Hello everyone! I'm Courtney (leighlady) and I hope some of you remember me. I'll be taking over the reigns as ML this year.
I hope you are all as excited about the site relaunch as me. Though probably not. No one else tried desperately to stay awake until it was done did they? No? No? Just me? Okay then.
I hope at least that everyone is excited about November 1st! The time is going to fly. So if you've got a minute drop in here, introduce yourself, whether your a veteran or a newbie, and let us know what you're planning or not planning and anything else you feel like sharing.
This will be my third year doing NaNo. I've won both years, though I have not had one of my novels published like our last illustrious ML. I've got a boyfriend, who also writes, and two cats that sleep a lot, or collect mysterious illnesses just so they can see my face when I'm handed the vet bill. I've been writing off and on my whole life, but until NaNo, I always stuck with the short stories. It was quite a thrill when I managed to create a plot line and carry it through 50,000 words. And NaNo itself has always been a wonderful experience for me, which is one of the reasons I agreed to become ML this year.
I'm looking forward to seeing those of you I've met before and meeting any newbies. Be on the look out for new posts and an email or two from me shortly.
Now, who's next?
----------
***Courtney
Red Stick WriMos' Municipal Liaison
redstickwrimo@gmail.com
1,947 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 05 41
Hey Courtney! I didn't stay up until the site reset, but I may have been guilty of checking every 20 mins or so. *whistles innocently* And I may have started following NaNo on Twitter. Maybe.
Time is totally going to fly until Nov. 1. I always plan to plan stuff in October, but kinda...don't. :) But, that's half the fun for me, I think. This year, I have an idea. I believe I shall be writing comedic fantasy in which my MC, a witch and PI, has to track down God's lost Weirdness Magnet. Because that could be wacky.
This is my...fourth NaNo attempt I believe. Wow. I never win, because I always seem to get sick in November, but whatever. I am a survivor of the Great Coffee Spill of 2007 and valiant Word Warrior in our endless War Against the Chickens. You would think they'd stop challenging us since they always lose, but no one ever said Chickens were smart. (Yeah. Smack talk starts early around here.)
Let's see....I have four cats who always find a way to appear in my stories, a girlfriend who is currently in Australia because we're still waiting on her visa to be approved, a job that gives me plenty of downtime to write and a new computer with 320g of hard drive for me to fill up. Yay!
Suzan
-------------><---
Chicken -- it's what's for dinner in Baton Rouge. We plucked those Elsewherians. Again.
50,029 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 05 59
Hello! I'm Bennu, and I'm breaking out the caffeine this morning because I did try to stay up until relaunch last night. This is my second Nano. I didn't win last year. :( That might be because I can't really bring myself to write outside November...
I'm working on a soft science fiction novel this year. It's about an illegal android who is built to believe he is human, the lonely woman who ordered him and posed as his sister, and what happens when he discovers he's been deceived
(Looks around.) I have a husband, 2 cats, and a 3 year old son who knows that Mama writes stories and thinks it is the Coolest Thing Ever. Could I please write him a story when I am done with my novel, he wants to know? Something with dinosaurs and robots in it? Awww. Well, perhaps.
Bennu.
----------http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/4009837578_cd52debacf_o.png
Her Brother's Keeper
Number of deaths: 4
Number of chapters completed: 23/23
65,802 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 06 40
Woo Hoo! I'm valerie, and I've been doing NANO since 2005. Every year there is an intervention where an international council asks for me to please please think of the children and just stop. But I can't. And I have no children. so HA. But I do have people at work who heard me mention that Nano season would soon be here and I actually saw them brace themselves and make supply lists. It is fun to know that you can be an event people have to survive. I've actually won NANO every year except the first one. I'm still deciding what I want to write about this year, but that is pretty much what I use October for. At the moment I have three seperate ideas in a battle to the death for the horror of being the 2009 Nano sacrifical storyline. I also have a side bet with myself to see how many 5000 word days I can actually have. I haven't decided what fabulous prize I get if I surpass my own expectations. Probably a bedazler so I can put rhinestones on my my new straight jacket. Oh and as a shameless self promotion/warning to all who spend any time with me in November, My second book comes out in November. So there will be a stretch of time when you will be subjected to what will probably be a very disturbing happy dance. Just a warning, hide the children. The coffee will be safe though. I too lived through the great coffee spill and would never dare risk a repeat. ;) Oh and Xanna, this year, buy a flash drive as back up storage. I lost a hard drive in 2005 and seem to collect them like security blankets now. [also helps with nasty thieves] And yes the crash occurred in November of 2005. Around the 20th I still haven't had the heart to go back to that story. BUT that is the past. Onward! only fantabulocity this year! Disclaimer: my boss bought a huge bag of smarties and has been randomly plopping huge handfulls on people's desks. I'm of course washing them down with high test coffee. It is only when the maniacally evil laughter starts that you should worry. val
----------Victory, mmmm tastes like chicken.
