Winston/Mt Airy/Elkin/Dobson

I'm in the Boonville / Yadkinville area but I don't know yet if I'm even going to be able to participate this year. I hope to!

Do you know if there are any others in this area who are participating?

So far, your the only one other than friends of mine that I know of in our area. I hope you get to do it too, If you do, we should totally all get together sometime.

Might be fun!

Does Diana's Bookstore still have a good place for gathering? They did away with the coffee shop portion of it didn't they? I don't really get to Elkin much, or anywhere else really... LOL!

I've tried to get friends and family to join me but most just give me funny looks. Encouragement, but funny looks too. Or, as one recently replied on a forum post "LOL... Writing". :-/

Ya know... I'll bet there's some NaNo's in Winston though. The Borders down there at Thruway Center has a coffee shop in it, doesn't it? Kind of a long drive for us, I suppose, especially with time and gas money being short, but who knows?

yeah i does. im pretty sure. im partial to barnes and noble though. haha.

Ive never been there. but now that you mention it, i could scope it out. i live all of 5 minutes away. that would be an amazing place to go, for that.

haha, my mom looked at me as if id grown a second head. XD

Oh yeah! B&N does have a coffee bar thingie in there doesn't it...

Why the strange look from your mom? LOL!

because she thinks writing a novel in thirty days plus college plus work is insane.

Hmmm... Can't say she's wrong, but everyone needs a little insanity in their lives!

:-D

amen. so, i think im going to go check out diana's tomorrow. i need books anyhow.

Groovy! Please let me know what you find out!

i shall do that :D

i am so ready to start writing

Did you get a chance to visit Diana's Bookstore?

yes, i did. its perfect for nano meetings. they still have their coffee bar and everything.
:D

Happy Writing!
~*TheNikemiComplex*~

Sweet! Now we just need to find some more local NaNos and we'll be all set for a write-in or something!

I'll have to pass on the coffee though. As much as I may or may not like it, it doesn't agree with my stomach somehow. LOL!

yep yep.
well.. theres.. me and two of my friends.
and you.

we need to have more wrimos here.
;D

Hmmm... Well, four ain't a lot, but it's a start!

If we have a meet-up or write-in or whatever, I'm sure my wife will want to tag along, but she's not writing, so I don't know if that counts. Any excuse to get out of the house for a little while!

Sadly, none of my friends are the least bit interested in writing, nor is the wife. :-/

Did you mention to the folks at Diana's the possibility of a gang of NaNo's invading?

Haah. Not yet. Im going back tuesday to pick up a book I ordered.
I'll mention it to her then. I figured I probably shouldn't terrify the poor people
right outta the gates. haha.

Yeah.. Writing novels dosent seem like its many people's
favorite past-time. Oh well. Their loss.
All I know is that after last years epic fail,
this is a year of redemption.

Yeah, might better break it to them easy. LOL!

Last year I got close. In fact, I thought it was a sure thing. Started the month ahead by 10 or 15 thousand words. That first week I was unstoppable! But then I lost a week or so and ended up only getting around 44,000... :-(

When I said I failed epically...I meant it.
I only ended up with around 2,500 words.
It was my first year, and i got distracted by all the
glittery shiny forums.
haha.

I would have sulked for months if id ended up
with your wordcount. sorry for the loss.

*mourns*

:D

so, what are you attempting this year?

I ran into similar temptation when I stumbled into the NaNoWriMo IRC channel. I soon realized that a lot of my writing time was going to TALKING about writing and not so much actual WRITING! LOL!

But, don't sweat your 2,500 words last year. You made the effort to start, which is much more than a lot of people do - even those who daydream about "being a writer someday".

As for this year, I have no idea what I might do. I always work "off the cuff", it's just how my imagination works. I've tried being structured and organized in the past with other writing efforts and always failed miserably. Which is kind of funny, as I'm a BIG fan of organization and order. I can spend hours sitting at my hobby desk organizing my paints and tools and such until they're just right and then spend more hours sitting there basking in the glory of a well-ordered working area. Not so much painting or building getting done, but it LOOKS good and I know where everything is - if I were ever inclined to use it! HAHA! But I can't write that way. Creative endeavors are always chaotic and free-flowing with me. It comes out on it's own (usually) and just flows from my head to the keyboard. I let the story take me where it wants to go.

