United States :: New Jersey :: Central

The Big Post Full Of Big Stuff

Katie C — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 21:19:56 -0700

Hello everyone!

Welcome to National Novel Writing Month 2008!

I am Katie and I will be one of your ML's this year. This will be my 5th year doing Nanowrimo (and hopefully it will be my 5th win). I have been an ML for Central New Jersey since 2006. I currently live in Somerville, NJ.

Most of this post isn't going to be too new to the Nano veterans. Just a rehashing of how I do things. But there are a few changes going on for the region that I need to cover.

First off I want to extend a special welcome to new Wrimos and old Wrimos that are joining CNJ this year. It's great to have you with us!

News

New ML's!

By October 1st of 2007 I knew there was going to be no way I'd be able to fulfill all of my obligations as ML for the region this year. Although I'm still working behind the scenes, getting out there and actually being social is going to be a challenge. Most of you know why so I'll spare you my gushing excitement. But for people who are just coming in, I'm getting married the day after Thanksgiving. If October is this nuts, I'm terrified to see what November is like.

So with that in mind, I've asked Pat Marin and Jamiebee to act as co-MLs with me this year. They've been active members in the region for years. They've been at every single Kickoff and TGIO I've hosted. And they helped form a regularly meeting write-in over in Edison. They love writing. They love NaNoWriMo. I think they're going to do a great job.

Google Calendar

In past years, the Regional Lounges has come with a calendar system that we'd keep updated letting you know where and when Nano-related activities were taking place. The calendar idea itself has not changed. But the kind of calendar has. We will now be using a Google Calendar to keep track of all the events. A link to the calendar can be found under the Regional Lounge header. It should say "Click here to see all official events for Central NJ" or something like that. We will make every effort to keep this information up to date. In fact if you look now you will see...

CNJ Kickoff Party is 10/26/08

Yep. This year's Kickoff Party will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2008. I am in the middle of getting things finalized. I will keep you posted with the details as soon they are worked out. But you can count on the 26th.

General Info/How-To

Who belongs in CNJ?

I've had this question come up to me before. "I live in ____. Does this mean I live in Central?" Basically my view on the issue is similar to NaNo's view on writing a novel...if you think you live in Central, I think you live in Central too. But if you are having a hard time finding other people to write with, please don't forget there are three other regions in NJ for you to look through. You don't have to limit yourself to one lounge. My job is in the Northeast region so I keep an eye on that lounge as well.

All interested people, whether they live in CNJ or not, may attend Write-ins and parties.

A Word About Write-Ins

Although arranging the Kickoff and TGIO parties have been my responsibility, for as long as I have done this I have turned over the creation of write-ins to you, the locals. The reasoning behind this is because you know your towns and you know your schedules. Waaay better than I do. The most successful write-ins got started because a group of people communicated with each other and decided to meet...and just kept meeting. Trust me when I say that I'd only get in the way if I become involved.

You don't need my permission to start a write-in. In fact I encourage it. You are not stepping on my toes in any way.

How do I start a Write-In?

Most write-ins start out by someone posting a new topic saying they live in ___ and they are looking for writing buddies. Or they may say "I'm going to be at ____ at __ o'clock. Come join me!" Whether it's 1 person or 10 people, if a Wrimo is committed to spending a certain amount of time writing in a specific location, in my book that's a Write-In and can be added to the official calendar.

How do I get added to the calendar?

You MUST NanoMail myself, Pat or Jamie letting us know the date, time, and location of your write in. We won't assume any threads about local write-in plans are definite since so many of them are used to "test the waters". So once your plans are made, fire us a NaNoMail ASAP so we can get them on the calendar for all to see.

Even if you are just planning to write in Panera for an hour and a half every Thursday, we'll put that in the calendar. You never know who might be in the area.

I only ask you do to things.

1.) Please commit to your write-in. No one will hold it against you if an emergency comes up and you can't make it. But please don't abandon it without telling anybody. If you need an event removed from the calendar, let us know. We'll take care of it.

2.) Make a table tent or have someone wear a Nanowrimo Shirt or do something else NaNo-y. Sometimes write-ins become total busts because people show up and they can't find each other. So using some sort of visible sign, whether it's a T-shirt of a table sign, will really help bring everyone together. This is especially useful for people who have never attended a write-in before. The write-in could be taking place right under their noses, and they'd never realize it (many people carry laptops these days...it's not always obvious). Most people are not comfortable going up to total strangers and asking if they are writing a novel so a sign of some kind is a huge help.

