It's 2009, it's October 2, and that means that it's time to start obsessing about Nano (naturally. Why else would you be reading this?).
I, for one, would like to get to know everyone, and I find these forums are a great place to start.
To be fair, I'll start with myself. I'm Tom, and this is my third year doing Nano (and hopefully it'll be my third year winning). This is probably the most excited I've been about it yet, and I'm really looking forward to the month of shared insanity. I also have a basic idea of what I want to write about, though I do lack a plot, storylines, settings, and characters.
But, hey, that's never stopped me before!
Okay, that's enough about me. In the words of Pete Townshend: Who are you?
----------
-Tom-
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~ Groucho Marx
07: The Mists of Nerrivick
08: Divine
09: Late Fees
36,747 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 09 50
I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said "You can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away"
I staggered back to the underground
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwin' punches around
And preachin' from my chair
Anyway... I'm Brandon, and this will be my second year doing NaNo (and hopefully winning again). After how awesome NaNo was last year, I'm really excited to get things rolling this year. It will be good to see some old faces (I know you all are lurking around here somewhere), and I'm looking forward to meeting those of you new to NaNo or the Boston region.
As far as NaNo prep goes, Tom is one step ahead of me, in that I don't have even a basic idea of what I want to write. I do like a challenge.
See you around!
- B
----------NaNo '08: Glitch (51,016)
=-------=
Brandon N. Schory
Extant Muser
Boston, MA
www.BrandonSchory.com
50,000 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 10 42
Konnichiwa, minna-san! Watashi wa Riisa-chan desu~ Hajimemaishite!
Hello everyone! I'm Theresa (also Ishana, Laasya, Dranacy, Molly, General The, and, more commonly, Resa). This is my first year participating in NaNo, and I'm really excited to join such a large community of writers! Though 50,000 words might be impossible with my overloaded schedule, I look forward to late nights cramming in as many words as possible throughout November. Though the plot I had in mind is mostly complete, I still have about a dozen or so characters that still need names, not counting the other eighteen unnamed characters I'll be adding as I write.
And yes, I really do wear blue socks.
----------Why... Yes... I DO wear blue socks...
41,503 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 12 18
Hi all. I'm Sarah. This is my 5th Nano and hopefully my 5th win. I've been in a whole bunch of different regions, spent some time with PA and Washington DC (man they are fun!). I'm in Boston for law school (yay New England Law | Boston). I'm looking forward to joining people at write-ins (Sundays).
I'm writing a dark urban fantasy and I'm excited that i'm that much closer to start writing.
----------NaNo '05: Love, Rebecca Lynn (50,100)
NaNo '06: The Keymaster's Apprentice (50,500)
NaNo '07: The House of Jacob (65,715)
NaNo '08: El baile de la gitana (50,051)
NaNo '09: Ferry Me Home (??,???)
0 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 12 30
Hello people!
I'm Aly, and this is my third year participating in NaNoWriMo in Boston, but my sixth year overall. I make it to write ins occasionally, and typically enjoy them. I'm fairly annoying most of the time. I don't have any plot, any characters, any ideas, or any notions as to how the heck I plan on pulling this off, but I'm trying my darndest! I'm currently trying to decide whether to go with an index card box or a notebook for plot organization purposes... which is completely irrelevant at the moment given my lack of plot, but is consuming my life nonetheless. Oh, and I go to Wheelock College and I love to meet up with COF'ers to randomly write on non-official write in days! Poke me if interested!
----------In hindsight, plotting is for squares...
0 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 15 55
Hellllllllo there!
I'm Dave, 28 (though I'll be 29 halfway through November), currently living in Winthrop, and this is my first year doing nano. This seems like it is going to be a fantastic community to join..I'm really looking forward to it. I'm currently in school full time to be a social worker, so I'm a little stressed about balancing that with shooting for 50,000, but I think it's more than possible. Why the hell not, right?
