United States :: California :: Los Angeles

TGIO Party!

omouse — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:10:03 -0800

Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 5-8 at The Farmer's Market (The Grove) on their upstairs patio. Enter through Gate One and follow the signs with the tables and ? marks. Head up the stairs and we'll be camping out some tables. There are plenty of places to eat, so come hungry and ready to purchase some food.

Who is invited: Well, all authors, and their significant others, and parents, and friends... okay, so it's pretty much open to anyone who wants to show up. You don’t have to have won to come!
Bring: Money for dinner, and two or three pages of your novel to pass around.

I'll be the one wearing the glaringly painful yellow shirt.

Parking: Can be crazy. The FM parking is 2 free hours, $2 every hour after. The Grove parking is 1 free hour, $3 every hour after. (Some of that can be validated, if you purchase stuff.)

http://www.farmersmarketla.com/

or the street address and phone:

6333 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 933-9211

So who'll be cool enough to come?

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_____________________________________
What are we going to do this November, Brain?

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL STATS FOR NANO 2008?

veganfred — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:51:11 -0800

We all know the obvious ones, the total words and hours, but hopefully you’ll come up with a few novel ones (get it?) of your own. I’ll start you off with some of the easier ones, especially if you have a Nano Report Card spreadsheet, or other such tool. You may use some or all of these, but please feel free to add some of your own:

TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN:

ACTUAL WRITING DAYS IT TOOK YOU:

TOTAL HOURS IT TOOK:

BIGGEST WORD COUNT DAY:

LONGEST WRITING DAY:

AVERAGE WORDS PER DAY / HOUR:

HIGHEST WORD COUNT HOUR:

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU WROTE?:

COFFEE OR CAFFEINE CONSUMED:

NUMBER OF FUN OUTTINGS YOU HAD:

HOURS OF DVR/TIVO YOU NOW HAVE TO CATCH UP ON:

LOADS OF LAUNDRY WAITING FOR YOU:

WHAT YOU WILL DO TO REWARD YOURSELF:
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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Anyone wanting to continue in December?

Justina Walford — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:45:22 -0800

This is my first time and I joined late and I just plain haven't caught up and my word count is measly.

And I actually discovered the forums and write-ins on this site...oh...two days ago. Now I'm all excited about going toa write in...the last one...on Friday. I am the latest bloomer of them all.

Here's my question. I'm finishing this novel in December. And I'm rewriting in December and January. Anyone have plans for continuing the support system? Does NaNoWriMo just stop on the 30th?

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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

First and Last Sentence

omouse — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:38:28 -0800

First: Rex had gotten pretty good at winemaking, but he was still a little rusty on the process of making vodka.

Last: "Deal."

But my last sentence isn't nearly as entertaining unless you hear what the deal is:

“I don’t know about you guys,” Juliet said, “but I just might take a page from Bea’s book. There’s an awful lot of drunk available men over in that section of the room… and I must admit that having all the power and authority over an entire planet has got me a little juiced up.”
“Second in command?”
“How about we take turns?”
“Less than an hour and I’m already facing hostile take overs!”
“Aww come on. I’m older.”
“Whatever. How about I let you say you’re the ruler of the world whenever you want to get laid?”
“Actually, I think that will work for me.”
“Deal.”

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_____________________________________
What are we going to do this November, Brain?

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Halfway home - the 25K club

veganfred — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:55:53 -0800

Welcome. You made it - 25,000 words. Congratulations! It's all downhill from here, at least we hope so.

Can you smell it? And I don't mean the fires - victory is within your grasp. You've made it this far, so there's no turning back now. Celebrate! Do a little dance, have a special treat, watch that thing with the moving pictures on it that has been sitting in your living room being ignored all month. But when you're done partying - regroup, refocus and get back to it again.