To the new people and those sitting on the fence about meeting other Wrimos, please don't be afraid to go to the Kickoff/TGIO parties and the Write-ins. People actually do attend these things. We'd love to see you there. :)

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask Pat, Jamie, or myself. We're always happy to help. :)
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Municipal Liasion for Central New Jersey

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Bye everyone! (See TGIO Info Here Too)

Katie C — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:58:06 -0800

Hi all!

Well November is drawing to a close and I must bid you all an early farewell. This time tomorrow I'll be hitting the road with my new husband and heading down to Florida. I'll attempting to make the comeback of my life along the way by writing 15,000 words in two days.

First off I want to give HUGE thank yous to Jamiebee and Pat Marin for helping me out this year since reality kept me from being as social as I was in previous years. Thanks so soooo much for all your help.

Secondly, I just want to send a reminder that the TGIO party will be held on December 7th from 2-5 PM at the Panera Bread near Menlo Park Mall.

1551 US Highway 1
Edison, NJ 08837

This is not the same location as the Kickoff.

Also we have their meeting room reserved for us during that time slot so we don't have to worry about taking up space. Please come if you can. All of you deserve a breather. You don't need to bring anything with you. But excepts of your novels are always welcome. :)

Have fun everyone! And if I don't see you within the next month or so, I will see you next year! :)

- Katie C (soon to be Katie T)
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Municipal Liasion for Central New Jersey

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

TGIO

Pat Marin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:04:48 -0800

Well, I watch the clock tick away. I've never done that before. I was always too busy tyring to post my novel to the counter.

I hope you all had a grea time. See those of you who can make it at the party. If you've had write-Ins, make your own TGIO party.

Congrats! to all those who participated and thanks to those of you who donated to NaNoWriMo making this all possbile.

Pat
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Pat
NaNo 2008 Witch Nightmare
NaNo 2007 His Halloween Witches Winner
NaNo 2006 Witch in Flames Winner
NaNo 2005 What Witch? Not My Witch! Winner
NaNo 2004 The Odd Cops: Love Undercover Winner

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Who's won so far?

rosyfury — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:56:42 -0800

I'm done. I wanted to know how many of you guys have won and if anyone wants to trade manuscripts.
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

4000 word challenge

Pat Marin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:22:06 -0800

Hi Fellow Central Jersey NaNoWroMos,

Anyone up for a 4000 word challenge? Why?

1) I'm Crazy
2) Central Jersey needs to move up in the word count and it needs our help to do it.

I've decided I'm not happy with where my word count is at the moment. After attempting NaNoWriMo for five years, I've realized it gets easier every time I do it. You've learn to plan better in your head before you start, you've learn to get rid of your internal editor, you're you've learned you don't need to the do research until it comes up the story so make a note in ALL CAPS, you've learn you create a better story when in creative mode (could this be the 'zone' that I've heard people talk about), and you've learned how to succeed. Thus, my challenge. Today is the day I try the 4000-word challenge. I've attempted it twice last year and if I remember correctly, I made it the first time but not the second. Will I succeed this time? I hope so otherwise I will be extremely embarrassed here.

If you'd like to join me, pick a day from now until November 30th and try it. Post your result here.

Did you make it? If yes, tell us how difficult or easy it was.
If not, what did you learn? How far did you get?
Did you like the challenge? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Let's have some fun, further our word count and move Central Jersey up on that list. We are at 52 right now.

I challenge you!

Pat

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Pat
NaNo 2008 Witch Nightmare
NaNo 2007 His Halloween Witches Winner
NaNo 2006 Witch in Flames Winner
NaNo 2005 What Witch? Not My Witch! Winner
NaNo 2004 The Odd Cops: Love Undercover Winner

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Regional Word Counts

BillPatt — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 06:59:51 -0800

As of today, we are #56, globally. Pretty swank - the Northern NJ pukes are only #97.

But Brisbane, Austraillia is kicking our butts. Brisbane???? There has to be, what 50,000 people in the whole province?

Let's keep reporting those word counts, folks. We can never let the Pineys catch up.
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Bill Patterson
Scrivener ordinaire
Winner, 2007, Earth is Hell!

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

NaNoWriMo Donations

Pat Marin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:20:55 -0800

Hi fellow NaNoWriMos,

Chris has been reduced to begging since they have only collected 50% of the donations needed to run NaNoWriMo and related programs. Please, I would be heart broken if Chris was not be able to run NaNoWriMo 2009, so if you can possibly swing a $10 donation, do so.

Think of all the NaNoWriMos you've signed on for and divide it down. I money is tight these days but where would we be without our writing.

So please make a donation, any donation will be gratefully accepted.

Thanks,

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pat Marin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:11:01 -0800

HI all,

Happy Thanksgiving!