I have a plot outlined for the most part, working on it here and there..haven't done much work on my characters at all though. I plan on having a bit more of a clear guideline for myself within the next couple of weeks, however, there is something really inspiring about those of you who are going into it blank for the most part....I feel like that captures the true essence of what this project's all about (and to be honest, if my schoolwork doesn't ease up anytime soon, I'll probably be in the same boat).
Looking forward to meeting many of you soon, have a great October!
-Dave
----------It's my first year...be nice.
37,010 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 19 04
Hi, I'm Irene, and I did NaNo last year and *won* although I haven't finished editing what I wrote. The whole endeavor is completely different than anything I've done before, even though I've been a professional writer for almost 30 years, and so I think I spent some energy just getting used to it. I'm very psyched to get into it again this year, and do some write-ins with people from last year and new ones. I'm in Bedford but like coming into the city. For some reason my writing genes like it in there.
----------2008: Three Days of Peace and Music
36,747 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 19 54
Irene! Nice to see you around here again! Looking forward to seeing you at the write-ins.
- Brandon
----------NaNo '08: Glitch (51,016)
=-------=
Brandon N. Schory
Extant Muser
Boston, MA
www.BrandonSchory.com
30,005 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 20 18
Hi everyone! I'm Naomi, and this will be my fifth NaNoWriMo and my third in Boston (as well as my third produced in the MIT pressure cooker). I've been planning for a few months and still have plot holes you could drive a truck through, but I still have hopes for Win #5.
----------2005: Deathspell
2006: Out of Luck
2007: Ladies of the Court
2008: Teatro
2009: untitled
20,666 / 50,000
oct. 2, 2009 - 23 52
Good Morning all. Well, its morning where I am. You probably are all still in bed. I'm a former Bostonian, now living in the Netherlands, but I hope you'll let me poke around your regional forum anyway. I can't read Dutch yet. >_>
Anywho, this is my second NaNoWriMo. I don't have an idea yet of what to write but I'm hoping something will bubble up soon. November is pretty much the only time of year that I write fiction so sometimes the ideas all go dormant.
----------http://www.maastrichtminutiae.com - Expat experience in the tiny details.
Dictating my NaNo manuscript. Please excuse strange sentences in my forum posts. English is my first language, but my program does not share my competency.
NaNoWriMo Rebel
29,599 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 03 03
Good Morning Boston!
Dan here, I've tried and given up before week 2 started about 3 times. This year I'm going to finish, I'm determined and even some coworkers of mine want to do it. I live in Somerville and work in Charlestown, my work hours should make it easier. I work 5am-2pm Mon-Fri where in previous years I worked 3pm-11pm and was too tried after work to write. The only speed bump I see is I'm getting married November 7th, but I plan to write abroad from Jamaica on the honeymoon. Just not on my laptop and in a notebook having to type it all up upon my return. Actually, scratch that I'll write it in Google Docs and use the hotels computer lab to update and use the forums!!! I'm going to write a murder mystery on a train during the Wild Wild West. Can't wait to meet everyone at the pre party and write ins.
----------37,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 03 41
Hi Brandon! As for write-ins, I don't know Brighton/Allston that well but nearby I like the Espresso Cafe on Comm. Ave., but the wifi costs $--sometimes no wifi helps me keep focused, and I love their mochas. (There's another one over by Northeastern.) And in Coolidge Corner, the Peet's is small and you have to sit near the windows to use the wifi from the pizza place across the street, but they've got great coffee and a big picture window to watch people go by. Actually, I don't know how people feel about McDonald's but they have Paul Newman coffee now and two hours of wifi. There's one two doors down from the Peet's (but I'd check about the wifi to make sure.) They have more space, usually, than some places. Then up at Newton Corner (I think it is) there is a huge Peet's. I like many places around Cambridge--Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square, Starbucks up in Kendall Square, and I actually love to hang around hotels--there is a Marriott lobby near Kendall Square I like. I got my novel done in couple of late-night sessions last year in the Westin Lobby at Copley Place. Nice plush atmosphere, no music to speak of to get into your head, wifi (I think) outlets everywhere in the floor. I prowled around that whole mall--there's a Simon wifi for it, I think--and wrote in the quiet place across from the post office (anyone know where I mean?) the Marriott lobby and open spaces with fantastic local art on the walls, another Au Bon Pain where we had official write-ins. The mall even has a meditation room where I went to recharge, and any and all kinds of food and drink you might want at different hours of the day/night. Well, enough said!
