USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] Write-Ins: Set-Up Info for Volunteer Hosts

punahougirl84 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:25:26 +0000

Hi All!

One of the reasons we Marylanders are so good about writing and finishing our NaNovels is that we have many volunteers to host Write-Ins every year.

What is a "Write-In" you ask?

A Write-In is one of the best tools in your writing kit for getting in massive wordcounts. Essentially, Wrimos (writers) go OUT (not In!) to do writing away from the distractions of hearth and home and family and friends and email and homework and laundry and cooking and . . . you get the idea.

Locations chosen are often coffee shops, cafe areas at bookstores, Panera (free WiFi), libraries, college classrooms or commons, or any place that usually offers beverages of the caffeinated sort, tables, outlets, and doesn't mind groups taking up said space for a few hours at a time.

What happens at a Write-In? Get ready for it... WRITING! The host will have an area marked with a sign so that Wrimos can find each other, and everyone is encouraged to socialize a little but write a lot. Short word wars (timed blocks of some number of minutes where people set a timer and write for all they are worth) often yield amazing results regarding sheer quantity of words written, aside from razor-sharp focus and typos.

So, we are calling for volunteers who want to get out and write, and do so with other like-minded Wrimos. Many of you will talk about this on the various "area" threads that are a fine Maryland tradition.

How do you volunteer to host?

1) Pick a place (think about ease of access, parking, amenities)

2) Pick a date (or dates, like every Wednesday in November, or every other Saturday, or just one day)

3) Pick a time (whatever works for you will most likely work for someone who needs to get out!)

4) Post this information to this thread so one of our MLs can post your Write-In to our calendar

5) Show up!

Also, if you volunteer to host, please:

1) If you think it necessary, check with your location to make sure hosting a group is ok (if it is a retail location, like a Borders Cafe, everyone is encouraged to patronize the place for at least a tea or something so you are not taking table space away from paying customers - I know my Borders LOVES when we come in November!).

2) Have a flyer or table tent showing so other Wrimos can find you, available here:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/1005807

3) If you know how many people are likely to show up (ask in your area thread), MLs may have stickers to send (send us a message and ask), and I know I emailed table tents for people to print last year.

4) Consider bringing a power strip (or asking another attendee if they can).

5) Check to see what events have been scheduled so that you don't schedule your event next door to someone else on the same day and time - do it together! For example, I know mine will be Thursday evenings at Borders in Columbia, so I'd prefer people not also schedule for Borders at the mall in Columbia at the same time on the same day.

Please feel free to ask any questions here. Your MLs host at least one Write-In each, and we look forward to putting even more on the calendar.

Thank you!

Lee, ML
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] I Dare You!

vix — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:01:59 +0000

Veterans of NaNoWriMo and those who have explored other threads on the forums are probably familiar with "dares." Each year authors set up dares: items/characters/situations that can be included in the year's novels. Some can be serious, but often they are rather silly and require quite a bit of thought for follow-through. For example, in my first year I accepted a dare to include 3 chickens in my novel -- and they had to appear at least 3 times. This little twist resulted in a dimension to one of my characters that I never would have included on my own -- and it actually enhanced that character!

In Maryland we have our own slant on dares: each year we choose a state-wide dare, something that is associated with our state. In the past we've included mentions of the Renaissance Festival, heraldry, a raven (either the bird or football-related), and last year's "mention as many of Maryland's 24 counties as possible."

So what will it be this year? What makes you think of Maryland? Reply to this thread with your suggestions.
----------
Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] 2009 Challenge: Crabs vs. Lushguins Word Count Thread - PARTICPANTS ONLY

Jesina — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:47:14 +0000

Crabs vs. Lushguins Participants Only

If you have signed up for the 2009 Crabs vs. Lushguins Challenge, this is the official Word Count Thread (meaning this is where we'll track the numbers from so you have to be on this thread). We want to be able to have everyone in one place on the forums. It just makes it easier to see progress, realtime.

