Who are YOU?

I guess I'll be the first to reply. :)

I am Nathalie, and actually don't LIVE in Charlotte, my husband, 7 month daughter and I live waaaaay out in Marshville (close to anson county). This will be my first NaNo and I'm very excited about it. I've been writing since I was 11, and actually ended up stopping for a while, mostly due to having such a huge courseload all four years of college. Of course, after that work sucked the life out of me (as well as several miscarriages) but now I'm in a great place in my life, and so excited to start writing again.

My name is Tamara, but I go by Tam.

I live in Charlotte, am married for 27+ years and we have an adult married son, who also lives in Charlotte. I am originally from the Buffalo, NY area. We moved to Charlotte two and a half years ago.

Last year I made it half way through NaNoWriMo and am hoping to make it to the end this year. I am also back in school attending Southern Evangelical Bible College in Matthews. So, it will be interesting how far I will get given homework, full time work, leading a Bible study and leading women's ministries at my church.

But, I love writing and am looking forward to the challenge.

Tam

Congrats on your baby!!! (Are you on charlottemommies.com yet? If not, you really should check it out.)

I won the Nano last year while doing my Masters studies, having a newborn (born in late September) and my grandmother dying on the 10th (and I had to drive all the way to Arkansas to kiss her goodbye the day before she passed and ended up staying two weeks)... You can SO do this, Mama! Good luck!

Hey Tam,
You can TOTALLY do this! Strangely enough, having a lot to do seems to make me even MORE organized during Nano time than when I ONLY have writing to do. Funny, huh? I guess we get so used to compartmentalizing and prioritizing? You'll make it!!!

What a great idea, jojo! Guess it's my turn :)

I'm Regann online and Kellie IRL. Feel free to call whichever you prefer, I'm used to it.

Now, about me...I am in my late 20s, am single, with two "babies" who are furry and meow alot. I have lived in Charlotte ALL MY LIFE, literally, so I know this place pretty well. I have a BA in History, and I almost finished a MA in Religious Studies before my money and interest ran out.

I am a writer by trade, if you consider marketing/communications writing, which is what I do for a local internet company. I have always loved to write and wanted to write a novel. I do write a great deal outside of work, but mostly it is of the FANFICTION variety.

I just found out earlier this week that I have the honor of being the Charlotte ML this year, so if anyone has any questions/comments/concerns, don't hesitate to hit me up via nanomail or by email (regannfoxx at yahoo dot com). This is my first year as ML since the awesome BJ Lee did it the last two years, but I will endeavor to do the best job I can by y'all.

As I said, let me know if I can help you in any way!

hey, all, my name in RL is sabrina and i'm basically a native charlottean - born in rock hill & moved here when i was 2, but it's almost the same difference, right? i'm a part-time stage manager, sometime student (medical lab tech) and single mom of a 3 year old girl. i listen to music a lot, i like to make stuff out of beads or yarn or fabric, i do like to garden but skipped it this summer for various reasons and have been kicking myself since. i also have an unhealthy amount of love for the tv show "lost." oh, and i'm doing a LiveJournal in order to chronicle my nano experience, so feel free to have a look:
http://hemoglobin_baby.livejournal.com/
looking forward to november (btw, nov 1 is my birthday - weird, huh?) and hopefully getting to know you guys a bit as well!

Hey there! Great to see you again and congrats on taking the reins!!!!

Are you on charlottemommies.com? If you're not, you SHOULD be *wink*

So, there's gonna be a global celebration of your birthday with all of us sitting in front of our computers, tap, tap, tapping away!

Hi. Deeva here, Heather IRL. Not a native to Charlotte or the Carolinas: my parents moved to Ft. Mill about 2 years ago. Just finished with college and am currently looking for a full time teaching position. Would love suggestions on how to secure a job that wants you to have experience but refuses to hire so you can get experience....*sigh* Anyway, hoping to actually win NaNo this year since I'd love to be able to publish something and I think my idea has potential.

Well, I refer to myself as "LA Scene". I have just moved to the Charlotte area.

This is my fourth and possibly final Nano. I am going to retire from nano this year because I'd like to try to write a novel without the "competition" of a Nanowrimo. Of course, I reserve the right to pull a Brett Favre and change my mind.