1,947 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 06 47
Oh, flash drives are being purchased! Mostly because in April some evil person who I have hexed but good decided to steal my computer. With all my writing on it. Poof. My pirate story that was almost done and polished? POOF. The vampire novel I've been working on since '04? POOF. My poetry? Well, most of that I had on my blog so I could recollect it. But yeah. I'm still trying to get over the trauma.
But. I have the new laptop and am ready to begin filling it up. Not a Mac, but what can I do?
Now, to compile a list of all the wacky stuff God's Weirdness Magnet will create on it's travel through my story. . . . .A giant Strawberry Shortcake Doll rampaging down Burbon St. during Mardi Gras isn't too much, is it?
-------------><---
Chicken -- it's what's for dinner in Baton Rouge. We plucked those Elsewherians. Again.
65,802 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 09 31
will it still smell like strawberries?
----------Victory, mmmm tastes like chicken.
3,286 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 09 43
Well, if it's running down Bourbon Street, probably now smells like strawberry margaritas... mmmm... Can we drink her???
Hi all! I'm Erica (Writinggasm). I've done nano for three years now, won all three (some by nefarious and questionable means, but a win is a win dammit!), and was ML for the past two years. I decided that we needed some new blood and so tricked... erm... gently persuaded... Leighlady to take over as ML. So now I get to sit back and heckle... erm... support... those in charge because really, that's what I do best. :)
Not 100% sure what I'm going to write this year, but definitely need a plan this go around because I can't take another Vanessa the Vampire, Lemur Lady, Frogman and crew talking back to me during word wars again. When your characters openly tell you how bad their storylines are, you know it's time to rethink your strategy. I think this year's will be titled "Mack Schatzle and the Candies" and be a screwball mystery with rock and roll fairy tale undertones. Erm. Right.
Wo hoo! It's pre nano season!
----------Check out my 2007 Nano!!!!
http://brownstreetpress.com/?page_id=16
1,947 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 09 58
Of course she'll still smell like strawberries. And so will New Orleans, for awhile anyway. Which is much much better than the usual after Mardi Gras smell.
I've also decided that as my subplot my MC and her girlfriend are trying to plan their wedding. Because nothing adds to the word count like parents arguing over wedding details.
-------------><---
Chicken -- it's what's for dinner in Baton Rouge. We plucked those Elsewherians. Again.
3,286 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 09 59
WHAT??? There are Nanowrimo HOODIES in the store??? And actual women style t-shirts?! Oh you just wait until I become a productive member of society again, I am SO getting some of that!
Erm... anyone know anyone who happens to need a fabulously brilliant and talented admin in Baton Rouge? :)
----------Check out my 2007 Nano!!!!
http://brownstreetpress.com/?page_id=16
34,838 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 12 10
And this is why I love WriMos. It's good to know that I wasn't the only one who MAY have refreshed the site constantly until bedtime. That I wasn't the only one pushing back that bedtime, TRYING to stay up until the site relaunched. That I wasn't the only one who POSSIBLY started following NaNoWriMo on Twitter. And I wasn't the only one who TOTALLY freaked out about the hoodies in the store. (Yes, I have one. Yes, I have already worn it many times. Yes, I will be wearing it over that ML t-shirt you forced on me, I mean GIFTED me.) Plus - you're all here! Posting on just the second day of October. Happy, happy, joy, joy!
