United States :: California :: Modesto

POST NANO WRITE-INS

themermaidslair — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:19:40 -0800

Hi,

Just a reminder that the Modesto Wrimos FIRST post-NaNo write-in/meet-up is scheduled for tomorrow night at 5:00 Panera Bread in Turlock.

Hotel Drive (#1117) - 18.5 Miles
3050 Hotel Drive, Turlock, 95380
(209) 632-0336

Take the Monte Vista exit, east....Panera is across the parking lot from the Red Robin restaurant...very easy to spot. They have lots of space, tons of electrical outlets, a FIREPLACE, friendly staff....in a word: PERFECTION for writers.

Hope to see any/all of you there!

Cheers,
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United States :: California :: Modesto

TGIO Get Together

themermaidslair — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 13:36:30 -0800

WHEW!!! Don't know how everyone else is feeling, but for me, reaching December feels like I have emerged from a long, LONG stent in a sensory-deprivation tank---November was one long immersion into my story and I barely had time (or the inclination) for anything else in my life. I love my story--I LOVE IT--so I guess that's the pay-off for all the madness, right?

Er.........right??? LOL (O_o)

Okay, so here's the deal--so many of y'all have indicated that you have no real preference for a particular place or venue for the TGIO get together, as long as we can get-together and celebrate another year of doing/finishing NANO......and several of us have developed a fondness for Panera--the food is good (and affordable) the atmosphere quiet and congenial (read: writer friendly!) so what'cha all think about going there for our TGIO?

Now the only issue is WHEN.........this coming weekend, Friday evening, Sunday evening or Monday evening would work for me...the only day/evening that won't work at all is Saturday (as I'll be in Monterey)......

What say you(s)? (-_~)

~Mer
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Future Meeting Plan

kathg — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 17:54:25 -0800

Hi All!
Just wondering what was the outcome of the Sunday morning gathering that I missed. Do we have a plan to meet in the future and what is it?

Finally out of my post NaNo fog! ~ Kathg

kathgarcia@msn.com
(209) 613-8876
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United States :: California :: Modesto

LATE BREAKING ~ A N N O U N C E M E N T~

themermaidslair — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:57:03 -0800

Hi Modesto WriMos!!!

Just heard from Ann--due to a miscommunication, she went to Borders TODAY, thinking it was our scheduled write in for this week.........she got the right place, just the wrong day. (We had planned to meet SUNDAY morning at 10:00)

BUT, here's the thing: she discovered that Borders does NOT HAVE POWER OUTLETS in the coffee-shop area where we would be meeting. When she asked where else in the store they were located, she was told that Borders does not encourage anyone trying to plug in their laptops.

Hmmmmmmmmm.......guess it's just me, but I thought the whole concept of writers writing in a BOOK STORE environment just seemed like it would be a good thing.......oh well.

SO.......I'm thinking we should ix-nay the whole Borders/Barnes & Noble thing and shoot for Paneras in Turlock for Sunday morning?

Will that work for everyone who intended to attend?

Please let me know if this isn't do-able--we COULD also try out the Queen Bean downtown Modesto as an alternative......just let me know, 'kay??

~Mer
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Timers and other devices

annie349 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:53:04 -0800

David,
You asked in an earlier e-mail about techniques for staying on track. I think the best device is a timer. Set it for sprints of 15 to 40 minutes. I don't know why this works, but everybody I know finds that it helps keep them going, especially when there's resistance.

ann
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Nice to meet y'all

annie349 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:51:28 -0800

Greetings to the Modesto NAMOs (from Manteca)

It was great meeting some of the die-hards for our writing group last night at Panara's Bread. I was really impressed and sorry I had to leave so soon. Looking forward to our next meet at Border's in Modesto on Sisk Rd. Hope it will be as enchanting as the Turlock spot. Still thinking about our Celebration meeting....

Slugging it out with all of you,
Ann
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United States :: California :: Modesto

~ A N N O U N C E M E N T~

themermaidslair — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:21:17 -0800

*~*~*~*~* TGIO PARTY*~*~*~*~*

Attention Modesto Wrimos:

Just wanted to let everyone know that we WILL be having a TGIO party on the last weekend of November !!!! HUZZAH !!!!! I'd SO love to see as many as possible get to come--especially those who haven't come out for the Kick-Off or the write-ins......I want to get to meet each of you before all the madness......er....um......FUN....before all the fun is over..... {{{{wink}}}}

So here's the deal: Please plan on coming to our write-in tomorrow night IF AT ALL POSSIBLE--I'd like to get everyone's feedback on which day (Saturday or Sunday?) next weekend will work for the most of us.....also a venue.....somewhere for a celebratory dinner? Drinks? Coffee? Baskin Robbins? I need some input, 'kay? How would each of YOU like to commemorate this special thing we've all participated in? And, as always, feel free to post ideas here as well.