I've completed all previous three Nanowrimos successfully. I don't believe in the Write-ins or meetups only because I end up socializing too much and it takes away writing time (plus my experience is they traditional have little to no turnouts). However, I do find the message boards a great place to exchange ideas.

Woot! Some people I know and some people I don't. Sweetness.

Anyways, I'm Arilan. But you can call me Ari, Ril, Alex, Sarah(my actual name), Hey You, or pretty much anything else. I'm 21, working two part time jobs(one of which is a Co-op for school), and am working off my last 15 credits for my AAS in Culinary Technology. Unless something goes horribly wrong I should be graduating in December.
If you were about last year, I'm one of that weird clan of writing women that all show up places together. My mother and one of my sisters moved out of state so there're just two of us left. You can all put down the tasers.

Umm, oh yeah! I've been doing Nano since 2004, but last year was my first win. I'm also going green this year by recycling a Nano from several years ago.
I know, I know. *gasps of horror* and all that. How can you recycle a Nano? Well, frankly, it sucked badly. Very, very badly. I reread it over the summer and there is not one thing about it I would save. SO, I'm going back to the original plot device and building a whole new treatment for it from the ground up. I've done it before, with other plots, and it hasn't been a problem. The actual content is so different there's no comparison. The first few days will be fun though, when my muses try and revert to their old forms. *twitch* Whiney Adrian, and bratty Brianna. Oh geez. *twitch*

Yep. I think that's all the important stuff.

:D I'm DPAK (Deranged Person At (the) Keyboard; pronounced Dee-Pack) online (the 416 was tacked on; it's my birthday) and Susan IRL. I'm 19, a full-time college student and a part-time cashier. I'm a native N. Carolinian, and lived most of my life in Kannapolis (I'm now just outside Salisbury). I'm single, live with my mom (where I pay rent since she's tight on money like everyone else), have a chihuahua (Asesino), a cat (Binx), a beta fish (Thaddeus), and two turtles (Phoenix and Edgeworth). I've loved reading since I was little and have been writing since I was in middle school.

This is my first year participating in NaNoWriMo and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I don't know what I'm writing yet, but it will most likely involve the supernatural in some form or fashion. I'm not sure if I'll be able to "win" this year, as my grades come first (especially this time of year; finals are approaching quickly! D:), but I'm sure I'll have fun no matter what.

i'm not on charlottemommies.com, but i will check it out. how could i not sign up for nano since it starts on my birthday? sort of seemed like destiny. make sure you tap your keys to the rhythm of "happy birthday to you" :)

Hey guys,

I am new to the Charlotte area. I moved out here from that distant country known as the Republic of Texas where, incidentally, my family still lives. At the end of the school year, I am hoping our house will sell and I can move them out here. For now though, it gives me plenty of peace to write this year. I have won Nano once, and have tried two other times but couldn't get into the swing of things. This year is different. I am breaking away from my traditional genre of Fantasy/Sci-Fi to write a story with my 11 year old daughter. I see it as an opportunity to keep her and I talking while apart (gives us something meaningful to talk about) and I see it as a valuable learning experience for the both of us. This will also be the first time I have written under my real name, Chris Allen, rather than my pseudonym of Gus Gallows.

This year, we are writing a young adult fiction piece called The Kids of Shelter Nine. It will be about a classroom fieldtrip gone wrong. 30 diverse kids, a macho chauvinistic gym teacher, a demure/quiet science teacher, and their post traumatic stress suffering bus driver get locked in an old science lab's bomb shelter when, as they are visiting it, Nuclear war actually breaks out. The story will take place over 5 years. I think it has a lot of potential and there are a lot of different directions for us to take with it.

My daughter is doing all the research (I want her to learn as much in this process as she can) and naming all the characters and places. I will be doing most of the writing, but she will be proofreading, helping with brainstorming and developing the story. I will probably let her do most of the kids' dialogues too. :)

Right now I have her researching hydroponics, bomb shelter technology, solar power and things along those lines. I really feel this will be a win win kinda thing.

At any rate, that is probably more about my goals than you were expecting/wanting, so I will sign off with, nice to meet you all and good luck this year.