Remember, the real party sits only another 25K away. So, up, up and away all the way to 50K. Go get em!
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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

LA 50K Nano winners - sign in please

veganfred — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:40:10 -0800

How many LA region winners are there now? Add your name and whatever you'd like to say to the growing list of LA novelists. Yes, you are now a Novelist!

Here's #1 - Veganfred

I'm at 54K and still writing, but I hope to achieve purple before the weekend if not sooner. It took me eight Nano's, but I think I may have finally figured out how to be more selective in my scenes so as not to waste time writing ones I don't really need for the word count or the story.
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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

What's (one of) your favorite exchanges or passages?

veganfred — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:46:51 -0800

This exchange takes place between three senior citizen women:

“You just leave that kind of knowledge for our resident college girl here.”
“Leave me out of it, Gladys. I’m only taking a writing class.”
“What, you’re going to write letters?”
“No, I am going to finally do something I have wanted to do all my life – write a book.”
“A whole book? Sounds like a big job.”
“I don’t know. I heard about something called National Novel Writing Month. If people can write a novel in a single month, I suppose I can write a book in a few extra.”
“What kind of a person writes a novel in one month?”
“Obviously, a seriously disturbed one,” Frances said.

Don't worry, I was only talking about me. :-Q

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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Script Frenzy!

Bill Moonroe — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 07:03:35 -0800

Who's already started planning theirs?

I'm starting to think along the lines of a post-apocalyptic western, but we'll see. Now, where did I put my copy of the Final Draft software?
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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Thank God It's Over Party?

DanielleM — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:56:14 -0800

Any word on the TGIO Party this year? I haven't heard anything but I'm looking forward to it.
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2006: Space Cadet (winner!)
2007: Black Water (winner!)
2008: Title??? (winner!)

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Silverlake/Echo Park/Downtown Write In

Storeetllr — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 11:33:25 -0800

Hi, all ~ How is everyone doing with their novels? As you see from my word count, I have been barely shuffling along, but I'm turning it up a notch this weekend, and next weekend plan to burn through to 50k before midnight 11/30 arrives. High hopes, that's what I've got! :)

Hope to see everyone tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 at The Downbeat Cafe on Alvarado just north of Sunset (next to the library parking lot) for the next to the last NaNo Write-In of 2008. If there's somewhere else in the area you'd rather meet with a better, quieter ambience, please let us all know so we can decide whether to change venues.

Good luck to everyone in the final stretch!

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Mary w/a Storeetllr
http://storeetllr.livejournal.com/
'06: The Landlord's Other Daughter
'07: Temping a Desperate Man
'08: The Last Dog
Be nice to me or I'll put you in my NaNo novel.
>^..^<

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Throwing Down The Gauntlet

unspeakable — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 22:34:56 -0800

Hey all,

I'm a Dutchie. But because I'm still affiliated with your region as well, a few hours ago I noticed Omouse's regional email. Something to do with that wordcount scoreboard if I recall.

I was just writing a regional email myself, and actually posted a bit of it in my own regional lounge. I thought you all might find it to be of interest, hence my posting the link here.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3121219

Happy writing,
unspeakable
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Municipal Liaison Holland & Belgium
Monderator Romance / Nanowrimo Ate My Soul / Word Wars, Prompts and Sprints
Nanowrimo winner 2001 - 2007 and ready to kick #@$! in 2008!

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Way behind? Can't finish? Read this and then think again

veganfred — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:51:42 -0800

It's that time of year again, where I make someone blush. Okay, My apologies to 'you-know-who,' for posting this yet again, but in the interest of inspiring any of you who are lagging way behind and feel you are on an impossible quest, I offer here what has become the traditional L.A. Nano, "It ain't over till it's over motivational posting." Sit back and enjoy the perilous ride of her life.

"Ladies and gentlemen, buckle your seat belts for the "write" of your life:

Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2003 10:38 pm Post subject: Hello. My name is Dianne and I am insane...

