Hellooo, Toronto!
My name is Victoria and I'm one of your Toronto Municipal Liaisons for 2009. I'm a full-time freelance writer who fell in love with NaNo way back in 2005 – when writing was a dream rather than a job to me – and I haven't left since.
I write fiction and non-fiction, just about anything and everything that comes my way, though my first field of expertise is in natural health (see my natural medicine column at http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com).
I'm also a dog lover and puppy-mom with some experience in dog training, boarding and dogsitting – you can see my boarding profile and pic with my year-and-a-half-old monster, Rowan, here: http://www.nosybarkers.com/pages/community_toronto_victoria.html (and before you ask, no, I didn't write that one!).
But enough about me. Let's hear from you!
Is this your first year doing NaNoWriMo… or your eleventh? Have you got a novel idea already outlined, or are you planning to wing it? Do you write for a living, or do something more interesting? ;) Tell us as much or as little about yourself as you'd like. Pictures are a bonus. And before you ask, no, these intros don't count toward your word count (even if you post 'em in November).
Ready, set… go!
~Victoria
----------
Victoria Anisman-Reiner
Co-ML for Toronto, Canada
80,035 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 05 46
Vix Im telling you girl you are going to wear those fingers out before November even gets here!
Ok onto me....for the moment anyways.... :o)
I am Allison, aka Alley, Ally, AlleyCat --- and a ton of other miscellaneous cats during the month, dependent upon my mood at the time.
I am your highly caffeinated and ridiculously insane Word War Captain for the year!
I am also a mother of three girls, wife to one over-grown boy, I am a bookkeeper/Admin assistant by day, by night I am a writer of suspense thrillers. So occasional talk about axe-murderers and serial killers is completely normal and totally harmless.
This is my fourth Nano and every year its gotten bigger and better for me. Its not only about the writing for me, its the friendships that have been forged over the years, thats what brought me back time and time again. There is nothing better than finding yourself surrounded by a group of wonderfully supportive people who understand the writing and share that passion with you.
That being said... the easiest way to find these wonderful people is exactly where I myself found them in Nano 2007... in the toronto chat room! http://www.torontonano.org/ You will find others just like you there day or night, when ever you need a laugh or just someone to talk to we are there! Come on out and see us!
Oh! And I cant wait to see you all at the events in November.... Ill be easy to spot.... just look for the person who has a coffee mug crazy glued to her hand!
See you soon!
56,449 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 06 41
Hi!
My name is Denise, and I'm back in Toronto after four years out in Nova Scotia for school, where I was a co-ML for the Pictou/Antigonish region. My WriMos were few but fierce! Having graduated, I decided to take a year off and focus on the important things in life - my new wife and writing. She's resigned herself to being a NaNoWidow this year. I work full-time at Staples, so I'm hoping I can still carve out the time to write. I haven't won for the past four years, but I think this is my year! I write a lot of fantasy (most of it skews more towards speculative fiction, I guess?), lot of romance (I embrace the trashy!), lot of fairy-tales-gone-off, lot of . . . I dunno, niche stuff? I'm into curling and knitting and the Celts, and that influences most of my work.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting everyone, as I'm sure it's a whole new crop since the last time I NaNoed in Toronto, back in 2005. 2004. Wow, I'm getting old.
I'm very friendly (honest), and I think I'll be diving into the chatroom, but also always up for word wars and plotting over IM, just PM if you want to chat. I still keep up with my former co-ML and the WriMos on the East Coast, if anyone's up for some more friendly competition. Are we still at war with Belgium and Holland?
----------2004: It Came and Ate Us
2005: The Once and Present Kings
2006: Must Love Ninjas
2007: In the Shadows of the Night
2009: Old Gods: or, Don't Stop Believing
40,301 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 07 12
ALLLLOOO!!!
About me:
- geek
- 4th Year of Nanowrimo
- works at http://www.ctworkshop.com in Multimedia Design and IT
- annoying
- likes writing geek music and FAWM - http://geeklovesongs.com & http://www.facebook.com/GeekLoveSongs
- passionate about creativity - http://creativegeeks.ning.com
- likes stop motion animation - http://youtube.com/eelumir
- likes german boardgames - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/Errol?username=Errol&own=1&...