The following are the official participants who signed up for the challenge, and are the only ones who need to post here:

Akrotkov
Alarra
angeliclizard
BethanyK
blessedofmortals17
bonniexcl
BregoBeauty
Capthook
ceeeeg
Cregger
EmpJoy
haleighlachance
Infinity-Nevermore
James_R
JenniferDZ
Jesina
JoyaFields
justBetsy
kathrine
Leah-Nardo
Lissibith
MargoMcP
mustabeencrazy
Narwen_Telperindal
nawybot
Pax
prismac
punahougirl84
rahaeli
Renalae
SarahKate
Serena B
sjsampson
startwrite
Susie Q
tearsofsirion
thedreaming
Tidewaterbound
tryin2hard
Vary
Wolf912
xishuai

Please post to this thread JUST ONCE.

Once everyone has posted to this thread, we will lock it for tracking purposes.

So please post only ONCE.

Remember, this thread isn't for chat, just for tracking purposes. For chatting, use the Trash Talkin' thread please.

And remember this thread will be locked after MIDNIGHT, 11/6 so if you are a Crabs vs. Lushguins challenge participant, post just once here please. It is required.

Thanks,

Heather

----------
2008: Winner!
Night Fire, complete at 91,367 words
Resistance, incomplete at 53,760 words
2009 Goal: 150k words, two complete novels

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] 2009 Welcome and Introductions!

punahougirl84 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:35:10 +0000

Hi All!

Welcome to a new season of NaNoWriMo in Maryland!

I'm Lee, and this will be my 6th year doing NaNo, and 6th year as ML for Maryland. Joining me is our other wonderful ML Vickie.

We will be here to answer questions, set up useful threads, organize Kick-Offs and Write-Ins and TGIO parties, marshal wonderful Write-In Volunteer Hosts, arrange our calendar, organize challenges and the Maryland Dare, and of course help you all get through a wonderful November.

I know Maryland Wrimos will soon be jumping in here posting regional location threads to let people know where they are and find other Wrimos in our area. Please check to make sure no one has posted about your area first please! We don't need 4 threads for any particular location LOL.

And don't worry, 50K in 30 days is completely doable. Unless you have a life...

So please post an introduction here, let us know about your newbieness or experience with past NaNos, where you are, or anything else you feel like sharing.

And once again, welcome!

Lee, ML, MD
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] 2009 Challenge: Crabs vs. Lushguins -- RULES THREAD

Jesina — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:04:01 +0000

Rules for the 2009 Challenge: Team Lushguin v the State of Maryland

Eligibility
• Texans: You must live within 60 miles of Austin or Houston. You may not come from another city that has its own Regional Lounge.
• Marylanders: You must live in the state of Maryland.

Sign-ups
• Notify your challenge coordinator via email ONLY - texas (at) flickguy (dot) com in Texas or maryland (at) flickguy (dot) com in Maryland - by midnight on November 3 that you want to participate. Your email must contain your nano username.
• During the challenge, you must respond to any requests from your challenge coordinator within a maximum of three days so we know you aren’t missing in action.
• Your challenge coordinator will provide a “word count thread” in your regional lounge to track word count. Participants will post ONCE to this thread when instructed by the challenge coordinator. When everyone has posted, the thread will be locked.

Updating Word Count
• You must update your word count at least once every five days. If you are unable to update your count, contact your challenge coordinator.
• During the course of the contest, we may ask that you update your word count more frequently.
• You must input your final word count by midnight on November 30. After midnight, you will no longer be able to update your count.

Scoring
• You may drop out of the challenge at any time up to midnight on November 15 without affecting your team’s count.
• Only the official word count from the locked “word count thread” on the NaNoWriMo website will be considered when computing the final score.
• After midnight on November 30, the challenge coordinators from each team will drop the highest and lowest scores from their respective counts. They will compute the average score for all remaining competitors.
• The team with the highest word count average will be the winner.
• The challenge coordinators will compare results, and when both coordinators agree, the results will be posted on the NaNo boards.

Trash-talkin’
• Each team will have a clearly labeled “trash talk” thread. The Lushguins trash talk thread will be in the Austin Lounge. Trash talk is to be posted ONLY to the trash talk thread and should remain in good fun and within the bounds of good sportspersonship.

Our God-like powers
• Challenge Coordinators decide what “good sportspersonship” means.
• We reserve the right to remove folks from the competition for any violation of the rules and guidelines listed above.
• We are the final authority in any dispute or question about the rules.

Remember It’s All in Fun
• In the heat of competition, we sometimes forget it’s just a game. If you have a concern or question about anything regarding the competition, please contact your challenge coordinator before you post.

