Greetings!
Last year we were lucky enough to get a really good NaNo chapter going made up of current and former Leeds students, under the guidance of our awesome leader, rogue_dreams aka Charlie. It was a group that resulted in much karaoke, many good friends made, many milkshakes consumed, one long-term relationship, some frankly disturbing photos and a lot lot lot of words.
Sadly Charlie probably won't be able to resume her leaderly duties this year, so on absolutely no authority I'm (at least temporarily) stepping into the breach. I'm Atheling aka Myfanwy; I'm a third-year English Lit student at Leeds Uni, and this will be my fourth NaNo. Who are you? What do you do where? How many NaNos are you on?
Since last year's format seemed to work, I'm generally inclined to follow it. To which end I propose an initial get-together for the Student NaNos on the afternoon of either Sat 17 or Sat 24 October, to be held in that bastion of student life the Leeds Uni Union Terrace bar. Please post in the thread and let me know which date works for you :)
Our facebook group is here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=85518805390&ref=ts - I'll be adding people as soon as we get the admin arrangements sorted out.
So hai. Welcome to the madness :)
----------
43,692 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 05 49
Hayyyyy I'm Danni (also blackcatphobia, etc etc), doing an MA in Japanese - English translation because I just couldn't bear to leave the old place behind :D
The 17th is better for me, because I'm gonna be spending the 24th killing imaginary people in Bolton for longer than usual. I should be able to make both, but I'll be coming on the late side.
EXCELSIOR!
Oh also my NaNo this year is following the characters of some short stories (because I'm lazy), and is almost entirely based on a ring I saw for sale on eBay with a real live djinn inside. Set in northern France, at least in the beginning. I have no plot, but a beginning, and lots of prayers.
42,764 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 05 58
Hey! I'm SchrodingersDuck, real name Stephen, and I'm a 3rd year theoretical physicist. People who were at last year's meet ups will remember me as the quiet glasses-y guy. This is my second NaNo, and my first one that I'm not just winging as I go. This time I've got an actual plot and everything!
Okay, so it's psychic mutant spacecockroaches invading Wales and forcing everyone to live on boats, but still. PLOT.
I'm fine with either date - I'm tempted to say the 17th just because a) I'm impatient and b) I'm impatient.
6,773 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 06 37
Hey, I'm Patrick, the tall guy who was crap at word wars last year and only managed four thousand and some words. I'm actually going to try to do the full fifty thou this year: I'm already practicing raising my daily word count to the crazed level required. I'm a third-year English student. I'm most likely around on either of those Saturdays.
PS. My novel is about most of the world getting wiped out leaving seven men and ninety-two women to repopulate the earth and it ought to come with a big sticker saying NOT PORN, because that setting is such a male hetero fantasy, whereas what I actually want to write is a dystopian novel about post-apocalyptic gender politics. I am going to have to be careful with some of the scenes if I don't want to look like a sordid porninator (what, what was I thinking?). It's called Forefathers.
42,764 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 09 13
Oh, that sounds interesting - kind of like a more extreme Y- The Last Man? But yeah, it's a fairly porntastic premise - a good third of the examples on TV Tropes seem to be porn to some extent (and most of the rest are "men are stupid and barbaric" or "women are stupid and useless" sexism, so, err, yeah).
0 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 10 13
Waffle here, Grand Old Lady of the End Times.
This year's novel is going to be about lab rats. I think. Squeak!
Anyone fancy meeting up for Light Night?
----------Rats? Mice? A demon-posessed bat shaman being led out of his prison cell by the enslaved ghost of a songbird? It can only be NaNoWriMo!
2002 - Untitled
2003 - Idolons, 2004 - Morgan Black and the Case of the Time Travelling Sheep, 2005 - Pieces of the
6,773 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 11 45
Thanks for the TV Tropes link, Stephen. That website is amazing, it has something interesting to say about everything.
On the sexism thing, I say: Great, now there's two things I have to avoid.
Y- The Last Man is definitely something I'm taking ideas from, although the actual direct inspiration for the story was a conversation where someone suggested breeding a new master race from Will Smith, upon which people started suggesting other famous men who should be included in the gene pool.