I've been plotting a bit on my novel and doing some research already. I'm trying a non-erotica approach this year. (But if my word count starts lagging, well I know where to turn!) Plans are for a series of interconnecting stories centering on three female characters: a psychology student, a stripper, and a massage therapist.
I am both excited and terrified. Which is generally how I think Nano is supposed to feel. :)
----------***Courtney
Red Stick WriMos' Municipal Liaison
redstickwrimo@gmail.com
15,048 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 12 41
Hi all! I'm Dylan. I've done NaNo for the past two years (and won both, woo!) and have a nack for bringing NaNo where ever I go. This will be my third location in as many years, and I'm working with my Creative Writing class to implement a branch of the Young Writer's Program in our curriculum.
My first novel was 90% reality and 10% fantasy, my second novel was 100% reality, and I'm hoping to get rid of all the restrictions this year and write a 100% fantasy novel, something I've been wanting to do for a while now.
As with the past two years, I don't plan anything regarding my novel until one week before November! It makes midnight on November 1 all the more exciting :)
Can't wait to see you all at our various writeins and events!
26,232 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 16 59
...as far as the “refreshing every twenty minutes”… guilty as charged.
Hi! I’m Shannon! I'm the slightly neurotic one who colors in boxes for every 25 words. (Hey, don’t laugh…it's brought me victory every year for four years now!) My café au lait was the unfortunate victim of the Great Coffee Spill of 2007.
I’m getting married this November. And I had been mentally preparing myself all year for the prospect of “not doing NaNo this year.” However, yesterday, when I remembered that the website was getting relaunched…and I had a spontaneous fit of NaNo Joy which lasted for like four hours.
I’m still running on that high… okay, so maybe it didn’t last four hours, but it lasted a REALLY long time.
Provided this information, I suspected that I might spontaneously combust if I didn’t do NaNo this year. Against my better judgment, and fully aware of the magnitude of the challenge I am undertaking…I’m in. And I can't wait to see everybody again. :-)
This will be my fifth NaNo. I’ve won every year since I signed up for the first time...I’ve had 10 K days during each of my last two NaNo’s. I’ve been using the same characters every year since the first year, and this will be the first year since my first year that I’m coming up with my characters as I go along. We’ll see how that goes. Maybe I’ll write in third person this year… I haven’t done that in a while.
NaNo's Done: 4
NaNo's Won: 4
WriMo's Recruited: 1
21,132 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 18 35
It's me.
I think I'm up to three people at work, one of their spouses, and one person outside of work recruited to the cause. Good times.
53,275 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 09 45
Welcome back to all!
Whew hooooo... October for planning for November!
Yay for NaNo's Chris Baty. And Yay for Leighlady.
I'm doing a different angle of my last year's NaNo.
Surely there will be new characters and a more interesting plot!
Surely.
Surely.
Hopefully.
Beggingly.
Maybe?
jade
----------50,079 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 17 54
Hey all. It's Merina, also known as Donna (in real life - whatever that means). It'll be my third year to NANO. I won my first two, not sure how, but I did. I THOUGHT I had an idea for this years story. I was totally obsessed with it in August, decided to save it for NANO, and now, well, its sort of fizzled out of my brain. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to try and revive it, or just start thinking of something else. I've got all of October, right? and that's what October is for.
-----------Donna
45,729 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2009 - 09 41
Hi all!
I'm Tomas, 29 years old, new to the Baton Rouge area but not new to NaNo. I participated (and won) in '05, '06, and '07, but I skipped last year altogether because I was finishing up my dissertation. Let me tell you, never again am I skipping NaNo! Not only did my friends give me tons of crap about it, it was sad knowing that this crazy writing feast was taking place all around the world... and I couldn't be a part of it!
