Southwestern Virginia NaNos Shout Yourself Out!!!

Hey! I'm in SW Virginia....up near the Blue Ridge Parkway!!!!! Nice to meet you.

I was hoping they'd have a group for the Roanoke area...guess this is the best they can do.

Kris

Last year some of the Roanoke area folks arranged their own meetups, write-ins, etc. separate from the ones announced through this region (which tended to be more the middle of the state or the eastern part of the state last year). So there's kinda a Roanoke area within this region, but there's not a separate region for it. Not yet, anyway...

Hello Roanoke Wrimos!

My name is Susan a.k.a. susieiz and I am one of the MLs for the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Technically the Valley runs from somewhere North of Winchester to just about where you are. I know that seems like a long stretch of NaNoCountry but my Co-ML and I are working to bring our Wrimos together by strategically appointing Point of Contacts (POCs) throughout the region. Our hope is that by having a POC you will feel better connected to your region and be able to participate in NaNo related activities even though you are far from the region's headquarters.

We have already secured volunteers from Waynesboro, Lexington and Charlottesville and we hope to find someone who might be interested in representing the greater Roanoke area. In a nutshell, you would organize local meet-ups and write-ins and email me with the details so that I can add them to our region's event calendar. You would make Shenandoah Valley your home region and post your events and discussions there. Down the road, if you feel like you have the numbers you can even apply to become your own region.

What do you think? If you are interested in volunteering for the position simply send me a NaNoMail with a brief bio so that I can introduce you on our forum.

Happy Noveling!

Susan

hey hey hey!! back again for another year of NaNo!!
i'm planning on trying to get a bunch of people together in the floyd area together - posting flyers and the sorts soon - to grab attention and get more involved. if we get enough people, i'd like to have a Kick-off meeting at Floyd's Blackwater Loft - the coffeehouse and bookstore. They said they'd love to have one the week before the official kickoff - so it would be a Preparation Week Kick-Off.
it was hard for me to travel to Roanoke to meet up with folks like we did last year, but i'm not stopping anyone from traveling out to shake hands, give big hugs, and to cheer each other on - i plan on heading out when i can.
the NRV's huge and i know we've got loads of folks interested in NaNoWriMo. Anyone up for a musical-chairs-style meeting system this year? One meeting in Roanoke, one in B-burg/C-burg, one in Floyd, one in Salem - that sorta thing?
get geared up, 'CAUSE I'M READY TO GO!!

Hello Everyone!

I'm Crystal and this is my first NaNo. I'm from Bristol. This will be the first novel I've ever tried to write. I've written a screenplay that I am currently trying to sell. I also have another screenplay that is in the works, but I've put it on hold until after I finish the novel. My story is going to be about this 24 year old woman who has had a rough life, boyfriend (who is now an ex boyfriend) in prison, miscarriage, etc, She finally reaches her breaking point and attempts suicide, only to be intercepted by a stranger and things get interesting from there. I'm excited about it and have most everything plotted out. I'm using this month for research and to write down little things that my characters tell me they want to say.

That's the gist of it. I just wanted to wish everyone luck with their own projects and hopefully we'll all finish!

Crystal

Hi everyone! I'm a librarian at the Roanoke Public Libraries and we're looking at doing meetings here at the Libraries! We're also planning some writing workshops and technology tutorials to help celebrate the month. There'll even be writing workshops for youth as well!

I don't currently see a Regional coordinator for the Roanoke area yet; if anyone accepts that position I'd love to hear from you!

Nathan Flinchum
Community Technology Center Librarian
Roanoke Public Libraries
(540) 853-2477
nathan.flinchum@roanokeva.gov

Hey, justnathan, there are a couple of Hollins girls over here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3005053
Which of the branches were you thinking of doing? 'Cause I think we could probably make it to the Hollins Branch library, but not any of the others. (It also depends on how many of us are doing it/how many have cars. ^.^")

Hey, did I read that correctly -- you're in DUBLIN?? I'M in Dublin! Very teeny tiny world indeed. (Although, as they say, Dublin is the fastest-growing town in Virginia... it's Dublin every day!)

This will be my first NaNo. I'm actually having a lot of trouble putting aside some work in progress to work on plans for a new ms to start in November.