I certainly hope I beat out everyone here, if only because I would never, ever wish my last 48 hours on anyone! (And I will ‘so’ not be doing it ever again -- next year I keep going ‘early’ in the month!!!)

As of 10am yesterday morning (11/29) I had a mere 17,843 words.

As of just before 8pm tonight (11/30) I finished, at 50,005.

For the non-mathematically inclined, I consult my handy dandy spreadsheet to report that that's

13 hours yesterday, for 12,313 words
and
10-1/2 hours today, for 19,858 words

My wrists may never recover, I doubt my brain ever will, and I must admit that while the first two thirds are solid, the last third is... um... wandering off into the extremely creative territory (read: Fox Mulder, time travel, aliens, and a very large T-rex!).

But damn, I did it!

Going off to collapse now...
_________________
Dianne la Mercenaire ~ Champion of Procrastination!
Winner 2002: Corpse In The Closet
Winner 2003: My Life As In My Tyme
"Good intentions are no substitute for action;
failure usually follows the path of least persistence."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you have it. Harrowing, wasn't it? But as you can see, fellow Nanoites, nothing is impossible. Grab some ice packs, put the TV in the closet, disconnect the phone, put the family in the closet, and bar the doors. It ain't going to be easy, but it ain't impossible either!!! Be proud, Dianne, you are still my all-time champ and hero! Kudos!!!
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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Extending Word Count - Novel Carbs - Writer's Block Busters

Chez Jill — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:47:19 -0800

OK, so a bunch of us East Siders were at Downbeat today (hi peeps!) and we were tossing out ideas for how to plough through writer's block, how to fill out the story when you (momentarily) don't know where to go, and basically how to "fluff up" your novel when you've reached a "blah" point. In other words: empty carbs!

We shared some ideas:

1) Have one of your characters say: "Did I ever tell you about my family?" And you're off and running.

2) Have a dream sequence - never too hard - one of your characters takes a nap and voila! Anything can happen.

3) Have two characters engage in random sex. Never totally random - it could happen! Just do it. Again!

Please, more ideas. Help us all out.

What are your favorite fillers? Do tell!

-Jill

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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

What are your most (over)used words?

veganfred — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:37:35 -0800

I did a little 'find and replace' in Word using just a blank for replace to see which words I fell in love with. Of course, you should be sure to save the document before you begin, and to undo each one after you check the total. Or better yet, play it safe and do it with a separate copy like I did. Some other programs may be smarter and make it easier to replace words:

MC "Noreen" = 354
MC "Tim" = 379
MC’s wife "Kate" = 261
Their last name – “O’Leary” = 110
The = 2314 (you may have to first get rid of they, their, & them)
A = 1523 (use a space before and after as well as a quote mark and a space after the “A to get them all - I think)
And = 1546
Oh = 237
She = 373
He = 476 (undo the she’s first or you won’t have any he’s)
Said = 419
Asked = 99

There go 8,091 words or 12.4% of my total words. One sixth of my novel? Yikes!

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Top 10 Lame Excuses for Why I Won't Finish

SloppyWriter — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:49:37 -0800

Since there is an abundance of optimistic encouragement in these forums, I thought I might balance things out by keeping a list of excuses handy, just in case ;P

So here are my Top 10 lame excuses:

10. My cat ate my draft.

9. What? Is it November already?

8. My dog knocked over my laptop.

7. My computer is having a word count issue.

6. My tarantula got in my computer.

5. First, I had to write that palindromic haiku.

4. My ostrich hid the hard drive.

3. Wait, how many word did I just write?

2. My dementor sucked the life out of the novel.

1. Twilight just opened.
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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Friday - Echo Park Write In - 11am @ Downbeat

natasharcher — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:29:25 -0800

Rumor* has it that Downbeat is open on Friday. A few of us Downbeat regulars plan on meeting there on Friday at 11am. Please join us if you'd like; we could all use the encouragement, I'm sure. I believe one of us will be bringing a sign. If there's no sign, I'll be the redhead with the white MacBook (well, strawberry blonde, technically) - I'm somewhat shy, so won't approach you if you look "NaNo-ish", but don't be afraid to approach me.