Last year, I started off with a bit of an action story, that quickly evolved into a kind of thriller. But soon it began to take on supernatural overtones. I still plan to finish it eventually, but without the NaNo madness (and excuse) it's been hard to find time to work on it. Part of the problem is knowing that my parents want to read it. Somehow, I think part of me fears that if I take it in the supernatural direction it wants to go, they will find it silly. But then, I cringe when I think of them reading my characters swearing... Thank God there are no love scenes in it! LOL!

I'm 32 and I still feel like I'm 10 when it comes to my folks. I have 3 kids, but I'll be damned if I'll admit how they got here to my parents. ;-)

But, I'm meandering, which is good for word-count, but not so good for getting the point across. Ultimately, I still have nothing to start with. No idea where to begin. Which, is where I started last year on November 1st. They say, write what you know, so I'm starting off right, eh? :-D

Haaaaaaaah If thats the case, then i'm right on track as well.
I have a general idea, and i don't really like outlining stories.
a good friend of mine told me when i started writing fan-fiction
that you should have a good solid beginning and end, and then
you should let the rest write itself. Let the story write you, not the
other way around.

I think my parents are part of the reason why I failed last year.
Im only eighteen, and they are super interested in what I write.
Hah. Teenage angst probably wouldn't make them happy.
*shrugs* Oh well. Ive always wanted to be published,so
I guess if that ever happens they will know what I write about regardless.

College.
Work.
Nano.

It's gonna be a crazy month.

I think most published fiction authors view a story as something that has a life of it's own. You can try to push it one way or the other, and sometimes even have a little success with that, but generally the story knows where it wants to go and fighting it is futile. I believe Stephen King described writing a story as being like digging up a dinosaur fossil. It's in there, formed and ready to go. You just have to uncover it.

Speaking of King, his book "On Writing" is well worth reading for aspiring writers. I keep it on my desk, next to my "Webster's Pocket Grammar, Usage and Punctuation" and "Teach Yourself Japanese" which I was using as a reference during NaNo '07.

I remember the things I wrote in high school. VERY violent usually, and even one poem that would make a Vegas hooker blush. But, those things stayed in my writing folder, only to be shown to the closest of friends. It took years before I even shared them with my wife.

Looking back, some of it is pretty good, some is pretty bad. But none of it was very subtle. LOL! But, eventually, as you said, if you're going to be published, your parents and family will likely read what you wrote.

Maybe there's a way to just toss away that inhibition the way we toss away so much else during NaNoWriMo? I mean, we don't worry about whether our stories are any good during November - we just WRITE! Maybe we can find the courage to write what we mean regardless of who might read it, even if only for one month. :-)

There is a valid challenge though, to create a dramatic story that conveys the same level of emotion/excitement/etc. without trying to simply shock the reader. Then again, there's nothing wrong with shocking them!

I've always written for the reader. For me, the payoff is when someone reads something I wrote and I get to enjoy their reaction. I sit and watch their face, wondering what they are thinking, and trying to guess what part they just read that made them make that expression on their face or made them laugh or whatever. Then, after they've read it, I like to discuss it with them until they cry and beg me to go away. LOL!

In short, I write to affect the reader. I want the story to inspire some reaction, whether it be something obvious like a gasp or a smile or even something subtle like merely identifying with a character. As long as they FEEL SOMETHING, it was worth it.

But I still worry about what my parents will think... HAHAHA!

Double posted... OOPS!

Double posted... Again

I live right down the street from the Borders at Thruway in Winston...did one of you mention living in that area?

Sorry, not living there, but we mentioned the possibility of organizing a meet-up there. We're actually further west.

Hi! I live in Stokes County not too far from King. It's a bit of a shlep but then, where I live, everything is a shlep. I would love to get together with some folks to write and so I'm trying to find a group. This is my first attempt and I can use all the motivation I can find. I'm also thinking of getting a writing session together in King, possibly at Foothills Juice and Java. They're very open to meetings. Let me know if y'all plan to assemble and I'll see what I can do 'round here if you're interested. Thanks!

Lori

Haha. Amen.
So ish Elkin, NC...
the center of hell.
XD

uhmm..
Ratlehead and I had been discussing meeting at Dianas Bookstore in Downtown Elkin.
But thats kinda far away for you right?

EVERYTHING is kind of far away from me. I live at least twenty minutes from absolutely everything, even gas. I wouldn't mind a bit of a journey, though. Every trip, no matter the length, is an adventure. Man, that sounded cheesy. Anyhoo, I'm getting a few folks together in King for kick-off but keep me posted on other gatherings if you have them. I'll do my level best to show up. I'll be the one in the goofy pink hat.

Happy noveling, Surrry-ites! Or is it Surrians? Surr-loins?