Hoping to see all of you tomorrow,
~Mer
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Word Count Robot

kathg — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:44:09 -0800

I just pasted in the work I've done so far and the word count was an exact match with no discrepancy. I'm using a version of Microsoft Word, believe it's 2003. So hopefully Mer's experience was a fluke and she and no one else will have that problem again.

Onward Typing Soldiers, Kathy
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Staying on Task

david.noceti — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:50:17 -0800

Thought it might be nice to get a thread going where we can share some ideas about how to stay on task. A couple have occurred to me over the past week. The first is writing buddies. When I'm working on my story at home, I leave my web browser up behind my writing window and on the web browser is my NaNoWriMo page that shows all of my writing buddies along with their word totals. Every time I start to stray from what I should be doing, I look at this window to remind my self how well everyone else is doing. I've picked out a buddy who is a few thousand words ahead of me and set the goal of catching up.

I've also found that tuning the world out helps a great deal. I'll pull up my writing playlist on my zune (mp3 player) and stick headphones into my ears. It effectively drowns everything else out and helps me to focus on the writing at hand. I had been trying to do this by playing the music on the computer over speakers, but found that I was too easily distracted. I should also note that my writing music is all wordless. I find it very helpful to listen to movie scores and classical, because after all, I'm taking the movie playing in my head and putting it to page.

Any other tips? At this point I'll take anything I can get. :o) We're already at the halfway point and yet I'm still way off of being halfway done with my novel.

Happy writing,
David
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Counting robots

annie349 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:54:59 -0800

Has anybody tried out the NAMO word counting robots? I just slipped my text in and added a few words about the novel. Instead of 35,217 words, the bots show 35,072, or 145 fewer words than what I show. This is OK, but I thought if you were really running close the word count, you should consider ramping up a bit beyond 50K.

Hope all is going well with you guys. I'm hoping to get to the write-in tomorrow night. Would really like to meet y'all!

best,
ann
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Friday Night Write-Ins...

themermaidslair — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:16:16 -0700

Hi Wrimos!

Just realized that there may be some confusion about the scheduled write-ins at Barnes & Noble--it occurred to me when I realized that I am confused too.........geeesh! (o_O)

I'm thinking we were gonna begin tonight but then a fellow ML from another region reminded me that tonight would have to just be fun and games, and NOT writing--I and I thought: Good point! (rolling eyes)

So.....I know this is 11th hour stuff, but if any of you are planning on coming to B & N tonight, please email me ASAP--or better yet, CALL ME, okay? It's a 25+ mile trip from Patterson to Modesto, and I will oh so gladly make it, as long as there will be others there too.

Sorry for the confusion--I got taken out by a bug this week and the old grey cells are still not firing on all cylinders yet.

~Mer

ML: Modesto and outlying areas
greenshadows@gmail.com
209-202-4275
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United States :: California :: Modesto

About writing buddies....

themermaidslair — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:17:28 -0700

I've copy/pasted this from another forum (Geezer's) cos I'm not sure any of you "youngsters" (wink) will see it over there and I think it is a good thing for the newbies among us to read. Buddies are great to have--they meant the difference in me "winning" last year---cheering me on when I was certain sure I didn't have another stinkin' word in my brain......find 'em, use 'em, keep 'em. You won't be sorry......

~Mer

Hi folks!

Last year was my first NaNo.....and I was a nervous newbie! I felt so embarrassed to ask questions about stuff, but when I opened my first thread to inquire about how the "buddy thing" worked, lots and lots of wonderful people came to respond and stayed to play and that 'buddy thread" ended up being the beginning of lots of new friendships for me. So.....here it is again..........

And to answer the question (for other newbies in our midst) writing buddies are great to have. They encourage,commiserate, applaud and comfort. They are who will see your PM in the middle of the night, when you feel as though you can't possibly squeeze any more words out of your brain and they will help you laugh and keep going.

Read the posts, look for kindred spirits and ask them to buddy with you. You won't be sorry.

~Mer
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United States :: California :: Modesto

Introductions

themermaidslair — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:32:35 -0700

Hi there again,

Just realized that we should have a thread for the Modesto region (AND outlying areas) where all of us can "check-in"--tell a little bit about ourselves--perhaps something about what we'd like to accomplish with this year's NaNo. It will give us a little familiarity with each other before we actually meet at the Kick-Off event.

I'll begin..........Ahemmmmm.....