The place is good for writing. I believe the cumulative word count for the four of us that came out today was over 20,000 in not too long (about three hours and a half). The others will have to chime in to support that word count, though.

Downbeat is on Alvarado, just north of Sunset, next to the parking lot of the Edendale Branch of LA Public Library.

Happy Thanksgiving week!

* By "rumor", I mean, I overheard two girls at the counter talking about whether or not one could cover the other's first hour of her shift on Friday because she'd be flying in from San Francisco and coming straight to work. Pretty reliable source, I'd say.

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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Behind but not giving up...

taydigga — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:39:35 -0800

Including today there are 13 days left and as you see I'm hovering around 13.5k. Yeah, I got behind! What led to it? Nothing more than a mild addiction to my Xbox 360 and watching anything and everything having to do with football and basketball. But last night I ripped out 2500. Plan on doing 2500 everynight until I get caught up and 10k on weekends. Actually I might just maintain that until I've reached the conclusion of my novel (my goal is 75,000). I realized doing thousands of words in one sitting is not for me. I can crank out 1000 or 1500 in one sitting but after an hour and a half I have to do something else. So, I'm breaking it up. An hour here ,an hour there and maybe an hour before I go to sleep. By the end of the day it was easier and I also feel like I've been writing all day. So, while I've put my xbox 360 away (as punishment until I get caught up) I'll be playing catch up with all intensity and fierceness (i miss playing madden). Feel free to drop a line and encourage me. I need all the help I can get and congratulations to all of you that have hit 50k.

p.s. For all of you who are also behind DON'T THROW IN THE TOWEL!!!! Sure this nano thing is for fun and it would be great to finish 50k but I also see it as an opportunity to challenge my character. How long have I had this novel in my brain? Talking about it, writing notes on it from time to time. Reading other novels or watching movies and getting excited about my own work. But never doing anything with it. TOO LONG! So don't let the fire dwindle. Keep the light on. Let the water keep running and be baptized in your own sweat as you labor profusely to finish something for once!
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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Nanowrimo Shout Out on National television

Scott Mercer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:17:30 -0800

Did anyone notice the shout out to Nanowrimo tonight on Jeopardy?

It's the teen tournament and one of the three contestants is participating. Alex seemed intrigued. She did a fair job explaining what it is. I haven't seen anyone else mention this anywhere on the web site here.

Does Chris Baty know about it?
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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

I still think i can do it...what's the most anyone has done in a day?

taydigga — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:51:42 -0800

5 days left counting today. Didn't get to write as much as I needed or wanted to in Big Bear. Believe me I tried but I had unrealistic expectations going out there with friends thinking I was going to be able to put out 10k. But this weekend I must work hard. Thursday I have a 10k to run then basketball after that. Then we shoot to my least favorite place in the world to visit friends for Thanksgiving, Orange County. Friday, I'm debating saving some of my PTO for december and working. but I think I can do it. Maybe pull an all dayer starting after church Sunday. What's the most anyone has done in a day and for how long?
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United States :: California :: Los Angeles

You know you're from LA when...

DaylaMorgado — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 17:24:44 -0700

Here's a few for now...

You're driving on the 101 and see a clear cut definition of where the smog begins and ends

You're sitting in traffic for at least an hour at any given part of the day

You begin to "lie" to your friends about where you are (i.e. "Yeah I'm like 20 minutes away") - when you know that it'll take you at least an hour to get there).

You eat a different ethnic food for every meal

You know it's best not to be on the 405 at 4:05 pm.

Getting anywhere from point A to point B, no matter what the distance, takes about "twenty minutes".

You've inadvertently learned Spanish.