- uxorious
- have two spoiled but otherwise lovely children
----------63,872 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 08 02
Hiya. You can call me Cuno, Stef, or Sochitelya, whatever strikes your fancy. I just moved to Toronto in August in order to attend school. I'm going to Seneca College for the Library and Information Technician program. This is my 7th year doing NaNo; I've completed two novels and wrote most of five more. I did have a novel idea, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it now. Of course, I don't exactly have any other ideas yet. I'm a horse-lover and worked in barns for over ten years, until the recession hit and I decided I was fed up of freezing my butt off all winter.
I write fiction, mostly urban fantasy. Occasionally I'll write medieval/high fantasy, and I like to throw in dashes of horror when I can get away with it. I swear a lot, like blood and guts, and put my characters through hell, but I'm afraid of horror movies. I don't know either. I have a writing journal at http://sochitelya.livejournal.com that I need to update more often, and a blog at http://voidyelling.blogspot.com, though that one is updated sporadically and covers whining about my life as well as writing chatter. Alsoalso, I just rebooted my old FictionPress account, which can be found here: http://www.fictionpress.com/u/6606/
Feel free to add me as a buddy, and I can be contacted on AIM (TequilaJello) or MSN (wildcanadianchica@hotmail.com) though I'm more often on AIM. I'm friendly, don't be afraid; I'm just weird.
----------80,035 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 08 02
Belgium and Holland are before my time... We did beat Vancouver last year though! (And Chicago/NYC the year before!)
Weird is good Stef! After all I am weird... and people still love me :o)
Glad to have you both on board!
82,810 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 08 59
Hi everyone!
This is my second year of NaNo; I managed to win last year with double the required word count. Had a great time last year with all the events and such, and am really looking forward to this year!
I write SF and fantasy, with an occasional dash of mystery/espionage/thriller for flavour.
And for those who met me last year: I will no longer be the tall woman with the cane - I can walk again!
This year things will be more challenging for me - I'm back to work, and in a new apartment in a new neighbourhood - but I'm still aiming for a win! (Now if only the bunnies would finish their sparring and let me know which story I'm going to be writing.... *rolls eyes*)
Anyway, as you can no doubt tell, really enthusiastic for this year. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody again, and diving into the caffeine- and socializing-fueled madness that is NaNoWriMo.
;) TrudyG
----------;) tag0
NaNo '08: Search & Rescue - 104K/50K - in revision
NaNo '09: TFJ1: The Fox's Fight 57K/50K - finished; TFJ2: The Trickster's Trade ?K/50K - WIP
50,000 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 10 19
Hi everyone!
I'm Dana, a former Torontoite (well, Mississaugan) now living in Winnipeg.
This is my seventh year doing nanowrimo and this year I'm fulfilling a dare: write a single 50,000 word action scene as your novel. I'm a little terrified. Tentative title is: Scheduled for Vengeance (although I'm also considering "Action Item: Vengeance"). I have no outline :P
I hope people will start popping into IRC at the Toronto NaNo website :D
----------LJ: gruberman.livejournal.com
AIM: NoGuitarMercy
twitter: ywgdana
44,022 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 10 59
NOVEMEBER'S COMING!!
I don't know what it is, but seeing my word count roll back to zero has got me totally pumped! Gotta fill that bar back up!
HALLO EVERYONE! Me and my notoriously sexy feet are back!
I'm Michelle, but I'm more commonly referred to as Serenity in the NaNo scene, specifically in the chatroom. This is my third year doing NaNoWriMo! I'm 21 years old, and just started my first year of university at York as a mature student. Totally curious as to how much school combined with part-time work is going to try and get in the way of hitting 50,000 words. We shall see!
You're all going to see a lot more of me this year, because I actually live in northern Toronto this year instead of all the way out in the middle of nowhere! Yaaay!
In terms of my novel, I've got absolutely nothing planned for this year. Last year, I made a crazy intricate plot outline during November, but this year I think I'm going to go into it with just vague ideas in my head and see where it takes me.
ADVICE: Join the chatroom during November! There will probably be someone in there at all hours of the day, and there's nothing better than sharing your frustrations with someone who completely understands you or finding people to do word wars with at three in the morning. And come out to the meetups! November is stressful; we all need each other! Coming to meetups and connecting with people completely made the difference between my first-year's epic failure and my second-year's cramming-25000-words-into-the-last-week-of-November-win! :D
Looking forward to meeting new people and seeing familiar faces soon!