(If you’d like to discuss this further, please post questions or comments to this thread or shoot your challenge coordinator an email or pm.)

----------
2008: Winner!
Night Fire, complete at 91,367 words
Resistance, incomplete at 53,760 words
2009 Goal: 150k words, two complete novels

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] MD Chatroom/Virtual Write-Ins

punahougirl84 — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:55:21 +0000

Hi all!

One of the other MLs has set up a ton of regional chatrooms, and we have one!

http://maryland.chatnano.net/index.html

Follow the directions and you'll have access to the chatroom. This will be a great tool for virtual write-ins. It works - I'm there right now (though not looking as I'm doing other things like posting this message).

We do not want a chat to get in the way of writing, but I do think a virtual write-in with some word wars would be a great tool to bring distant people together.

We could set up a weekly one on the calendar, then let informal ones get posted here. We can make this a "sticky" and add it to our Headers on the Regional Info page.

If you have any other thoughts, feel free to share. If you think this is a tool you want to use, go ahead and sign up.

It might be fun to do a stroke-of-midnight virtual write-in when Oct 31 becomes Nov 1!

Lee
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] The Question, Answer, Info, and Advice Thread

punahougirl84 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:11:33 +0000

Have a question about NaNo that you can't get answered by reading the FAQs or other information already provided? Confused by something in the forum? Wondering how to make it to 50K in 30 days but feeling overwhelmed by all the forums and threads?

Look no further - this thread is for anyone needing to ask something, or who can offer an answer, etc.

A few tips right now:

1) Make sure you've made Maryland your Home Region (Vickie will be posting on how to do that soon).

2) You can find our calendar under Regional Events on the View tab in the forum. Click on the scroll bar to see events, and you can click on events for details. Click again to close the details.

3) You can find links for our [STICKY] threads (the main ones for MD info) on the Regional Info tab.

4) Apostrophes reduce word count. Turn "let's" into "let us" or "don't" into "do not" - voila, double the words!

That's it for a start. Looking forward to a great season of literary exuberance!

Lee
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

Columbia Write-In Location Change 11/25

punahougirl84 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:20:05 +0000

Hi All!

Just a reminder that the write-in scheduled for Wed, 11/25 at Borders from 7-10pm is moving to La Madeleine in the same shopping center. Hopefully we can get the big table in the back like we did last year.

Hope to see you all there (well, those not frantically cleaning, cooking, or traveling for the holiday),

Lee
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

Word Count Congrats!

punahougirl84 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:20:26 +0000

I wanted to congratulate Jesina/Heather on being the first in Maryland Wrimo to cross the 50K line! At least, according the the Author Search (which showing MD to now have 640 homed authors, so obviously we are missing more than half!).

SarahLWilliams should be next. Xanqui is the next closest.

I also figure that if anyone hit great numbers, it would be fun to have a place to say hooray.

Hooray!

Lee
----------
Winner!: 2004 - String Fling, 2005 - Dark Matters, 2006 - Heaven's Homeless, 2007 - Against Nature, 2008 - Crack Bot
MLing for MD since 2004

USA :: Maryland

Will you miss Nanowrimo in December?

Talvikki — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:49:49 +0000

I know I will. Even though I haven't really been able to keep up with the word count, it was a good excuse to stay up late writing or sneak in writing time at school (ie. my job). I hope to keep writing in December so I can actually finish my novel, but without the pressure of a deadline, I'm afraid my motivation will falter under the desire for sleeeeep.
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USA :: Maryland

Bowie Write-in 11/24

HedderB — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:03:56 +0000

Is anyone going to be there tonight?
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USA :: Maryland

Bowie Panera Write-In 11/23

esotaria — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:26:11 +0000

I'm probably going to have to work late tonight, so I probably won't be able to make it to tonight's write-in. *shakes fist*

If anybody's up for a write-in sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening, let me know. :)
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USA :: Maryland

Baltimore County?

VeronicaAnkh — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Anyone writing in Baltimore County area? I am close to Baltimore City but I am for sure in the county area. Would be Nice to know I'm not going it alone.
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It's amazing the worlds we have yet to discover.
~Veronica

USA :: Maryland

Shady Grove Panera

vix — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:37:08 +0000

mollib hasn't made it into the forums yet but she let me know that she'll be at Panera today. Taisch & her daughter may be there as well. I guess I'll plan to do some editing there this afternoon as well as tomorrow.