66,351 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 12 27
That reminds me of the conversation that ended with the conclusion that, should the earth ever require indestructible super-soldiers, the correct genetic makeup would be that of Fidel Castro (who can't be killed) crossed with Keith Richards (who can't kill himself).
It totally makes sense!
----------42,519 / 50,000
Okt 5, 2009 - 13 20
Hey guys.
I'm a former Leeds College of Music student, got a 2:2 BA (Hons) Music Production to my name. Graduated in 2008 and I now work at Borders bookstore in the city centre. This is my first NaNo! I also write short stories in my spare time.
Looking forward to meeting you guys.
----------Jonny
"Instruction on the Conventions of Invention and Construction."
0 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 01 48
Welcome aboard, Jonny!
And, on the meetup front, the 17th works for me, since I'll be in town anyway.
----------Rats? Mice? A demon-posessed bat shaman being led out of his prison cell by the enslaved ghost of a songbird? It can only be NaNoWriMo!
2002 - Untitled
2003 - Idolons, 2004 - Morgan Black and the Case of the Time Travelling Sheep, 2005 - Pieces of the
0 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 03 31
Hallo lovely people!! Thank you so much for stepping up Myfanwy, there was a spell there where I wasn't even sure if I was gonna take up the pen (/keyboard) at all this year. I've set my mind on another Nano-tastic November though so here I am.
17th of October sounds great to meeeee. As I mentioned on the FB group I'm gonna pop to the union with my left over posters from last year if you like hun? Other than that though I will be leaving organisation stuffs to you this year I reckon!
Here's to a good turn out, good plot, good milkshake, good company and a lot of giggling. Oh and words. Lots of those too.
(Now to..er..decide wtf I'm gonna write!!)
----------2008 - Gemini (53,000 words and still counting...ish)
66,351 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 05 05
17th seems to be the preferred date so far . . . shall we say 3pm until whenever?
Charlie, posters sound like a good idea :) if you can get them authorised and put up that would be awesome. Get a couple to me and I'll put them up in the School of English as well.
Welcome aboard everyone!
----------40,005 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 05 50
Hi guys!
Since you seem to have pretty much settled on your first meet, I've added it to the shiny calendar. Can you just check I've got the details right for it?
----------Claire - ML for England :: York & Leeds + Moderator of Newbies
0 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 07 58
I'll have a dig and check I've still got them kicking about here. You can get them here on the NaNo site though =) I figured I'd just add our facebook page as a note on the bottom or something!
!
2008 - Gemini (53,000 words and still counting...ish)
0 / 50,000
Okt 6, 2009 - 09 35
Likewise, I'll stick a couple up in Biology if you like.
----------Rats? Mice? A demon-posessed bat shaman being led out of his prison cell by the enslaved ghost of a songbird? It can only be NaNoWriMo!
2002 - Untitled
2003 - Idolons, 2004 - Morgan Black and the Case of the Time Travelling Sheep, 2005 - Pieces of the
35,106 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 01 08
Hi. I'm Catherine; I have an International degree in Biochemistry from Leeds Uni. Currently I'm doing a confusing mixture of studying German at Leeds Met, doing voluntary work which I love and doing paid work which I - well, it pays for the little things in life. So I am both a current and former Leeds student :)
I was the brown-haired girl with glasses and a Macbook held together with Bostik and tape, writing a novel about dangerous space exploration in the Cafe Latino in Leeds. I also had a six-socket extension cord (I think this is what most people would remember me for!).
This year I want to write in longhand; it's going to be about a spaceship. It will pass the Bechdel test. It will have resistance movements in it. It will be interesting to write. Hopefully.
43,692 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 03 01
I am so up for Light Night, Waffle. Just give us the details. :D Anything to make NaNo come faster. How many sleeps now?
kitty-wake, impressed by the Bechdel test passing, the longhand, and of course the extension cord!
God, everyone's being interesting this year. I shall have to keep up!
0 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 06 47
Longhand! My wrists are cramping at the very thought of it!
