Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

[STICKY] Nano Vancouver IRC server!

MysteriousAges — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 19:52:58 -0700

I've finally come through on my promise, and set up an IRC server for people to talk on/have word wars, etc without having to worry about being booted every 2 minutes for inactivity. Any old IRC client ought to be able to connect to it, and I have the basic services that IRC servers ought to have (If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry - it's not dreadfully important. (: ) Any topic is fair game in #nanovancouver, though nano-oriented discussion would be nice.

The server info is as follows:

Server: irc.vaultofages.net
Port: 6667
Main Channel: #nanovancouver

For those without an IRC client on their computers, or those who are at computers which do not belong to them, have no fear! You may still access the chat at the following url: http://www.vaultofages.net/nanovancouver.html, so there's no excuse not to come in and join! :P

If you experience any problems with this service, please feel free to buzz me however is convenient for you... like, say if you get booted for being idle for 2 minutes. (Because that's not supposed to happen. >_<; )
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

[STICKY] Kick-off ideas - Update: Kickoff on November 1st

highnez — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 23:02:34 -0700

EDITED October 9, 2008
I know that it won't work for some people - nothing works for everyone - but kickoff will be November 1st.

I am going to set up a pre-nano meeting for a weekday evening next week if people want to come and ask questions.

I will also set up a separate topic to discuss the details of Kickoff. If you already know that you can come the afternoon of Saturday, November 1st, please email me and provide your username and your real name (first name, initial of last name if you like) so that I can get an idea of how many people to expect.

end edit

I'm glad to see that everyone is so excited to get started this year!

I had hoped to organize a meet-up of some sort for October, and I may still do something informal, but I'm not sure.

As for Kick-off, I like to have it before November starts and preferably on a weekend afternoon. More people are able to attend if it's in the afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday.

Since November starts on a Saturday this year, that means kickoff would most likely be on October 25 or 26th. I already know that some of you are going to the Surrey Writer's conference that weekend, but that is the closest to the end of the month.

Unless people would like an in-person kickoff on November 1st instead of before November starts.

As for where kick-off will be... I haven't a clue. If someone has access to a space that we can use for free with room for anywhere from 10 to 50 people, let me know. The space does need to be accessible by Skytrain, so we can do our part to keep our carbon footprint low.

I'll let people know as soon as possible and ask for RSVPs when I know where (and when) kick-off is going to be.

I'll send out a poll - if polling is working - to ask for date preference. Until then, people can post their preference in this thread.

- inez
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inez

Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

-STICKY- Nano Vancouver Soundtrack

MysteriousAges — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 22:02:59 -0700

The Soundtrack returns, hopefully early enough this year to get enough people sending songs to actually warrant burning a warren of compact discs! If this concept is foreign to you, fear not, for here comes the executive overview!

The Nano Vancouver Soundtrack is a CD that each person who attends the kickoff will walk home with! Everyone is allowed to suggest one song to put on it by e-mailing it to the coordinator (which would be me), along with your Nano handle, the song title and artist. The only content restrictions are that the song should be friendly to all ages (no songs that other people might find offencive, and no nasty words. You know the ones I mean.) and that because of size limitations, we probably won't be able to use that awesome 20-minute power ballad you've got. That is, unless you're the only one sending in a song.
This is just intended to be something fun that we can play in the background as we're trying to write. Beyond what I've listed above, anything is fair game. I'll try to keep a list of who has submitted what as I receive these e-mails, so you can see if I've actually received it or not.

So on that note, I'll stop talking, and direct all your songs to nanovancouver at vaultofages dot net . Please note that I can't update this list instantly, so please wait to see if if your song doesn't appear when the next bunch does before you send me worried e-mails. ( :

Current Song List (Last updated Oct 10)
-------------------------------------------------------
evandigby: Lies - Stan Rogers
Tweetyiscool29: Mezame - Kajiura Yuki
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

DISASTERS

KibBen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:14:31 -0700

Post here your disasters, as they happen, so that we can sympathise and be glad it's not off. I'll begin.

MY LAPTOP IS DEAD.

Completely dead. Irving has, for the moment, kicked the bucket. He will not turn on. I'm hoping it's a simple problem. I think I know what it is. I hope that that is all that it is. That would be KILLER if that is all that it is. But oh my god, if it's not......

Thank god it's not a hard drive problem. I know that already. It's a power problem. So, at the least, I can recover my outline, which I haven't backed up yet. My own stupid fault. Back up your work, people.