Shady Grove Panera, across from the hospital:
Saturday: 1:00-3:00
Sunday: 12:00-3:00

We may actually be there longer -- usually happens!
Look for the pink laptop and all-pink accessories (that would be Molli).
And a laptop with lots of NaNoWriMo stickers (me)
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Vickie, ML for 270 corridor
gaithersburg_md@nanowrimo.org
Alternate e-mail: vix94@rcn.com

USA :: Maryland

College Park! Yey, parties!

AKrotkov — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:30:31 +0000

So, I'm still in college after (2) years of doing this, and I'm hoping for a better turn out than last year. Shame on you, all you college students who were too busy with classes and work to write. ;)

A short intro, I'm Andrei. Technically a nice geeky CS major, but I'm branching out into other topics for my last year of college. I like creative writing (really!), running around shooting people with nerf guns, and dressing up in weird costumes. I'm juggling board positions in clubs, learning Japanese, three other classes, and graduation this semester, but I'm psyched to compete. And hey, if I can do it with all that on my plate, so can you!

Go ahead and leave introductions - I'll try to organize things to the best of my ability, if there's more than two of you this year! ;)
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USA :: Maryland

Laurel Write-In

Leah-Nardo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:16:02 +0000

Hey, guys! Tonight is our last write-in at the Laurel Panera Bread, from 6:30 to 9:00pm! I'm looking forward to racking up some big numbers again tonight. We'll have cookies for those that win the word wars (and sometimes just because).

I'll have signs up by the door pointing to where we are. Hope to see you all there!

-Leah, your friendly neighborhood Laurel write-in host
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2005: Everything Under the Sun (Win!)
2006: Cons and Consequence (Fail!)
2007: Bitter Sky (Utter Fail!!!)
2008: The Patchwork Princess (Win!)

USA :: Maryland

Ikea Write In

tearsofsirion — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:42:59 +0000

I can not get transportation together today despite my best efforts, so I am sorry if anyone went today and found me absent. If anyone is interested in coming next week, please post here and let me know, I have only had one other person to write with on Sundays so far this year, so if no one is interested in coming next week, I will be staying home to write next week, it being down to the wire and all. Hope everyone's novelling is going great!
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"We must read in order to know, or we do not know by reading." Charlotte Mason
One box of Stash Chai Tea - 3.50
One Carton of Camel Lights - 65.00
Hitting 35k on day 10 - Priceless
Some months never see a written word. For Nov, there's NaNoWriMo

USA :: Maryland

The Worse Thing That Can Happen Right Before NaNo...

Yuutousei — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:02:45 +0000

Is for your laptop to just die on you T3T

As of 9am this morning, my laptop has been rendered unusable. It's a brand freakin' new MacBook Pro so you'd think I wouldn't have this problem.... Hopefully the trip I'm gonna make to the Apple Store later today (and I do hope someone can drive me, 'cause if not, I'm gonna miss dinner to make it there on time in the rain =3=) will have it all fixed and without losing any of my character sheets.

At the very least, I normally hand write my novels, but my laptop tends to be essential for research (how else am I supposed to know the normal way for Mafia members to off people who betray the family? Or that MD's song alludes to Lincoln's death?) as well as general procrastination time.

Anyone else have other "Worses"? I know a couple of years ago (my soph year in HS) my friend broke his writing arm right before NaNo started and he was like "NOOOO!" because he hand wrote his stuff 'cause his typing skills failed, ha ha ha. Remember that makes me feel better about my situation "p
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~::||Overconfidence||::~
Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds beating you.
Yuu_tan.InsaneJournal.com

USA :: Maryland

WoW setting

Goldylocks — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:13:57 +0000

The MCs in my story meet in guild raids and start IM'ing. They feel connected and decide to hook up in RL. I give the backstory of each one's life and how they came to WoW'g. Then they meet and are shocked. NOthing in common, other side of the tracks, nothing against them but I never thought of one that way. And then her kid disappears and we are off to the races.
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Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
:)

USA :: Maryland

Early Saturday AM Baltimore City/County Write-in

smtwngrl — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:53:47 +0000

It seems all the write-ins scheduled in the city or North/Northeast part of the county are all in the afternoon or evening. I'm wondering if anyone would be up for a Saturday morning write-in a couple of times during the month. I'm thinking that the White Marsh Panera might work, or I could check with Grind On cafe in the Hamilton area on Harford Road...maybe between 8 and 11AM?