You've got to bring the cat/plants in when it drops to 55 degrees.

In the "winter", you can go to the beach and ski at Big Bear on the same day.

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~Dayla

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

[STICKY] Write Ins to Add to Calendar

omouse — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:13:23 -0700

If you post where you're going to be writing, I can add it to the master calendar.

Date:
Location:
Address:
Time:
Who's in charge:
Helpful Location Info: (Parking, outlets, specific areas etc)
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_____________________________________
What are we going to do this November, Brain?

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

write-ins in Santa Monica or Brentwood?

Aisling23 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:59:06 -0700

Almost Scorpio New Moon.. Nano time is soooooooo close. I"m still deciding what my focus will be for this Nano 08.

Cheers
Aisling
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http://www.symbolicbridging.com/
http://www.aislingnano.wordpress.com/

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

The comeback trail - Tales of your massive word count adventures

veganfred — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:30:31 -0800

All right, fellow Nano campers, here's your chance to strut your stuff and regale us with tales of your impending carpal tunnel syndrome, stemming from the smoke coming from your flying fingers as they dance across your keyboard, creating a masterpiece of epic proportions the likes of which no Nano has ever seen before. Wait a second, I sound like I'm padding a Nano-novel. "Not that I would ever do such a terrible, unfair, outrageous thing such as that," Fred said.

Put simply, if you either were, or are still behind in your word count, tell us about your comebacks:
How many words in how many hours?
When was the last time your friends or family saw you?
To what do you owe your sudden bout of success?
Do you plan on keeping up this manic pace?
Do you need an icepack or a tub to soak in?

Don’t be shy, it may help inspire others who are lagging desperately behind. See – ME.
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Winner 2001 - The "M" Word
Winner 2002 - Running Time
Winner 2003 - Changing Time
Winner 2004 - Time Out
Winner 2005 - Buying Time
Winner 2006 - Finding Time
Winner 2007 - Fireballs
Winner 2008 - I still haven't got a title

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Pomona Valley Write-In - November 22nd and 23rd, 2PM, CK Cafe

Writerfangirl — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:19:47 -0800

Here are the directions of how to get there:

CK Cafe is really a hole-in-the-wall. CK Cafe is at 109 Yale Avenue. You'll want to park on Yale then walk toward the Heroes Bar and Grill. You turn before you get to Heroes. You'll find yourself in a little alley that leads into a parking lot. To your left you will see a patio. There's a door on the patio that leads into CK Cafe. It might be hard to find, but it is worth it. The place has great atmosphere and wonderful coffee and tea. And: free wi-fi!

You can check out their website here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ck-cafe-claremont

All are welcome and invited, even if you do not reside in the Pomona Valley area.
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icon by lyn_thorne @ livejournal.com

United States :: California :: Los Angeles

Why you should donate to NaNoWriMo

JuniWolfspirit — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:03:58 -0800

If everyone affiliated with the L.A. region donated $10, we'd raise nearly as much as the entire Write-a-thon raised.

Chris's goal for the 10th anniversary of NaNoWriMo was to get 10% of Wrimos to donate. So even if it's just ten dollars (just give up going to ONE movie (by yourself!)) the L.A. region can help out a lot! I know you all love NaNoWriMo and it has a special place in your heart. IRL, the org needs a place in your wallet, too, just so we can have it next year. I, of course, plan on donating thousands to NaNo, but since I'm not rich just yet, we'll have to make do with a solid group effort! So if you haven't donated yet, please give it a go. Even $10 from everyone makes a HUGE difference. We're over halfway done with National Novel Writing Month and the fundometer is just under halfway to its own goal.

So help keep thousands of writers happy next year, and go donate!

Add your own reasons to donate! PEER PRESSURE!!
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************************
2004: Sending Letters (50k)
2005: Journey to the Dragon (57k)
2006: Things Alter (56k)
2007: By Heart (67k)
2008: Willow Twins