Let me say that again.

BACK UP YOUR WORK.

Anyway. I have to wait until Monday before Staples can do anything about it, as they need the case number, but the people that HAVE the case number are only open until 5pm EST on Saturdays. So I must wait until Monday. Oh god.
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Weekend Write Ins

witchling — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:39:08 -0700

Okay so I know that we don't actually write on Sundays at the Blenz , whatever. So here's the thing, all of a sudden I work on Sundays and wont be able to get to our Blenz until like six. Which is really lame in a lot of ways.

So my thought is that we could change up our meetings this year. Maybe Friday evenings?

Oh yeah, this is totally me being selfish and wanting you guys to change traditions to suit my need to see you all. It's a good thing you love me, eh?
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

2008 Writing Goals

Jennerosity — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 15:37:01 -0700

So, what is everyone shooting for this year? Are you sticking to the standard 50,000 word limit or are you aiming for higher? Do have a story goal in addition to word counts?

For me personally, I'm hoping to hit 50,000 words. I'm also hoping to follow a more structured approach this year. If I manage to write something that doesn't make me cringe, it'll be a huge success. And, if it's something I can actually make myself come back to and edit after November, that'll just be icing on the cake!

How about everyone else?
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Introductions

ariesrising — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 16:50:42 -0700

I thought we could all introduce ourselves=)

I'm Jen, 32 years old, in North Vancouver. This is my 7th year doing Nano, and I've finished every year, so of course I'm always terrified of not finishing one year and ruining the record.

I usually write YA or suspense fic, although I have written fan fiction before, and I think this is what I may write this year. I have a dearth of original fic ideas, and two fan fiction ideas ... I haven't decided which to write. One is a murder mystery, the other a crime/adventure/romance/suspense deal.

I chronicle my Nano adventures at http://arieswriting.livejournal.com.
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*****
http://arieswriting.livejournal.com

Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

UBC Write-ins!

littlevampiregirl — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 21:36:00 -0700

So I'm on campus Mondays to Fridays and I have an absurd amount of breaks between classes/labs and the such and was wondering if anyone else would be interested in doing write-ins during November. I know the campus is huge though, so perhaps having word wars and encouraging each other over msn might be a little bit more feasible than all meeting up in the same place.

The times that I'm free:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - 10-11, 12-1
Tuesdays and Thursdays - 12-1, 2:30-3:30
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-------------------------

2005: Avaren - Winner
2006: Indundria - Winner
2007: Marionette - Winner
2008: Russian Roulette - Planning

Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Any tips for a newbee..

Davido — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 09:28:56 -0700

This is my first year joining, I'm so excited to write and create a new story, I have been prepping the plot line and characters as of Oct 1. I have also found small short story contest have helped bring my brain up to snuff. I have to remember to sit the hell down and finish .. 50.000 word what kind of time a day have u put in to get you word count per day??? 1hr 2hrs 3 hrs etc, etc...
Any tips you have please I'd love to hear..
thanks and good luck all.

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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Tri-Cities & Surrounding

Tweetyiscool29 — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 14:16:08 -0700

I know I'm early in startin this one, and that the Vancouver group as a whole is still working out details for meetups, but I'd love it if we could get some more local meetings going this year for the Tri-city and surrounding area (AKA Port Moody/Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam/Burnaby kinda areas, though anyone else would be welcome :P)

But lets not get *too* carried away in the details just yet. Instead I thought for now we could get a general idea of how many people there are in this area who may be interested in such a thing, and maybe even what times/days would be good, and suggestions for places to meet up. Then, once the Vancouver dates are set, we can work from there and pick something if there's interest ;D

I'll start it off with a more specific intro about myself.

I'm Tweety aka Carmen aka Sira/Sirahal (if you're also in SL and really wish to call me that) from Port Moody. I'm really right between Lougheed Mall and Coquitlam Centre (by Glenayre Elementary for those of you who know the area), so pretty well anything in the area (as long as it's transit accessible) works for me. Generally Fridays and weekends are best as well, though I can be flexible on weekdays, so long as it's in the evening.
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Languishing in Langley?

sharontwiss — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 22:04:25 -0700

Don't do it alone!

Write-Ins every Monday in November at the Starbucks on the west side of 200th St, just south of Hwy 1, from 7pm-9pm. We'll take ten minutes for chatting, then get down to 30 minutes of writing; and we'll do that three times.