Would be cool to get together!

Hi everyone!

I'm a transplant from NoVA due to college...And I LOVE SWVA. NoVA can keep all of the traffic and craziness and people. Give me the mountains and some space :)

I'm in Bluefield, VA. Hope y'all are doing well!

Wow! I'm surrounded by WriMos, how AWESOME!!

I hope everyone posts their write-ins and other get-togethers here so we can try to get to some of them nearest wherever we are.

Mals86, we definitely have to get together somewhere (you're probably on my street, LOL!).

Floyd isn't far either, nor Blacksburg. I might even make it to a Roanoke gathering if I know when and where.

The best of NaNo luck to everyone here!!! Looking forward to meeting some of you.

Nope, we're not on the same street... I'm out in the country. We live on a farm.

HOWEVER... would definitely be cool to meet.

Smiles.

Hello fellow Floydians and other NRV-ers!

This is my first NaNoWriMo though I've thought about it every year for the last six years. This is the year, though! I've got my characters (most of them, at least) an idea of a plot and I'm ready to write - and meet up! I could use all the encouragement (and social pressure) that I can get!

Looking forward to November!!

Hey Wow... I live in Bluefield VA! This is my first nano experience.... I am origionally from WV... So cool that you're in Bluefield!

I didn't realize how these post.. That Bluefield comment was for sinemoria :) But hi all!

Hello, everyone! I'm in Christiansburg, and this will be my third year (two wins so far, and looking for number three!). I have purposely avoided trying to think of what I want to write about, which should be an interesting change from last year, when I wrote on a historical fiction theme and directed a year's worth of reading to that period of history. I wanted to let spontaneity be my guide this year, just to see which works better for me. (For the record, I think it'll be the prepared approach, but I won't know until I try, right?)

Sometime in the summer I stopped in at the Books*A*Million in Christiansburg (it has since moved to Blacksburg) to ask if it would be alright to have a kickoff party there. I got a verbal okay at the time, but I think what I'll do is drop in this week and see if maybe I can post some flyers in the store. I'm going to try to focus on getting new folks into the contest; maybe we can bump up the numbers in the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area.

If I were to try to arrange for a Thursday evening (30 October) kickoff gathering, would anyone be able to make it? Last year I believe ArgentD and I were the only two Nanos in this immediate area, and we'd love to see more come to share the pain! If I get some positive feedback on this, I'll see if Thursday would be alright with the staff.

Cheers, and happy writing this year--

Rhett

I would willingly skip my NRV Chorus rehearsal for a meet. This is my first NaNo try, and I'd love to meet buddies in the area. Just let us know -- and thanks for taking on the initiative!
Carol

Whether I'd make it on the 30th would depend on what time the kickoff party was, as I have election training that particular evening which I can't skip.

Hello, hogwartsprefect :)

I'm a student at the college everyone talks about...The one with a shiny chapel and a hideous building that looks like a mini-Epcot center. How cool that we're in the same town :)

EVERYBODY!

hey hey hey! This is Ben K- your Point of Contact (POC) for the area, which is kinda tough because this area is HUGE! and because of that, I'd like to have everybody get together in Roanoke, being a major centerpoint, for a Kick-off. BUT! because I don't live in Roanoke, I'm trying to see if those Hollins University greats can set something up for us.

Now!, I don't want to stop anybody from have a meeting out there in your own area - in fact, I'm planning on having one in Floyd this Thursday (the 23rd) to get information for those who are interested in my hometown. I'm hoping that everyone in Dublin, Christiansburg, B-burg, Fredricksburg, and every other *-BURG will be having meetings in their hometowns throughout the NaNoWriMo year, because I know it's tough to travel these great distances and high fuel costs.

Susan, our wonderful ML in the Shenandoah Region has asked us to join them in their Region so that our word counts can be counted with theirs. I told her how much I'd love to have our own region, and we just might in the next year or so, but for now I don't think it would be a bad idea to lend our help to some other Appalachian writers until we can establish our own full-scale region.

Whatcha think?

But we're out here, and we're all going to be kicking some major noveling ass this year, because we can, and we will!

Please don't hesitate to email me with questions or info or whatever you might need - I'm all geared up to go, and I'll help you boost that big brain of yours to keep on trucking!