----------TorontoNaNo: Serenity / Ren
Twitter: @serenemoment
Writing LJ: commit-to-paper
40,301 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 11 19
Ya... in person, we call her Michelle! Quit confusing us!
And I guess I better start hanging in the chat room if all of you are advertising it! :D
----------44,022 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 11 45
Ya... in person, we call her Michelle! Quit confusing us!
People do call me Serenity (...or 'Ren' if you're Drew) in person. I answer to many names. Confusion is my specialty. :D
----------TorontoNaNo: Serenity / Ren
Twitter: @serenemoment
Writing LJ: commit-to-paper
33,378 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 12 21
Hi guys, it's me, Laura! Can't wait to do this for another year! Last year was my first and I loved every crazy second of it, even though York was on strike and I should have been worried about graduating on time. This year I'm graduated, I don't have a job in my field and I have TONNES of time on my hands! YAY!
I'll be hosting a few writing sessions in the Thornhill area, so woohoo!
-Laur
----------~Laur~
67,713 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 13 22
Hi! I'm Darcy. A few quick facts about me:
- first-timer. Wooo!
- college grad working in the music licensing biz.
- thinking of throwing my glorious data entry career away and going back to school, we'll see.
- when not scheming for NaNo I'm composing and playing in my band Sylvus: www.myspace.com/sylvusmetal
Er... that's about it for now. See you around everyone!
92,143 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 14 41
October 2nd and my inbox is streaming nano! Whee!!!
Name is RedParrot. Or La Red. Or just Red.
Do the early shift on the chat ... 1830 - 2100 or so and regularly run word wars.
Is this your first year doing NaNoWriMo… or your eleventh?
Third Nano. Won the previous 2. Took advantage of the "free" galley and put the #2 into print. : ) Vanity.
Also won ScriptFrenzy this year and had a blast. Very badly want to have it workshopped / read by actors for notes. : ) Also Vanity??
Have you got a novel idea already outlined, or are you planning to wing it?
Have idea and sort of outlined.
Do you write for a living, or do something more interesting?
Do math for a living. Hobby right brain. Work left brain. With any luck, leads to a balanced individual. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Tell us as much or as little about yourself as you'd like.
My goal this year ... have a dead body by Day 2. (No sniggering, Alley. I can hear you ... )
I am in desperate need of sexy homicide cop. (who isn't?) ... well, a visual, anyway. Need a picture. Preferably well-dressed. Hey, I gotta live with him for at least 30 days, need to have him easy on the eyes and well mannered. Any thoughts?
Super looking forward to this year.
La Red.
----------2007 - 50K
2008 - 61K
80,035 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 15 02
Hang on Red.... Ill dig you up something hot and spicy!!!
And as for dead bodies... i have tons to spare so if you need one i can dig one out of the giant oil barrel out back.... but better hurry quick... the lye I used is speeding up the decomp so he wont be around much longer.
~A
101,530 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 17 17
Welcome to the chaos that is NaNoWriMo. :)
101,530 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 17 22
Hey guys,
This is Captain Quirk, a.k.a. Tamara, back for a third year of NaNoWriMo. Can't wait to start!
I've got two story ideas in mind, nothing totally solid yet. I think I will end up writing both.
I graduated from York U two years ago. Worked briefly in corporate hell but no longer do that. I want to be a professional screenwriter. I figured out how to write scripts but not how to get paid for them. I'm into all things geeky, so I think we're going to get along just fine.
Good luck with your NaNos everyone! :)
72,088 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 21 31
Hi!
It's rather late for me right now, so I'm going to try and make this coherent. Anyway.
I'm A-Chels, most commonly known as either that or "Chels" both online and off, but I also occasionally, during November, remember to respond to Alyssa. Or the girl in the corset. Or the girl in the dress. You get the picture.
This is my third year doing NaNo, and the first year I have serious doubts about whether or not that 50 000 mark is possible for me. But! I'm going to try anyway, while doing the millions of other things I have to do.