----------Rats? Mice? A demon-posessed bat shaman being led out of his prison cell by the enslaved ghost of a songbird? It can only be NaNoWriMo!
2002 - Untitled
2003 - Idolons, 2004 - Morgan Black and the Case of the Time Travelling Sheep, 2005 - Pieces of the
45,052 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 14 51
Hello, all you folks. I'm Sam, former Leeds student and now doer of boring stuff for ITV. This year's will be my fourth (possibly fifth? I'm quite hazy on the details) NaNo, and if we're really lucky it'll be the first one I'll complete, too. Typically, my novels start out as serious attempts to produce hard sci-fi or noir detective stories, and quickly degenerate into madcap capers featuring murderous giant badgers and needlessly elaborate quests, often involving a stick. This year, for purposes of efficiency, I'll be eliminating the serious intent and just ploughing straight into a story about a man who keeps the universe in a box and shows it off at a circus sideshow. It'll be called 'The Amazing Space-Time Continuum of Doctor Nathan LeWitt'.
42,764 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 15 09
What night is Light Night on? (I know I should know, but the bin strike and all that has rather sapped all my civic pride)
25,982 / 50,000
Okt 7, 2009 - 23 38
Hey everyone! I'm Jen, I'm a second year English Lit student and last year I managed to get my 50k purely by writing on weekends... at the expense of my social life. *ahem* I also hail from Leeds, making me one of those suspicious regional students that commutes each day and knows a lot about the bus system. I've done NaNo for a few years but didn't get to the meet-ups last year - hoping to change that!
I'm looking forward to NaNo this year; I really need to get my butt in gear. Does anybody else fall into that slump where you've got tons of great ideas, and you're not actually *writing* any of them? :/
17th sounds good to me - I'm looking forward to it!
6,836 / 50,000
Okt 8, 2009 - 01 19
Hey everyone, glad you decided to choose a saturday now I have a job. As I stated in the Intro thread, I'm Jay (though most of you know me already), and I made the Leeds Student NaNo's group on Facebook, so if it's not updated, it's my fault. It would also appear our write-ins are happening at my house this year, as it's closer to most people's houses and also the Co-op in Hyde Park. More details will come later, I imagine. See you all on the 17th! (if not before)
----------"I'm sorry, Jay is out of his mind right now, please leave a message after the tone..."
2006: sci-fi satire [utterly failed]
2007: Navis Fortuna - space cyberpunk [8k]
2008: fantasy magic pirates [25k]
2009: Imperium Vaporis - steampunk Romans!
43,692 / 50,000
Okt 8, 2009 - 02 03
Jaaaaay! Nice of you to join us! Haha, get you with your job XDD
I need to keep up with the facebook group, actually...
7,485 / 50,000
Okt 8, 2009 - 12 06
Hi everyone!
Wow, I'm getting really excited, I didn't know there was a whole bunch of mental uni students doing NaNo at the same time as assignments. Or instead of assignments...
I'm a second year from Australia, this is actually my second semester of the year, so I'm closer to 3rd year than second...that make sense? All my friends at home are stressing about exams and about to start the summer break.
So my NaNo experience will be really different this year. Last year I had all the time in the world since I was on holidays. We'll see how I go with more commitments.
I'm a joint honours of primary school education and arts, majoring in writing and minoring in psychology. Here, I'm doing a 2nd year education unit, 3rd year english literature unit and 1st year medieval history unit. So who knows WHAT I'm doing.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 17th. Glad you picked that weekend, because the next one I'm off to Paris for the weekend!
On another note, I've joined LSTV and they're doing a 12 hour broadcast November 20th, for Children in Need (?) and are looking for things to fill the time. Well I thought if anyone was interested, we could do a write in ON air. You know, be in the studio and they cross back to us occassionally and go, "what are you writing about right now?" and then you go: "Well my MC is in a bit of a pickle because his talking rat best friend ate the key to the mystical universe of unicorns and fluffy bunny warrior men, but the rat was eaten by a pelican so now my MC is on a quest to save his rat friend but first he has to find his shoes". "Jolly good. Back to work then", etc.
It's a way of keeping us on task and might make for some vaguely entertaining television.
