeds + Moderator of Newbies

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Harrogate/Starbeck/Knaresborough and other districts?!

Kythe — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:44:58 +0000

Hello all, just wondering if anyone is around the Harrogate districts! If so anyone willing to meet up and go for coffee with our laptops?
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2008: Blood and Shadows - Lost
2009: Fragments of a Life - Won, 17th November

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Word War Info - Updated 21 Nov.

Loriba — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:22:52 +0000

Hi all,

This thread is primarily for me to post info about the Word War to all competitors, so it's being cross-posted to all the regions taking part. If you want to make any comments, however, feel free. :-)

ETA: Here's the link to the leader board: http://www.annelyle.com/projects/scoreboard.html

The regions currently signed up are:

Birmingham
Brighton
Cambridge
Darlington
Devon & Cornwall
Essex
Gloustershire
Lancaster & Cumbria
Leicester
London
Manchester
Newcastle
Norfolk
Oxfordshire
York & Leeds
Dublin
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Eng: Elsewhere
Scot: Elsewhere
Wales

Only one region has given a definite No, so we may get a lot more before the 10th. Here's hoping. :-)

All those regions that are signed up should have a Banter thread, so feel free to go over and give them hell (but in a nice way). :-)

There may be a slight delay in the War starting up, as we're reliant on the site API working and the site is notoriously slow during the first few days of Nano, plus we're running it in a slightly different way this year and I'm not sure what problems will crop up because of that. In addition, one of Anne's cats is very seriously ill at the moment, so she may not have time to work on it. I'll be in touch with her and will let all the relevant MLs know if we have to make other arrangements at all. I'll also be in touch when I know the URL of the leader board. :-)

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Lottie
I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Europe :: England :: Birmingham-West Midlands

30,000 Come and Brag etc!

littlespark — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:52:04 +0000

Well, I was just sat at the Leeds Write In when I realised that I had just passed 30,000 worms and thought that it needed its own little forum for people who had feed the 30,000 worms.

(The worms is a joke in my family... sorry for exposing you lot to the madness!)

Come here and celebrate your 3/5 victory!
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Leeds Café Meets?

lex-a-like — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:28:28 +0000

Anyone up for meeting at a café in Leeds over the NaNoWriMo weekends, like last year?

I definately am, since it's probably what got me to the win in the end.
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--
"If you happen to be one of the fretful minority who can do creative work, never force an idea; you'll abort it if you do. Be patient and you'll give birth to it when the time is ripe. Learn to wait," Robert A. Heinlein

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Halton Area Authors

GeorgeCreative — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:21:05 +0000

Anyone here from Halton in Leeds? I feel isolated in this part of the town. XD
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My name is George, and I am a serious reader and writer. in my current reading schedule I have planned to read 42 books. Some i have read of course, but i still have around 30 to go. I tend to write something everyday, so that's why i signed up for NaNoWr

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

York Students...

kelly_writes_the_blues — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:12:40 +0000

Hallo!

I know that there is already a thread about getting a writing group goign again this year, and I hope this doesnt come across badly, but I was wondering if any other students on here fancy getting together a little errrr sub-group? Purely because we have a bit more time on our hands than people with full time jobs and families- you know- the grown ups. It could be based on campus, meet once a week (on a diff day to the other group, so could attend both) and just be a way for us to get our geek on. Together. Let me know what you think!

Kelly

x
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Leeds Students, Ex-Students, and General Hangers On

Atheling — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:35:12 +0000

Greetings!

Last year we were lucky enough to get a really good NaNo chapter going made up of current and former Leeds students, under the guidance of our awesome leader, rogue_dreams aka Charlie. It was a group that resulted in much karaoke, many good friends made, many milkshakes consumed, one long-term relationship, some frankly disturbing photos and a lot lot lot of words.

Sadly Charlie probably won't be able to resume her leaderly duties this year, so on absolutely no authority I'm (at least temporarily) stepping into the breach. I'm Atheling aka Myfanwy; I'm a third-year English Lit student at Leeds Uni, and this will be my fourth NaNo. Who are you? What do you do where? How many NaNos are you on?

Since last year's format seemed to work, I'm generally inclined to follow it. To which end I propose an initial get-together for the Student NaNos on the afternoon of either Sat 17 or Sat 24 October, to be held in that bastion of student life the Leeds Uni Union Terrace bar. Please post in the thread and let me know which date works for you :)

Our facebook group is here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=85518805390&ref=ts - I'll be adding people as soon as we get the admin arrangements sorted out.

So hai. Welcome to the madness :)
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Regional Dares!

Magenta — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:34:51 +0000

I just realised we haven't started a dares thread in here yet!

For those of you who are new to NaNo, you may have noticed a few of these threads knocking around the place. Basically, we like to add to the fun by daring each other to include various things in our novels. So there are general dare threads, and ones specific to particular genres. And here we have a thread for dares specific to our region.

There are two dares that have become a tradition in this region:

The Fruit Dare You'll already hopefully be aware that if you're coming to the Kick-Off party you need to bring a piece of fruit so we know who you are. It's traditional that you then try to work your piece of fruit into your novel. It doesn't have to be a literal piece of fruit - you could describe something as being the same colour as a kiwi fruit, or shaped like a banana. Last year, I had one of my characters accidentally turn himself into a pineapple. It was that kind of novel.

The Pablo Dare We also have a tendency to try and include a character called Pablo somewhere, even if only in a walk-on role. Strictly speaking, Pablo should be on the flamboyant side, but it's not absolutely necessary. The original Pablo occasionally wanders through this forum, so keep an eye out!