Anyway. I'm a full time student, in my third-year undergrad at U of T, working on my BA. My major is English and I'm double minoring in Religion and Medieval Studies, and taking German courses for interest. Due to finally getting fed up and quitting at the end of August, I am currently unemployed. That should help for November, at least.
I'm also one of your event mods. Which I suppose might be a vital piece of information.
I think that's... oh no wait, novel concept!
I have a concept. And that's about it. I'm completely winging it this year and I'm not even sure it's going to be a novel when it's done. (Not that anything I've produced in previous years can really be considered a novel. More like a long running narrative with no definite ending. Yeah.) But I have a concept, and it involves the dawn of the mind of man and storytelling and the havoc the power of thought and imagination can have.
And that's it... For now.
This is a picture of me. With longer hair that had much redder ends.
----------56,179 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 07 34
Ahhh, it's finally almost here!
Call me Jas or Jasmine, it's my second year doing nano. Last year I just barely crawled past 50k words but this year I'm aiming higher! It's my first year at U of T and I have a new job that works me harder than the one last year did so all I can say is; Sleep is for the weak.
I'm thrilled for the kick-off party and even more stoked for the word war this year. Hope too see you guys at the kick-off party once more; and halloween costumes are still acceptable right? XP
----------Girl Seduces Demon. The End.
5,589 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 08 19
Hallo boys and girls!
I'm Daestwen, aka Britt, and some of the older faces will recognize me but not the newer ones! This will be my sixth year doing nano, and fifth year doing it in Toronto (last year i was in New Zealand for nano and kind of wandered off and climbed mountains and things instead).
I'm glad to be back among you all, though. :]
Bit about me... I'm a video game concept artist and designed and I've been working in that industry for a bit over a year now. It's fun stuff but all that drawing makes me miss nano!
As for my writing, I love history, lesbian subplots, murder mysteries, brutal governments, slightly insane gods, the apocalypse, faeries, angels, demons, knights, parallel universes, science; all kinds of fun stuff. So you can expect to see one or more of the above out of me. :] My interests are wide and varied but unfortunately that means I can have a tendency to wander off!
I've finished twice, for nano, and almost finished a third time (couple thousand words short) and failed miserably two other times! My goal is to not only finish nano this year, by the book as well!
Looking forward to meeting you all!
----------04: Age of Blood - Pass
05: The Captain and the Samurai - Fail
06: Gently Dreamed Destiny - Pass
07: Untitled - (Sci-Fi)- Almost Pass
08: Untitled - (Lit Fic) - Fail
09: Oberon's Children
16,722 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 09 16
Hi, I'm Ryan, and I've been Nanoing since 2002. This year is going to be my second time not finishing a 50,000 word novel since then. That sounds a little defeatist, but it's not without reason - my wife's currently eight months pregnant, so around mid-month I'm going to suddenly run out of time to write :o) I'm hoping to get at least the start of a story in before that time.
My writing interests usually centre around horror, science fiction, and fantasy stories, but I've been trying to expand my writing wings beyond that a bit - in 2008, for example, I wrote a haiku for every day of the year, and in 2009 I've stared writing reviews and non-fiction articles for a couple of websites. Fiction's always going to be the centre of my writing experience, though.
When it comes to writing habits, I'm a planner that used to be a pantser - this year I've started using the Snowflake Method to flesh out some ideas for a couple of (as-yet-unwritten) novels. I don't know if I'll have time to develop a full snowflake for my Nano project this year, but I've found it helpful for plot development.
While not novelling, I live to spend my interweb time on sites like Livejournal, Facebook and Twitter, and on non-internet pursuits such as my Wii, my guitar, indie rock, and science fiction films and novels.
as far as pictures go, I've been told I bear a striking resemblance to this gentleman, but I think he's taller:
------------Ryan
TW FB LJ
50,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 16 36
.
----------~*Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you're ready*~
50,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 16 37
.
----------~*Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you're ready*~
50,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 16 33
This will be year number FOUR for me. Sheesh. I can't believe it's been four years already!!
Some of you already know me, for those of you that don't, my name is Tabitha, and I'm a freelance journalist/ ministry worker. I live and work at a Christian Camp just north of Toronto called Teen Ranch.
I write both fiction and non-fiction, and am currently working on a book geared towards young Christian women growing up in today's society. When it comes to fiction, I usually flip between action/adventure, and sci-fi.