And if you have the weekend off, be thankful that Thanksgiving it late this year so you have lots more time to work on you NaNoWriMo novel.

Good luck to you all. Me, I've still got to get to the end of the book.

Katie C, if you are around yet. I wish you al the best on you marriage.

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Edison Write-Ins

Pat Marin — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:37:28 -0700

HI all,
Jamie and I will be meeting again this year in the cafe at B&N in Menlo Mall every Monday night during NaNoWriMo. All who can make it are welcome. Last year we had a teen who joined us each week with her Mom.

Please charge your laptop batteries as the Cafe does not have oulets to plug into. Ah, yes, I do love my AlphaSmart during NaNoWriMo.

Hope to see you all there.

Pat Marin and Jamiebee
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Pat
NaNo 2008 Witch Nightmare
NaNo 2007 His Halloween Witches Winner
NaNo 2006 Witch in Flames Winner
NaNo 2005 What Witch? Not My Witch! Winner
NaNo 2004 The Odd Cops: Love Undercover Winner

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Shore NaNos?

ChuckTaylor — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:15:12 -0700

Hey all! This Central Jersey region is HUGE seeming to me - I was hoping to find a more shore-oriented central jersey region where I didn't have to drive an hour to get to a write-in or meetup!

With that in mind, any NaNos from the Monmouth-Ocean County areas? Which NaNos are on the shore, and do we wanna pull together our own meet ups?

I was thinking potentially the Inkwell in Long Branch.

Ideas?
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-Frankiel-

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Rutgers?

AnnieKay — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:38:24 -0700

So I think I've spotted a few other RU students around. Let me know if you're here!

Sophomore living on Busch Campus.
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Local Wrimo Gatherings (Somerville)

BillPatt — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:06:07 -0700

No, I didn't check with Katie (and I should, I know), but I am pretty sure that we will be meeting in the Barnes & Noble at the Somerville Circle Mall on Wednesdays during November, like we did last year.

Is there any interest in meeting up there say, the last two weeks of October? I think it would be helpful, especially for new people - the ones who are concerned about being able to crank out so many words.

BTW, I have a great little tracking spreadsheet for the really, really retentive ones who what to know things like just how fast they write, how many words they have left, how long it will take to get to 50k at their current output rate. All kinds of things like that.

Bill
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Bill Patterson
Scrivener ordinaire
Winner, 2007, Earth is Hell!

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Any high school students?

Traidy — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 14:50:45 -0800

Just wondering, i'm sure there is, if there are any high school students writing.
I'm a junior, and this is my second year and i just wanted to know how others go about with their school work and writing and what not.
Also, does anybody support you? i mean, do your friends think you are crazy, wasting time, being stupid? Or do they think it is awesome, want to try too or push to out of those evil mental blocks?

Just want to hear some stories for Central Jersey.
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"It takes a great deal of sacrifice to maintain a front of happiness."
"Live simple so that others may simple live..."

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

North Brunswick write-ins

emskodia — Sun, 2 Nov 2008 03:18:45 -0800

hey all,
i live in north brunswick. wondering if there is anyone in north brunswick or surrounding towns looking to do a regular write in? hope the novels are going well so far. :)
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2008 - Too Many Questions
2007 - Forgiveness
2006 - Cold Confuzion

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Central Jersey Teens

McBeckettLG — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 18:16:44 -0700

I hope I'm allowed to put this post here, but I was thinking maybe we could tabulate how many Teens are doing Nano this year so we could create after school groups and parties for ourselves. I know some of our parents might not like us meeting adults at random places in town, so I thought maybe some of the students could find other classmates here doing the same thing and plan our own parties. If there aren't enough teens in a school who are participating, maybe we could host a massive online chat or something. What does everyone think?

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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

2008 Central Jersey Regional Dare

JerzeyGirl — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:57:55 -0700

I tallied the votes, and it ended up as a tie, so asking a non-biased source for a tie-breaker, the regional dare for this year is:

"Include a scene in a diner or similar eating establishment."

If you manage to incorporate this dare and wish to share your achievement, post an excerpt from your novel showcasing the dare in this thread.

Good luck!
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'04 - Here's to You, Ms. Robinson ~ 23,000
'05 - Copycats - 50k!
'06 - Name ~ 39,000
'07 - Recurse - 50k!
'08 - ?

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Toxic Avenger Fans?

Sir Lirin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:46:25 -0800

I figured I'd see if there were other NJ NaNoers who saw it this fall while it was at George Street Playhouse, seeing as it is all about NJ. It was fantastic! I hope the soundtrack comes out soon--I'm dying to memorize the "Choose Me Oprah" song for Coffehouses!
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FORGET REGRET... OR LIFE IS YOURS TO MISS
Yes, I do worship Tamora Pierce. It's a way of life.