Chris Allen
AKA Gus Gallows
Author of The Price of Honor (Available on Amazon.com) (Shameless plug)
http://www.authors-pad.com

Gus/Chris,

Excellent project for you and your daughter, mine has been hinting around that she wants to try but I'm not sure if she's as into it as I am.

***edit*** Oh yeah, you're story idea is great, I can't wait to read it!

And hello to everyone else who I haven't had a chance to greet, I'm sort of a newbie this year, never been all the way through the process but am looking forward to participating fully this year!

Peter Salvo

Hello everyone, My name is Daniella in real life and this is my first NaNoWriMo.
And because of this, I am extremely stressed out. I signed up for this without knowing what I was getting into, but I'm sticking with it, mostly because if I don't, I doubt my novel will get written.

Well, more about me I guess.
I'm a freshman in high school, and I'm dreading and looking forward to juggling this throughout November, as well as proving that you don't have to be an adult to be a good writer. Age discrimination is something I've experienced throughout my entire life and I look forward to squashing it by winning this years NaNoWriMo.

Perhaps that would even get my novel published! Who knows?
C:

Oh my gosh! I totally love that plot, Gus/Chris. I want to read it already!

And for all you newbies MANY HUGS! If there is anything you need to ask, or if you just want someone sending cheerful and/or annoying 'Get on with it!' emails/etc let me know. I am all about the helping.
Seriously.
You may be thinking, "Oh she's just being polite"
LIES! Ask anyone! Ask my sister! I can't be polite to save my life.
Bother me. I beg you.

Wow! I just realized this is my SIXTH year doing nano! Yikes! The really sad part of that is that I've never won. But you can just call me stubborn...I'm trying again this year!

Cheri IRL, married with two kids and also three cats - Sonny, Princess Tiger Lily(Princess for short) and Bear. My daughter is also doing nano again this year - this will be her third attempt I believe. Originally from NJ, we moved here in 2004 and I love it here. My sister moved in with us this year and I am trying to get her to do nano also.

I watch too much tv - someone mentioned "LOST"! I'm the only one in my house that watches it. I like all the CSI's, but lately I've been skipping Miami....terrible writing on that show and the producers/directors also stink. Also, House and Numb3rs. And yes I have a DVR, which is terrible when you need to be writing and also wonderful, because you can skip all the commercials.

Anywho, that's me in a nutshell....wait how did I get in a nutshell, HELP!

Hello there! I think I may be the oldest native of the Charlotte region to post up to this point. Not only was I born in Charlotte--Mercy Hospital, to be specific--but I have also lived here most of my adult life. (I grew up in northeastern Gaston County, outside the city of Mount Holly.) Even my avatar is a bit of Charlotte history--it is the logo that WBTV, our CBS affiliate, used from 1978 to 1983. To tell you how old I am--the building now known as Two Wachovia Center in downtown Charlotte was the tallest building in town when I was born, and it wasn't finished yet.

I hold a degree in communication (mass communication) from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, and have done post-baccalaureate work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Although I do have experience in radio and television, for the last fourteen years I've worked in banking. Today, I am a business systems analyst, whose primary business is the design and revision of business forms.

This is my fifth NaNoWriMo, and I'm really looking forward to it. Hope everyone hear does well and reaches that 50,000 word target!

I'm RedBlackandWhite, IRL Michael.

I'm currently a junior at Providence High School, south of downtown. I guess I can lay claim to being one of the youngest wrimos in this area? Maybe?

Anyway, I finished NaNo last year in an exasperated and unstable mental state, and I have only looked at my still-unfinished manuscript twice since then. Those who know me note my unusually blunt nature and my affinity for dark and revealing literature. I have severe procrastination issues and I can't be prolific to save my life. I was not very active in the Charlotte group last year, save for the party at the end. I hope to write something much better this year, and I hope to outline it well (that has yet to happen and in my world the 18th is a lot like the 3rd of the month).

The challenge will probably be surviving this month as well as surviving my junior year, with its AP english and the stupid Graduation Project.

Hi there everyone,

This is my first year doing the NANOWRIMO and I am so excited to be a part of this group. A little bit about myself. I have lived in Charlotte for the past three years and am originally from Brooklyn, NY. I've lived in various parts of NY and my husband and I decided to make the move down South. Here we are three years later and we have a 14 month old little boy.