I am a HUGE Star Wars and Stargate nerd.
I love people, I love to have fun, and I love to write. :)
Off the Nano site, you can reach me through multiple means:
Twitter - TabithaHeidi
Livejournal - http://mylifesongsings.livejournal.com/
Wordpress - http://tabithavenasse.wordpress.com
Facebook - Tabitha Heidi Venasse
MSN - venasset@hotmail.com
Although I no longer live in Toronto, I tend to remain affiliated with it, because there's not much out my way... and the Toronto people have become like my family.
Looking forward to Nanoing with you all this year!!!!
----------~*Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you're ready*~
48,354 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 17 30
Hello All! I'm so excied that October is here because that means November is just around the corner!! Yay!!
This is my second year of NaNo, although last year I Participated under a different username (Morgaa) which drove me nuts so I came up with a new one that I like SO much better. I won last year and I'm going to win again! (At least thats my plan) I usually write fantasy of some sort with all sorts of other wild things thrown in there that could possibly classify parts of the story as another genre. I'm all over the map, but I'm okay with being a little crazy. I hope to get onto the WordWar team again, and my main goal is to write more words than I did last year. So here's to staying up all night writing! *Cheers!*
----------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"No one is able to enjoy such feast than the one who throws a party in his own mind." - Selma Lagerlöf
Happy Writing!
751,043 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 19 10
Weird is good Stef! After all I am weird... and people still love me :o)
Glad to have you both on board!
Pfft. We could have had you!
...maybe.
>.>
----------2005: 50.7K
2006: 100.2K
2007: 326.5K
2008: 686.4K
35,016 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 19 55
Hi guys!
This will be my fifth year doing NaNo. At this point it's a way of life. ;-) In past years I've written fantasy, urban fantasy, fantasy again, and steampunk. This year the top contender is currently quasi-historical adventure/mystery. I'm outlining, but not too much, and still looking for that spark that will make me *need* to start writing this story. Hope it happens before November, is all I can say...
In my non-writing life I'm a government drone/editor, a knitter, and a dancer. (I dabble - at the moment it's bellydance.)
Hope to see you all at the kickoff!
----------What comes after NaNo? National Novel Publishing Year! http://www.nanopubye.org
50,010 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 04 54
This is my second year of NaNo, although last year I Participated under a different username (Morgaa) which drove me nuts so I came up with a new one that I like SO much better. I won last year and I'm going to win again! (At least thats my plan) I usually write fantasy of some sort with all sorts of other wild things thrown in there that could possibly classify parts of the story as another genre. I'm all over the map, but I'm okay with being a little crazy. I hope to get onto the WordWar team again, and my main goal is to write more words than I did last year. So here's to staying up all night writing! *Cheers!*
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
~ Live to write, write to live~
----------~*Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you're ready*~
751,043 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 08 14
This is my second year of NaNo, although last year I Participated under a different username (Morgaa) which drove me nuts so I came up with a new one that I like SO much better. I won last year and I'm going to win again! (At least thats my plan) I usually write fantasy of some sort with all sorts of other wild things thrown in there that could possibly classify parts of the story as another genre. I'm all over the map, but I'm okay with being a little crazy. I hope to get onto the WordWar team again, and my main goal is to write more words than I did last year. So here's to staying up all night writing! *Cheers!*
CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
~ Live to write, write to live~
o.o
Tabby, either you quoted the wrong thing or CatNipKitty's name is Crim too. xD
----------2005: 50.7K
2006: 100.2K
2007: 326.5K
2008: 686.4K
50,010 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 09 56
o.o
Tabby, either you quoted the wrong thing or CatNipKitty's name is Crim too. xD
Erm... I think the system glitched... cause I DEFINITELY clicked on your comment... Lol. Weeeird.
----------~*Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe—and you're ready*~
751,043 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 12 44
o.o
Tabby, either you quoted the wrong thing or CatNipKitty's name is Crim too. xD
Erm... I think the system glitched... cause I DEFINITELY clicked on your comment... Lol. Weeeird.
Haha, alright then. ^^ Long time no see. o.o ----------
2005: 50.7K
2006: 100.2K
2007: 326.5K
2008: 686.4K