Thanks.

Ben K.

HI! I'm in Fancy Gap--a N-F writer who (gulp) just jumped into the fiction arena for November Only! . I'm a transplant from the Northern Virginia area and am launching a Christian Writer's group in the near future. If you are close to Galax/Hillsville/Fancy Gap and are interested in that endeavor (after surviving NaNoWriMo) I'd love to hear from you off-forum. (vie@violetwrites.com) I'm looking forward to learning fiction by doing! --BlueViolet

Hey Southwestern Wrimos!

Just wanted to stop by and say hello. This is Susan one of the Co-MLs for the Shenandoah Valley Region.

Ben, aka brkirkland, has courageously stepped up to represent you as your Point of Contact within the Shenandoah Valley Region. The SVR was originally set up by NaNoWriMo HQs in 2007 to run from Winchester to Roanoke so you have always been part of our family. Now we would love for you come over and make it official! Your regional calendar is waiting to host your events and write-ins. The Floyd area meet-up on the 23rd has already been added.

Just as a side note: NaNoWriMo HQ is hoping to dismantle all the Elsewhere regions throughout the country and form smaller regions within them so that everyone can be represented in their own hometowns. You have a home with us but I did notice that the greater Roanoke area has a growing number of participants. Probably enough Wrimos to form your very own region. If you would rather go that direction all you need is someone to step up as ML. I am happy to assist that person in any way that I can to help make that happen for you if that is your wish. There may be enough time to get things set up for this year and I can walk you through the steps. If not, our door is always open. Word counts aside, we want you for your wit, wisdom and comradery.

Best regards and happy noveling!

Susan
Shenandoah Valley Co-ML

HERE HERE!

You might talk to the fine folks at the Hollins branch about doing some meetings there. However, they are in Roanoke County and not the City of Roanoke. While we do share a catalog and the same card system and all that good stuff we don't usually do joint programs. Scheduling becomes a nightmare then! However, we are planning on doing some at the Williamson Road Library which is right down the road (Williamson Road, if you couldn't guess) from Hollins.

I'll post an Official Schedule soon but I hope we'll be able to get Hollins students to attend!

Nathan

Ah, alas. It sounds like us Hollins ladies will probably just be doing something on our campus, since we've already got something planned. But, if you do plan on doing something at the Williamson Road Branch, you might want to post about it on the Hollins University topic. I don't know how many of the others actually watch this topic, after all.
Also, you are a bit far from campus, and most of the ladies are freshmen. In my experience, freshmen don't generally have cars, but it's always a good idea to let us know, anyway. Maybe someone will have a car and be willing to set up a carpool.

Where, oh where, is the regional calendar?? I'd love to hit the Floyd meetup!

Hello Fellow SW VA writers, My name is Don and this is my 5th NaNo, third as invisibledon. Wish everyone the best of luck with their projects.

Hey, I'm in Martinsville, Va! Anyone from around there on the site? Would love to have a writing buddy. I'm also originally from Roanoke, so shout outs to fellow Star City writers!

Rhett, I might be able to make the 30th meet-up! Keep posting the details here!

Mals86, NRV Chorus? We definitely have to meet and talk (and yes, write too!).

JustNathan, I didn't make the connection till I returned here today - you gave an EXCELLENT workshop yesterday at VLA about training "the wiki wacky way" - if I'd made the NaNo conection in my head, I would have stayed after to introduce myself to you - I was sitting in your left audience, halfway back, in the middle of a row...

A good NaNo-planning or other writing day to you all!

Hi you guys!! I'm Colleen, nice to meet ya!

I'm from SW VA, all right. I hate it here, bleh. But I can deal. :)

Sooo... it's very difficult for a fourteen year old author to become well known in her region, but I'm trying!! I currently have three novels in progress (one main one, two side projects) and thought that NaNoWriMo might be good for getting a little support around here! Yeah, that and the fact that I'm too ADD to actually finish anything, haha...

So it's cool to know that people in my area are participating! If you live near Bristol, send me a message and maybe we can novel-talk sometime!

Hi All! I’m from Danville, VA! Is there anyone else from around that area? Hi WaruiChibi! Seems like we’re only about 30 minutes apart!