Anyone else want to add any other dares?
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Claire - ML for England :: York & Leeds + Moderator of Newbies

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Half Way!

Evilfilia — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:29:17 +0000

Made it over 25k now. Fastest I've ever managed to the half way point. It's supposed to be easier from now to the finish! Congrats to everyone else already past this mark and good luck to those soldiering on towards it.
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2009 - Ninjas In Space II
2008 - Ninjas In Space (won)
2007 - Winter Court (won)

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

20,000! Come and brag about it here!

jellywellington — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:21:33 +0000

Yep, I know, some of you brave, industrious souls have already leaped past this, but for those of us steadily sticking to wordcount, today's the day we reach 20,000! You should be proud of this, so come and brag about it here - there are celebratory drinks in the fridge! :)

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2005: fell at the dreaded week two
2006: winner (hurrah!) with 'Loop'
2007: winner again (hurrah!!) with 'Gravestowne'
2008: winner again (yay!) with 'The Murder Club'

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Favourite Places To Write in the Region

lex-a-like — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:23:32 +0000

I was wondering where do people like to write the most, if you like writing away from home. Is it somewhere clinical, beautiful, busy, peaceful?

I'm really looking forward to a few days in Ilkley at the end of this month, to try and tip myself over the winning point for NaNoWriMo. I love it there, great place to write.
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--
"If you happen to be one of the fretful minority who can do creative work, never force an idea; you'll abort it if you do. Be patient and you'll give birth to it when the time is ripe. Learn to wait," Robert A. Heinlein

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

One third down, two thirds to go!

jellywellington — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:34:56 +0000

If you're managing to keep up with daily word count, last night you should have hit 16,667, which is a third of the way through!
Come and give an excited wave if you made it, and have yourself a coffee! :)
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2005: fell at the dreaded week two
2006: winner (hurrah!) with 'Loop'
2007: winner again (hurrah!!) with 'Gravestowne'
2008: winner again (yay!) with 'The Murder Club'

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Cover artist?

Brian Wakeling — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:18:01 +0000

Are you one? Do you know of one? Are they cheap?
If the answer to any of the above is "yes" (especially the last one), please let me know via NaNoMail. Thanks.

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--
Have Sword & Sorcery: Will Travel™
Irish DiscWorld Convention 2009

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Music for the masses (of words)

CyberRuby — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:16:31 +0000

What tunes are keeping everyone scribbling this year?

I'm having a Dead Can Dance day. It's great writing music.

Roo
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---
http://twitter.com/wickwox
Art is resistance

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

What's your first line?

JonnyArdern — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:07:41 +0000

One of my writing buddies tells me they have this thread in her regional forums, so I'm asking you: what's the first line of your novel? Discount chapter titles if you're using them, of course. Mine is:

Quote:

Long after records ended, and before they began anew, a group of men stood around an open mine shaft in the wilderness and did not know what they had found.

Share and enjoy!

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"Instruction on the Conventions of Invention and Construction."

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

So, my laptop just blew up...

From.Grace — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:48:33 +0000

Seriously.
¬.¬
I was just sat there, innocently typing away, and something inside it blew and now it's not workingggggggg.
I've lost everything :|
What's worse, it's swallowed my Sims3 disk and it won't come out xD

Does anyone know if there's a way to recover my documents? Like taking out the hard drive or something?

IHMAWTD,
Danny.

PS: Am using Joey's laptop, he isn't happy about it xD

Any issues you guys have had so far?
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Calling all Sheffield people...

reebs3234 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:12:06 +0000

I don't know if there's one of these somewhere else (I know the one last year was in here), but I just wondered if there are any others from (or close to) Sheffield? I, myself, am right inbetween Sheffield and Rotherham.
Hello!
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It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Plots and Synopses

wirette — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:59:46 +0000

I know we're only in early October, so there're still a few weeks till NaNo actually starts, but has anyone else got their plot (vaguely) sorted?

This is the synopsis for my novel this year, at the moment. The challenges thing might change since it feels a little too much like a Thai film called 13: Game Of Death. Only this is about life, not money. Oh, and I should point out that Amigo in Korean means 'a man suffers when he falls in love with a beautiful woman'. Hence, the plot.

Amigo:
Dae Sung Choi is a single, middle-aged office worker surviving in the unbearable heat of Seoul, South Korea. On the brink of losing his job and his sanity, he meets a mysterious woman at a party who literally takes his breath away. She tells Dae Sung that he has 72 hours to complete a series of challenges. If he fails, he dies.

The only question is, can he survive?
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Europe :: England :: York & Leeds

Any writers in Skipton besides me?

spicycauldron — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:56:24 +0000

Taking part in NaNoWriMo, that is! This is my first one and I'm amazed at the things I'm already experiencing and learning on this incredible journey through the month of November - and it's only day four!

I posted on my blog yesterday that this is the first time I've started a novel and had an ending come to me long before I actually get there! I think it's the focus and awareness of a real deadline, it helps the deep insides of my head push ideas to the fore. The entry is at http://spicycauldron.com/2009/11/03/writing-is-magick/

I was knocking ideas about for a month before we started, toying with them all the time, every day - discarding one idea in the shower, coming up with another in the supermarket... Absolute madness, thankfully of a kind that isn't externalised (as far as I know). I don't know, though, whether I will take on the appearance of a total loon by the end of all this... So far I've done okay with my word count, and am happy with how the plot is progressing, but it's SO exhausting. I'm loving it though!

All the best to everyone, I hope we all make the 50k word count and end up with something worth pursuing further. Ever on, to greater glory, and all that, um, jazz!

Andy x
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