----------2008: Three Days of Peace and Music
37,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 04 05
Sorry I think I should have put that stuff about writing places in a different thread--will do next time! Irene
----------2008: Three Days of Peace and Music
40,016 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 05 37
Hi!
I'm Jose, a (Drupal) web developer living in Somerville and working in Billerica. This will be my sixth year doing NaNoWriMo; last year was my first win, which I attribute to being active in organizing and attending unofficial write-ins as well as a couple of the official ones. For unofficial write-ins, I've mostly been to places in Union Square in Somerville and Inman Square in Cambridge; I live on Beacon St., so both those squares along with Harvard, Porter, and Central are close.
I currently have no plot, although I've had some ideas percolating in my head for a few weeks now, along with a couple of names that could turn into characters. I'm looking at a fairly crazy November schedule-wise, but I enjoyed the experience of *not* doing this by myself last year too much to not try it again this year, so I'm very much looking forward to the madness of NaNo.
43,543 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 06 17
Hi all,
I'm Kas. This will be my fourth NaNo and though I hope I'll find time to win this year (it would be my third win) I'm setting a more manageable goal for myself. I'm a grad student in the MFA nonfiction writing program at Emerson College and live in the Back Bay, so anyone wanting unofficial write ins in the area please let me know. I unfortunately have class on Thursdays, so it's unlikely I'll make that official write-in.
This year I'm working from home, so I don't have to contend with the insanity of scheduling which is retail as stores gear up for the holidays, so I'm hopeful I'll at least meet my goals this year!
-Kas
----------"I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people" -G.B. Shaw
46,173 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 09 02
Hi!
I'm JulianneTK. I live in Woburn. My friend and Stoneham Writers Group companion of many years lured me into this last year ---it didn't take much luring! --- and we both won! And we're both still editing what we did last year. :) It was very freeing to just *write* and not think too much about how good it is, or if it's following the plot line, or what changes i need to make as I go along... I haven't written like that since I was a teenager and it was great. It was also completely insane. I was typing things in the car on the way to Thanksgiving dinner in PA and my novel included sentences like "and my husband has started talking to me and now I've forgotten what I was about to do with the characters and he won't stop talking and I have to keep going to keep these words moving..."
I wasn't able to make any of the Write-Ins last year, but I hope to be able to go to at least one this year and see what they're all about.
I actually already have an idea going and some plot high points to hit. I'd like to figure out what the ending is supposed to be before I start writing this year!
1,789 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 13 02
Hi Everyone!
I'm Kim. This will be my third Nano and I'm hoping for a second win. I just got back to Boston two weeks ago after a year teaching English in Seoul. I don't have a new job yet, so I don't think I'll be doing any advanced plotting until I've fixed that situation.
I'm looking forward to the Meet and Greet and the Write-ins. Travis and Anna rock - it's going to be a great month!
5,564 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 14 59
Hey everyone.
This is my second year doing NanoWrimo and I am so excited for it. I didn't finish it last year and I have a bad feeling I won't this year, but that's only because I'm a senior applying to colleges and yeah, everything is going out before November ends. ^^. I really hope I get to know at least one other person in here around my age, because, it's fun to talk with someone who writes my own age; sorry I'm a little bit of a random person.
Anyway, yeah, good luck to everyone [: Oh and does anyone around the age of 17 want to meet up to do a little writing session together?
1,504 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 15 35
Dreamers here. :D Though you might also know us as: Emma with the unpronounceable last name, Emmy, DreamWriter, or simply brides_koneko.