I'm Mer.....actually my name is Viki....but everyone calls me Mer (short for mermaid) I work in a law library (and am trying to destroy the dowdy, cranky librarian persona!!) I am LONG married and have three birth children and seven other "volunteer" children. (IF I wasn't already a mythical sea-creature, I would most likely be a mother hen!) I just finished participating in a local Renaissance Faire where I am a member of a guild and took part in this year's stage entertainment by being in several stage shows! Whew!! A REAL breakthrough for me--who until this past year was cripplingly shy!

I'm a VORACIOUS reader and have written all my life. I didn't take it seriously, though.....referred to my fiction as my "scribblings". I have written technically, academically, in a journalistic fashion and for various informal newsletters.....but fiction has always been my real passion. And ironically, it has been the one area of my writing that I've had the least confidence in.

Until last year.

I can unequivocally say that NaNo changed my life as a writer. In many ways that are too complex to get into HERE, writing at such a breakneck pace and writing with my inner critic and my "me editor" under lock and key, broke through whatever it was that was holding me back. In the past year, I have not only watched my writing evolve, but in many other ways, forging ahead with NaNo has put me on a road to find my courage in lots of other areas in my life. (My signature line includes a line from the Cowardly Lion and it reflects just how I felt a year ago today when I logged onto this website and registered!)

I have found my courage, I've found my passion and I've found my future as a writer as a result of NaNo. Pretty dramatic stuff, yes? (wink)

Okay--now it's all of y'alls turn.......

~Mer
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United States :: California :: Modesto

NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party !!!

themermaidslair — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:05:56 -0700

Guess what time it is???

That’s right. The month of November means but one thing to some of us: feverish days spent with our heads down and our brows furrowed, tapping or scribbling out our own version of The Greatest Story Ever Told. Or if not that, perhaps that thing that’s been noodling around in the back of your mind for what seems like all year. You know – that wacky concept that you keep thinking would make for interesting reading, if you could ever get the time to just sit and write it out? Well, November ... and NaNoWriMo ... could just be your chance!

I will be the Municipal Liason for our area’s chapter and National Novel Writing Month is almost upon us. Therefore, to generate interest in this event– and because any excuse to eat and socialize with writer types is a good one – I’m sponsoring a kick-off social event at the Barnes and Noble in the Promenade Shopping Center, 3501 McHenry Avenue Suite E Modesto, CA on Saturday, October 25th. This will begin at 6:00 PM. There is a pass-through into the Starbucks next door and this will be an ‘eat or drink what you like, because you’re paying for it!’ type of casual get-together, with the focus on getting folks registered and up-to-speed on beginning your story, kick around ideas, and generally to find out how many other certifiably insane people may want to do this again!

I hope to see you there this year. If you can’t make it, but still want to do NaNoWriMo this year, let me know via email or phone, and I’ll put you on the list of local writers. Please feel free to email or call with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Huzzah!!

Viki Sprague
greenshadows@gmail.com
209-202-4275
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United States :: California :: Modesto

ML

Celes Tilly — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 22:54:22 -0700

anybody here interested in being a municipal liaison?
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United States :: California :: Modesto

[NaNoWriMo HQ] NaNoWriMo's Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon

Tavia Stewart — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:30:30 -0700

Hello Modesto Wrimos,

NaNoWriMo HQ is excited to invite you to our second-annual Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon. Come spend a blissful night of eating, drinking, and novel-writing with 200 Bay Area NaNoWriMo participants and staff!

The event is on Saturday, November 15. This year’s theme: NaNo-Noir. We’ll be summoning the spirits of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett with chiaroscuro lighting, mood-setting background movies, and writing feats more dangerous than falling in love with a femme fatale. Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt, this will be a night you don’t want to miss.

How it Works:

All funds from the Write-a-thon benefit NaNoWriMo's youth and adult programs. To attend, just raise $200 or more in contributions through your easy-to-set-up Write-a-thon Firstgiving page by November 10.

Everyone who comes will get dinner, drinks, caffeine, a funny dinnertime talk by NaNoWriMo Director Chris Baty on 10 Years of NaNoWriMo Craziness, and a special Night of Writing Dangerously tote bag filled with books, writing software, and edible treats. You'll also have a chance to win raffle prizes such as museum passes, yoga classes, movie tickets, spa treatments, bottles of fine wine, and a baseball signed by Judy Blume.

The top three fundraisers will get to choose from special prizes, including a Dell Inspiron laptop, a 32 GB iPod Touch courtesy of Storyist.com, and an AlphaSmart Neo courtesy of Renaissance Learning.

As soon as you raise $200, send me an RSVP. If you raise $300 or more, you can RSVP for a guest as well. The ballroom has limited seating, so please RSVP as soon as possible!

For more information about the event, including photos and video from last years event, and to see a list of all the exciting raffle prizes, visit our Write-a-thon page.

Any questions? Drop me a line.

Hope to see you all there!

Tavia Stewart
NaNoWriMo HQ
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