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Have you hit the wall yet?

lyris — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 07:11:27 -0800

You know, writer's block wall? My absolute worst enemy in the world. T_T It finds that it's amusing to build itself up right around this time, every year, and often doesn't get torn down for freaking months.

And what you end up with is about a large handful of places where I've just give up trying to write and gone on. They're annoying me half to death though, I'll have to force myself to write some of them before I kill myself.

At least my word count is around where it should be. I was using the Write or Die program yesterday (http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html), and it's amazing. ^^

What about you? Are you faring any better than me?
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Hamilton, NJ meetup/writers

penguido — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:12:32 -0700

There seem to be a lot of Hamilton-area writers here so I suggest we meet up in Hamilton.

As was mentioned by others, the Starbucks across from the Hamilton K-Mart (on Mercer-Whitehorse Way) might be a good place to meet. The nice thing about that location is that it's also across the street from a shopping center with donuts, pizza, chicken, and a diner, in case folks get hungry. It's also close to the bus and the 295 highway.

I'm open to other suggestions as well (I moved here recently, and that shopping center is close to my house so I know where it is).

~ Carrie
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Writing group for Princeton-area children's book writers on the first Tuesday every month at Barnes&Noble

tegugecko — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 18:01:33 -0800

Although I have never had a chance to attend, there is an authors' group that meets at 7:30 PM in the MarketFair Barnes&Noble for everyone who is interetsed in writing for children and young adults. I keep meaning to go, but with a wife in night school and two young children to chase after, it hasn't quite worked out...
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We are not alone...No estamos solos...

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Any Princeton-area NaNo-ers?

csandiford — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:43:16 -0700

Hi out there!
Just seeing if there were any NaNoWriMo-ers in the greater Princeton area...I did this a few years back and could never make the meetups because they were all an hour or so away....So, if anyone is in the region and wants to create a meetup group, give a shout!
Happy Brainstorming til then!
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

New NaNo

jpdunphy — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:09:34 -0800

And I just moved to Hamilton on Friday. Isn't it interesting how these things work out?

So, I hear we are looking for meetups, to evoke inspiration? To bounce ideas off one another? To remember that while writing can be a very lonely occupation, there are a lot of out there? All of the above?

Are we meeting on Route 33 at the Starbucks? I am right on Hamilton Square-Yardville Road and could skip to that location.

John
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United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Mercer County Write In?

Tatra — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 20:04:19 -0700

Is anyone interested in attending a Mercer County write in? Possibly at the Borders near/at Nassau Park on Thursdays? Possible time about 7pm-9pm.

I have no idea if it'll be possible for this to happen or not on my end, but I figured that I'd ask around here before asking around my house. I really want to go to some write ins, but Somerville is too far away. Plus, I never think about doing my homework on Thursdays, as that's my last school day of the week.

So, I really am up to any suggestions that anyone has, but I think it would be awesome if this could work out. So, is anyone interested?
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--
NaNoWriMo 08: Flabberghast! -- How to get kicked out of school in two weeks by acting insane, by Jonathan Cramer.
Won:
Screnzy: 07: The State of Orange; 08: The State of Green.
NaNoWriMo: 06: Dragons in the Bathtub; 07: Sidhe PD

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Central Jersey Check in Post

gingerpeaches — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:25:50 -0700

Hi!

I'm Ginny from Hamilton (Mercer County) and I'm going for my third Nanowrimo. I'm really feeling it this year. I have a genre (steampunk) and a title (January First) and a strange format (only journal entries dated Jan. 1st for fifty years running). I'm currently kicking around ideas for the name of my main character's rock band. Yea me!

So, what's everyone else doing?
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Genre: Steampunk
Title: January First

United States :: New Jersey :: Central

Central NJ Kick-off party

Ellfie — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:00:58 -0700

I know there are other threads about this, but I'm having a hard time finding ones that work more me, or the timing is off, so I decided to start on a clean slate.

Anyone interested in meeting up sometime this weekend (Oct 24-26) or next weekend (Nov 1-2) somewhere in Central NJ. My idea was somewhere like the Barnes and Noble in the Hamilton Market Place, but any other ideas are welcome.
Also please keep in mind I'm a teen, but anyone's welcome. The more the merrier!

I don't know what we'd actually do there, but in my mind the party would be socializing for the most part. And if it's done at Barnes and Noble, they do have a cafe so you can buy any snacks you want.
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