Anyone interested in that? I haven't pitched the idea yet though.
Sairz
----------http://www.sarahbillingtonauthor.com
http://twitter.com/SairzBillington
NaNo08 WINNER! It's MJ's Blogiverse (You just live in it!)
NaNo09 CONTESTANT Demi & The Demon Diary/The Wishing Journal/ Careful What You Wish For
66,351 / 50,000
Okt 8, 2009 - 13 13
On-air write-in sounds like it could be the best thing ever, for those of us who are, you know, actually students instead of just randomly hanging around with them. :p I'd definitely be up for that. Pitch it to them, see what happens!
Sairz, where are you from in Aus? I'm dual-national - main branch of the family are Sydney (been there since 1828) and I've got (distant) cousins in Canberra and Melbourne as well. G'day mate :D
----------42,519 / 50,000
Okt 8, 2009 - 14 46
Pfft. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. XD
----------"Instruction on the Conventions of Invention and Construction."
6,695 / 50,000
Okt 9, 2009 - 00 05
Hi All, Chris here, only this year calling in from faraway Falmouth. This will be my fifth Nano - well, sixth if you count that first disastrous year - but this time it will have to be a token appearance. I started the MA in Professional Writing at University College of Falmouth this Monday. We kicked off with the info that we had four days to write and edit a 15/20 minute comedy sketch show set in a supermarket, for presentation on local radio.
That comes out this afternoon. If nothing else, it meant we all got to know each other pretty damn quick.
Time to head for the bus, but I'll be back.
Best wishes,
----------Chris
Currently walking on air in the West Country...
0 / 50,000
Okt 9, 2009 - 03 22
Hello all.
My name is Ben, ex-student of a couple of years but still occasional hanger-on. Some of you know me, most of you don't.
Hopefully this year I will get further than last. Although I still need to come up wih an idea. Any idea.
May well see you all on the 17th.
39,756 / 50,000
Okt 9, 2009 - 11 11
I'm a part time MA student at Leeds Uni this year. I'll keep an eye on the thread and may or may not be able to join you depending on how work is going. Saturdays are my research day, so I'll be on campus anyway until 5ish - always great to meet up with other NaNo-ers.
3,798 / 50,000
Okt 10, 2009 - 05 14
Hello! I've introduced myself on the other thread but thought I'd pop in here to say hello too. I'm Josie, I've just moved to Leeds (for the second time), this time to do a PhD here. I've gone and managed to not be here either for the meet up on the 17th or the one on the 31st, which sucks, but I hope I'll met some of you in good time. I've got no idea what I'm going to write yet. I need to dream it first.
7,485 / 50,000
Okt 11, 2009 - 14 16
"On-air write-in sounds like it could be the best thing ever, for those of us who are, you know, actually students instead of just randomly hanging around with them. :p I'd definitely be up for that. Pitch it to them, see what happens!
Sairz, where are you from in Aus? I'm dual-national - main branch of the family are Sydney (been there since 1828) and I've got (distant) cousins in Canberra and Melbourne as well. G'day mate :D"
Well, I don't think we should limit ourselves, we'd be a much more impressive bunch if there's lots of writers frowning at their laptops, chewing the ends of their pencils and twirling around on their swivel chairs. :) Meeting's not until Tuesday or Thurs so I'll bring it up then.
I'm a Melbourne gal, hailing from the fair suburb of Camberwell. One of those snooty ones that members of parliament and some celebrities live in (hello Kylie Minogue's parents!) I however only lived in Camberwell because they changed the suburb borders and my part of Burwood was swallowed up. With the new name we got a better price when we sold the house, though so no complaining here. :) Well. My parents weren't complaining. I didn't see a cent of that so really it was no consequence to me other than people going "Ooooh, you live in Camberwell?" rather than "you live in Burwood? Oh."
See some of you on the 17th! Yay!
----------http://www.sarahbillingtonauthor.com
http://twitter.com/SairzBillington
NaNo08 WINNER! It's MJ's Blogiverse (You just live in it!)
NaNo09 CONTESTANT Demi & The Demon Diary/The Wishing Journal/ Careful What You Wish For