NaNo's been awesome to me. It basically made me go from being that guy who always talked about writing but never wrote anything to someone who actually writes! Plus, I made a lot of good friends through NaNo in my previous region (South Bend, Indiana - I did my PhD at Notre Dame. Go Irish!), so I look forward to meeting new friends in the Red Stick area as well.
As for this year's novel, I have a few ideas floating around, but I haven't decided which one I want to tackle. The previous NaNo projects were all pretty different from each other, and I want to continue that trend. My plan is to decide on a project somewhere around Oct 15, then spend the remaining half of the month brainstormin', outlinin' and doing miscellaneous pre-writin'. Then, when November finally comes, write Write WRITE!
I can't wait. :D
----------2005 - Under the Roses
2006 - The Freshman Fifteen
2007 - Pinwheel
2009 - Little: An Interstellar Operetta
2,761 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2009 - 18 39
Hi. I'm Michelle and it looks like I'm the only newbie here. This is my first Nano and I'm excited and scared!
34,838 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2009 - 19 04
Michell, other newbies will come along the closer we get to November. This event is SO much fun and the people involved are also SO much fun. I hope we can see you this Sunday, but if not I'm sure we'll see you at an event or two soon!
----------***Courtney
Red Stick WriMos' Municipal Liaison
redstickwrimo@gmail.com
32,988 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2009 - 20 07
Hi...I'm julie and you're not alone Michelle. I'm also a newbie. First Nano. Excited. And wodering what I've gotten myself into!
----------julieT
65,802 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2009 - 05 02
Don't worry Julie, As far as cults go this is a pretty painless one. 30 days and then you get your normal life back. Of course after your first thirty days you will probably end up being a lifer, coming back every year like the rest of us. But really its a little like performance art for writers. Does anyone else remember the Monty Python skit? It was from the flying circus. Essentially a news reporter reported on a writer starting a novel. The striking out of words, the first verb and when
----------Victory, mmmm tastes like chicken.
50,029 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2009 - 08 03
Yes, the noveling sketch is wonderful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogPZ5CY9KoM
----------http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2623/4009837578_cd52debacf_o.png
Her Brother's Keeper
Number of deaths: 4
Number of chapters completed: 23/23
2,761 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2009 - 17 00
I've been wondering that too. But I'm also excited, like a little kid at Christmas! I can't wait to start writing!
2,761 / 50,000
oct. 6, 2009 - 17 01
I'm going to try to show up on Sunday. If I don't, I'll see you at the next event too!
26,190 / 50,000
oct. 7, 2009 - 08 10
2008 was my first NaNo, and I won, with a fabulous pile of quasi-horror crap. I imagine I'll be writing in the same genre this year... but I might surprise myself. Maybe I'll do some speculative historical fiction chock-full of thinly veiled social commentary and Baton Rouge in-jokes. But it isn't likely.
Good luck to everyone who participates this year, and have fun!
26,462 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2009 - 06 56
Hi everyone! I'm Jen, a.k.a. Mswebster - a nickname I received in college.
This is my third year of NaNo in Baton Rouge (I won the past two), and I accomplished the first two by locking myself up for most of November. But not this year! I plan to be more social and hopefully make it out to a few NaNo events to meet you guys!
I'm 25, I have a fiance and an upcoming wedding in April... and did I mention we're renovating our house? Nothing can keep me from NaNo though! It just warms my heart every time I get to mention that yes, I am a novelist! :D
I have NO idea what I'm writing about this year. But, there's still plenty of time in October to figure it out... right?!
Looking forward to meeting all of you!
1,947 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2009 - 07 02
Yes, yes! Come out and join us! The more the madder, I say. Make the baristas work for their tips! And sanity.
I've decided that my MC (who will NOT tell me her name, dammit) will be planning her wedding as the subplot of my novel. Since I've gotten way too familiar with that myself lately :) So come, write with us! Help us defeat the wimpy chickens of Elsewhere. I can't believe the come back every year!
-------------><---
Chicken -- it's what's for dinner in Baton Rouge. We plucked those Elsewherians. Again.
3,047 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2009 - 08 02
Hello all!