I have always had a passion to write a book and have dabbled in poetry in my younger years. Not that I am old, I'll turn 33 this December. It would be wonderful as a birthday gift to myself to hit the 50,000 word count.

I wish everyone luck and hope to meet other Charlotte writers along the way.

Have a great one!!

Charlottewritermom
(Keilani)

Hi,

My name is Bobby and this is my 3rd year doing NANO. I hope its my first winning year! I just moved to Charlotte about three weeks ago with my wife. Though, I did live here about ten years ago for a year or tow when I was going to UNCC.

Not much else to say, except, good luck to everyone!

Bigocb

Hi, wonderfuls!

This is so exciting. This is my first year trying to Nanowrimo -- see, I don't even know the lingo yet! I am a writer and a yoga teacher -- just finished a contract and I'm looking for a new job ... which is frustrating. I found that I was spending/angsting all this time on the computer looking on Craig's List instead of seeing this free time as a gift -- a time to nurture my creative side.

So, I'm in! I wrote a novella (hundreds of years ago) during my MA program, which I'm hoping the encouragement and deadlines will help me transform into a novel!

Hooray!

Warmly,
Carolyn

Hi, I'm Megan. I don't actually live in Charlotte...I live in Winston-Salem. This is my first Nanowrimo, but I'm determined to finish! I'm really excited about it!

I'm not married, I don't have children, it's just me and my cat. And I'm fine with that :-D

I find that I predominantly write lyrics and music...but I have always wanted to write a novel and could never get past my desire for perfection. I think this is the obvious solution.

Hey all. liking/lbk/lisa. Glad to meet you.

I'm a transplant too, living in a big old house under tall trees on the top of a hill in Albemarle. Moved here from Chicago 5 years ago to be closer to my husband's parents in Charlotte. We've got 3 boys, one off to college in VA. The other two still resonating sweetly through their adolescence. My husband and I both work for a Chicago based web development company. We work out of the house. He designs and I fix things. We are always working.

I only just decided to do this because I'm just so tired of not doing it.

I don't know what will come of it. I'm in for the ride.

-lbk

My Name is Robert T Gasperson.

This will be my 5th attempt at NaNoWriMo. The furthest I have been able to get for NaNo is about 17,000 words.

This Year I have a new Strategy. I have a new Palm Phone which has MS Word on it. I am going to write whenever I have a free moment. 1,667 words is not a lot of words when I can write in 5-20 minute chuncks several times per day.

My NaNo Novel is not outlined. I am starting with a handful of Random Names and a bunch of dares from the Dares 2 Thread on these forums.

You can keep up to date with my progress at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3040915

November 2008, I am going to WIN NaNoWriMo!!!

Hi!

My name is Susan. This is my first NANO.
I live in Bessemer City, not far from Charlotte.
I work in the shipping/receiving dept. of a print company. (business cards, newsletters, flyers, etc.)

When I'm not working or writing I'm making zombie rag dolls and trying to survive my daughters teen years!

Will miss the Nov 1st writing kick off due to the fact I'm renewing my vows that day (10 years). We're having a halloween themed wedding! Zombies, Witches, Vampires oh my!

Haven't even given my novel any thought...I like to just jump in with no life jacket.

I'm Heather. I'm actually from Mooresville, NC with is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Charlotte. I'm actually in school in Virginia right now, but still claiming NC as one of my homes.

This is my first year attempting NaNo. I really hope I can handle it! I want to finish, but if I don't there is always next year! I'm really excited and I have lots of ideas running through my head. I don't really have a plot set up yet, but I have characters and a setting . I'm just ready to start and I can't wait till nest weekend!

My name's Brendan. I'm 31, a cubicle denizen. I've published short stories in Night Train Magazine, McSweeneys, Cafe Irreal. I recently published a short essay in the print anthology, Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas. This year I organized the meetup.com group, Charlotte Writers, and we're going strong. This is my first NaNoWriMo. It's gonna be interesting.

I'm Claire online (after a character), Heather IRL. I work teaching and tutoring, mainly homeschoolers - best job ever!!! (Bonus: every day is take your kid to work day - that's also the biggest drawback). I start each year with the best of intentions, but THIS time I mean it - I'm going to win!!!! I did, eventually complete my past efforts - just not in November.