Let me know if you're interested and where you'd prefer to meet and we'll go from there.
----------
Ami
http://writingherlife.blogspot.com
http://amispencer.com/blog
*Live well, laugh often, love much...and write, write, write!*

USA :: Maryland

DC/Metro Area!

explosioned — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:46:09 +0000

Hey there! You may recognize me from the welcome thread - I'm a freshman at UM this year and ready and rarin' to write! Write-in, that is. Any others from the good ol' DC/Metro Area that wanna get together and write up a storm? My transportation is limited to bicycle, legs, and metro, but I'll do my darndest! :D If anyone in College Park wants to do a write-in ... I'm in!
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Check out my NaNo blog!

USA :: Maryland

St Mary's County Shout Out!

gilroy — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:32:10 +0000

WOW! Its that time of year again.
Here's to another successful year from Southern Maryland. We need more winners, so we would love more writers to gather together.

I'm hoping to host at Panera again this year. Just need to know the best day of the week for those who wish to attend.

Anyone down here willing to join us and write?
Also, do we want more than one day of the week this year?

Gilroy AKA Brett of the Dying Laptop in 08
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Gilroy
2009 - Great Divide
2008 - Deify the Sword - WINNER!
2007 - The Misplaced Prince - WINNER!
2006 - Ghost Train - WINNER!
2005 - Blood Bond - Winner!

USA :: Maryland

Howard County

Pax — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:47:15 +0000

Check in here!

I'm in Ellicott City, and enjoyed the write-ins at Borders in Columbia last year. I write YA and MG.
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Pax,
Barb
(Blue/green version compliments of cherrycola)

USA :: Maryland

Official Trash-Talkin' Thread for Challenge 2009

Jesina — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:30:21 +0000

This is the place where all the FUN is...the mini-rules on this are listed below!

---------------------
Trash-talkin’
• Each team will have a clearly labeled “trash talk” thread. The Lushguins trash talk thread will be in the Austin Lounge. Trash talk is to be posted ONLY to the trash talk thread and should remain in good fun and within the bounds of good sportspersonship.

Remember It’s All in Fun
• In the heat of competition, we sometimes forget it’s just a game. If you have a concern or question about anything regarding the competition, please contact your challenge coordinator before you post.
----------
2008: Winner!
Night Fire, complete at 91,367 words
Resistance, incomplete at 53,760 words
2009 Goal: 150k words, two complete novels

USA :: Maryland

Baltimore city writers?

Jesina — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:07:58 +0000

Particularly anyone in the Fells Point/Canton area?

I work in Columbia so I'm going to go to the write in there, I think Thursday nights, like I did last year but I wouldn't mind one some other night in the city. I was thinking Panera Bread might make for a nice writing environment, if anyone's interested?

Heather
----------
2008: Winner!
Night Fire, complete at 91,367 words
Resistance, incomplete at 53,760 words
2009 Goal: 150k words, two complete novels

USA :: Maryland

USA :: Maryland

[STICKY] Write-Ins: Set-Up Info for Volunteer Hosts

[STICKY] I Dare You!

[STICKY] 2009 Challenge: Crabs vs. Lushguins Word Count Thread - PARTICPANTS ONLY

[STICKY] 2009 Welcome and Introductions!

[STICKY] 2009 Challenge: Crabs vs. Lushguins -- RULES THREAD

[STICKY] MD Chatroom/Virtual Write-Ins

[STICKY] The Question, Answer, Info, and Advice Thread

**Columbia Write-In Location Change 11/25**

Word Count Congrats!

Will you miss Nanowrimo in December?

Bowie Write-in 11/24

Bowie Panera Write-In 11/23

Baltimore County?

Shady Grove Panera

College Park! Yey, parties!

Laurel Write-In

Ikea Write In

The Worse Thing That Can Happen Right Before NaNo...

WoW setting

Early Saturday AM Baltimore City/County Write-in

DC/Metro Area!

St Mary's County Shout Out!

Howard County

Official Trash-Talkin' Thread for Challenge 2009

Baltimore city writers?

Columbia Write-In Location Change 11/25