We've been in NaNo since 2005, active at write-ins since 2007, but more recently have become more of an occasional head there.
This year, we're NaNoRebels since we're working on finishing or continuing several different compilations from past NaNoWriMos and three communities on LiveJournal that collectively are referred to as seasonwrites (writing 150k in about 4 months over autumn, spring or summer) ranging from pseudo-nonfiction, original fiction of a gritty, speculative fiction/sci-fi/romance thing, and fanfiction.
Don't really have much of a plan other than keeping moving forward and trying to write and balance a second-to-last semester of undergrad at Simmons College.
----------Dreamers United:: Emmy:: brides_koneko
Rebelesque Daredevils
NaNoWriMo Master Post: http://dreamwriteremmy.livejournal.com/32006.html
Official Word Count: 903
Unofficial Word Count: n/a
37,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 18 06
Hey, how many other NaNoRebels are there out there? I would love to finish my thing I started last year, even though I've tried this year have not been able to. But I didn't want to be a party-pooper. If it is at all socially acceptable, I might give it a shot.
----------2008: Three Days of Peace and Music
43,543 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 18 19
I'm, I suppose, a NaNoRebel. One of my friends will be as well. The rational on the "must start new project" rule is mostly the assumption people can't write quickly enough to win if they start out with characters they know and love. People I've known in the past pretty much counted it as a guideline, so long as all word counts logged are for words written during November. I'll be continuing a project I started over the summer, but probably starting over from page one due to various things I've realized about characters. So, all new words, but not a shiny new project. More of a from-scratch rewrite/ continuation. How's that for verbose and not entirely clear?
----------"I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage he is at least safe from people" -G.B. Shaw
30,005 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 18 36
I'm pretty sure there's a Rules forum for this kind of question.
----------2005: Deathspell
2006: Out of Luck
2007: Ladies of the Court
2008: Teatro
2009: untitled
37,010 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 18 42
Okay dokay, I'll check out the rules.
----------2008: Three Days of Peace and Music
42,207 / 50,000
oct. 3, 2009 - 18 45
There is a rules forum, and officially, everybody should be starting new projects. The rationale is that you get too invested in ongoing projects to really tuck in and write with abandon on it.
So officially, I discourage folks from being NaNoRebels. That having been said, nobody is going to be spot-checking your work to make sure it's a new product.
Cheers,
----------Travis
Travis (tkphotog)
Official Photographer and Control Freak
Municipal Liaison (with Anna/QueenOfTheUniverse)
NaNoWriMo :: Boston / NaNoBoston
0 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 00 07
Hello everyone~!
My name is Diana. I'm an English major at BU and this is going to be my first time doing nano. I'm actually surprised I haven't heard of this thing earlier, haha. Well, I'm glad to be doing this now! Better late than never.
Hmm... as for what I'm going to write about, I have absolutely no clue. Haha. I'm both extremely excited and extremely anxious about this. College, it seems, has thrown me into a huge writer's block and I haven't been able to write anything since the beginning of 08. Lets hope I can break out of this block with Nano.
Oh and as far as prose goes--cause in truth I'm more of a poet--I write mostly philosophical/spiritual fiction (stuff like "Life of Pi" or "The Alchemist") and high fantasy (like Tolkien, who is only one of the greatest love of my life! Haha, yes, I am a Tolkien fanatic.)
Nice to meet you all! And good luck everyone! Hope to see you all at the finish line *cheers everyone on*!!
-- Diana
10,833 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 07 02
Hi everyone!
I'm Pam, and this will be my fifth Nano (with two wins under my belt). I'm 27, live in Lexington, and since I'm unemployed this year, figure I might actually be able to finish my novel!
Last year, I started one story, got bored, and then started another. This year, I'm taking the basic concept of my second story (a paranormal investigation team explores a haunted mill in Lowell) and am actually going to make it work.
Looking forward to all the write-ins!