I'm Annie, and this will be my second NaNo, and (hopefully!) the first one I finish. I'm a student (English major, creative writing. Yay!) and working a two (currently three) jobs, so it's going to be a tough slog for this one, as my schedule is incredibly hectic until around mid-November. But that makes the process all the more fun. Right? This year I'm really excited about coming out and joining everyone for the writing/coffee related craziness, but I don't think I'll be able to make the introductory meeting. However, I'm going to need teh group motivation to get serious chunks of writing done at a time.
My less-than-successful attempt last November has really got me geared up to dive in headfirst to this one. Looking forward to seeing you all and driving up ridiculous word-counts. Let's do this!
11,157 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2009 - 08 25
Oh goodness! Look at all the wrimos~! I'm sooo excited for this year, it's unbelievable and a little ridiculous! IT'S OCTOBER ALREADY!?!??
Anyway! I'm Amanda and I've participated in nanowrimo for the past two years and won both years! I'm notorious for having more characters than I can handle in my stories, because it gets reaaally crowded with all the voices in my head come November! I'm finally a college student this year, so I'm hoping that won't get in the way. (AS IF)
I have more than a few story ideas this year, including one that brings back the crazy Necromancer with his mother's fingers in his pockets? AND Pirates! Everyone likes pirates right? Of course. More than likely though I think I'll be trying out a story where all the towns are named after book genres and the lands are seperated by fiction and nonfiction hemisphere and 'The Author' serves as a all-powerful being with his Library of Origins! But~! He's gone missing! (We'll see how far that gets)
We should totally bring back the body count contest, as well!
34,838 / 50,000
oct. 8, 2009 - 11 47
Only October 8th and so much going on here on the forums already - YAY!
I'm so excited that several of you are going to be able to make it on Sunday. And for those who can't, no worries. We'll meet you or see you soon.
----------***Courtney
Red Stick WriMos' Municipal Liaison
redstickwrimo@gmail.com
13,073 / 50,000
oct. 9, 2009 - 13 02
Hi, I'm the person who is rarely referred to as Markita, and this will be my 3rd year doing NaNoWriMo (due to Dylan coercing me to try it two years ago). I'm a senior in high school, I started a Novel Club at our school last year (in Dylan's memory), and I'm looking forwards to doing NaNo once again.
I actually came up with the idea for my story in January, and even though it is about the Biblical Apocalypse, I hope to bring an interesting twist to it (or at least a part of it.) Also, for the past few weeks I've been wanting to write a one shot (or at least half of one) about a zombie attack based off of a dream I had so I should get that out of my system before I've got both biblical plagues and flesh-eating zombies all in the same book!
...I'd also like to add that even though I've had this idea for nearly 9 months, I still don't have a name for it.
Anyway, right now I've been preparing for my story by making music playlists, character lists, and well, not much else. I can't wait to see what this year brings!
0 / 50,000
oct. 10, 2009 - 08 43
Hello everyone! My name is Laura and I am a newbie! Years back, I would write all the time; I was never seen anywhere in the world without my notebook and my favorite ink pen. But since then I have had a few careers, gone back to the university and discovered my visual art creativity. I work with two-dimensional mediums, collages and found materials. I was just pondering how I was going to have to take a break from my visual art and step back into the world of written words. But I'm excited (and curious) about the challenge.
I have two cats who have recently been put on a diet so they enjoy waking me up at the break of dawn. It's cheaper than an alarm clock (although I do have to say I've had to remove all breakables from the dresser because my near-sighted kitty likes to knock things from the dresser to show me how ravenously hungry she really is). It warms my heart to know that even my cat is melodramatic.
I am a student at the local university and will be graduating soon. I do have tentative plans to go to grad school in English. (Why not Art? you ask . . . well that is indeed a long story in itself . . . ) I am also just thinking about jumping into the real world and teaching at a high school somewhere to support myself while I make my art. I don't know what the future holds, all I know is that life is too short to not do what I love in life.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone. I hope to be able to make it to the meeting tomorrow if the weather isn't too awful, I'll drive out there from the 'Daux.
Does anyone have any advice for this newbie? I'm open to suggestions!