21,312 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 12 59
Hey everybody,
i'm Paula, and this will be my fourth year doing NaNo - I've only won once though, since I'm in college (Emerson :D) and my schedule barely allows for sleep, never mind a novel. However, both times I lost I was only shy a small amount, and I am determined to crank out 50,000 this November if I have to stay awake the entire month.
For all the new people who stumble across this - go to the write-in's! Don't be shy, they are so laid-back and so much fun! Also - make sure you listen to Wrimo Radio, it'll keep you in the thick of things. Plus Chris Baty has a wicked nice voice. ;)
See you all soon!
I like how some of yiz put your NaNo novels with your signature - I'm copying that...
06' To Get to Somewhere
----------07' Get A Grip
'08 Spoonfry and Company
2009: A Story of Somewhere: The Sheep, The Singer, and The Prince
2008: Spoonfry and Company (almost almost won)
2007: Get a Grip! (almost won)
2006: To Get to Somewhere (won!)
0 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 17 08
Hi- I am Margaret,. Just in the midst of moving to Brookline. (By writing you all now I am avoiding all kinds of serious issues related to packing. Very nice to have my feet up ignoring the list of things to do.) I just signed up and it's my first time, so I may have questions along the way. I've been a teacher for years (Art, English and US History) and am a mom of two girls, both in their 20s, both in Boston. I have no idea what to expect with all of this and will look for you, my new neighbors, to help me plunge through the month of November. Thanks in advance from a newcomer.
6,694 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 18 07
Hi!
I'm Noah, a (soon to be) psych major at BU. This is my first year doing NaNoWriMo, but I'm insanely excited. I'm in a creative writing class right now, so it's been great being forced to write almost every day, especially since I'm a pretty inexperienced writer. NaNo is just gunna amp that up to even more insanely awesome levels. I'm also excited since it's the first time that I'll have a means of exploring whatever kind of creative ideas come to mind, without any worry of an audience or anything.
Though I'm still just in the beginning planning stages, my novel is looking to be a psychological reality-bending philosophical cyberpunk-ish surrealist [removed]. November can't come any slower! It's so tempting to start writing >_<
I think NaNo is an amazing thing and have been doing whatever I can to spread the NaNoWriMo love. I look forward to struggling with you all in a few weeks!
40,179 / 50,000
oct. 4, 2009 - 20 28
To Dorothy Margaret, Arkaic, and all our other first year Wrimos: Welcome! I know I'm not one of the MLs, but it still excites me to see all the new faces around the forums. I, for one, am more than willing to help you all however you need to get to the 50,000 mark. It's easier than it sounds, and tougher than it seems.
Luckily, insanity is a dish best shared with others.
To all of the vets, it's good to hear from you all again! I'm really starting to get excited for November, and I'm quite happy to see that I am far from the only one who's beginning to obsess. I wonder if we can beat last year's write-in record (I think it was something like 50 at the first official write-in)?
So who else is out there? The stats up above say we have around a thousand Wrimos, and I'd love to hear from more of you!
-----------Tom-
"A day without laughter is a day wasted." ~ Groucho Marx
07: The Mists of Nerrivick
08: Divine
09: Late Fees
35,836 / 50,000
oct. 5, 2009 - 04 58
Hi everyone! I'm bandanna.
November is the single month when I feel regret at having defected to Switzerland. Believe it or not, "Switzerland" is a single Nano region, so in order to attend write-ins I'll need to travel to Zurich, Bern and Basel! Gone are the days of two foot-long subs for the price of one at Subway (gurgle), ringing the success bell, and snug company at b.good, giggling idiotically with QOTU and SocioTom and getting absolutely no writing done.
I miss you guys. A LOT. I have this wild fantasy that somehow I might be able to fly back for a weekend visit toward the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
Anyway, I am excited about my project this year! It will be something of a departure for me, and I'm hoping for a fourth consecutive win (and fifth year). Good luck to you all!!!
.bandanna