Message me so I can be expecting you :)

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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Locations

Jennerosity — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 21:58:23 -0700

Take 2! Apparently my first thread got deleted in the (first) server crash this year, so I'll re-post it.

If you've got ideas for locations for the kick-off party, TGIO party, social gatherings, or write-ins, let's gather them all here so people can see what's going on where. Try to give some specific location details (address, accessibility by transit, wifi, plug-ins, etc.) so we can get a good idea of potential areas for meetings.

There are already a few threads started for meetings in specific areas, so if you're looking for:
SFU meetings
UBC meetings
or Tri-city meetings

click away to more specific discussions.
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

How about you Surrey writers?

Pandalantern — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 21:24:16 -0700

I know for some of us, Vancouver's a bit of a stretch, even if it's only an hour and a bit on transit. Does anyone know if there's any Surrey/White Rock/other side of the Frasier meetings going on? If not, I'd be more than willing to plot something up! it'd be nice to meet up with fellow writers from the suburbs! Hehe!

~Panda
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Fundraising for Write-a-thon

highnez — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 00:07:12 -0700

This year, I want to go to the "Night of Writing Dangerously" write-a-thon in San Francisco.

In order to attend, I have to raise at least $200 in donations, and I've set my goal at $400. This year, NaNoWriMo is using a site called "firstgiving" to handle the fundraising for the write-a-thon.

If you would like to sponsor me for the write-a-thon, please go to http://www.firstgiving.com/highnez and make a donation.

The sooner I reach the first target, the sooner I can RSVP for the write-a-thon.

Unfortunately, the website does not accept PayPal, so you will need a credit card to donate.

Note: donations for the write-a-thon will not get you a halo on your user account. It is a separate event. If you want a Halo, you will have to donate through the NaNoWriMo donation store. Why not do both? Make a small donation and a small sponsorship. :-)

I've already decided that I am going to San Francisco no matter what, just because I need a vacation, and I want to see the town where NaNo began. Besides, being in a new city in November could add some interesting elements to my story!

I'll definitely make sure that everything here is under control while I am away.

Okay go ahead: sponsor me! http://www.firstgiving.com/highnez

Thanks!

- inez
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inez

Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Writing Club at SFU, Write-ins duing November

MysteriousAges — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:57:13 -0700

SO. A new year calls for drastic measures, so I've started an official writing club at SFU Surrey. And we'll be inviting our members to participate in Nano. (tee-hee!) If anyone is at SFU and wants to come, they're more than welcome, and if anyone else wants to drop in on our meetings, feel free to drop me an e-mail about it beforehand - just to make sure we're still going ahead with it that week at that time.

We're going to aim to have weekly meetings on Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30, but that could change in the future. The general idea of the weekly meetings is that each week we have a predetermined writing topic, and we'll try and discuss several methods of approaching it, and possibly have a small bit of time to actually write. This next meeting, we'll be talking about worldbuilding (glee!), and some common techniques for doing so.

Once we're into November, instead of having the weekly workshops, we'll be having weekly write-ins instead! I intend to have these open to anyone who wants to come, but in order to do so, I'll need a head count before then to clear it with the University. If it's only a couple people, it shouldn't be a problem, but if more people decide to show, then there's a little more work involved... Anyway. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

If you know you're interested in coming, either to the workshops or the write-ins, say so! =D

(god, it's good to have these back...)
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

Chatty chat chat

KibBen — Sat, 4 Oct 2008 08:23:18 -0700

This is always the most popular friend in the Edmonton forums, so I figured I would start one here as well!

This thread is for whatever you want to say, but don't feel warrants a fresh thread. Feel free to verge off topic, as far off as you want. Inform us what you are eating. Your small successes and tiny defeats. Discoveries, interesting facts, and anything else you can think of to say.

As for me, I've discovered the beauty of 24 hour coffee shops. There's one not far from where I live. It's called The Grind & Gallery, and it's on King Edward (25th) Avenue and Main street. It's got a GREAT section in the back with tons of space, plug ins, and a huge board-room style table (and lots of other tables too). It'd be really good for write ins, although it's not by any sky train stations, so it wouldn't be suitable for any major ones. A definite option for smaller, more casual ones though. The coffee is pretty good, as are their baked goods. They also have a selection of other things to eat besides sweet things, such as lasagna, quiche, sandwiches, and the like.

I'm sure that I will be here quite a lot come November, especially very late at night when I get off work. I've been here since 5:30 this morning in fact, almost three hours, and have gotten an incredible amount done. A good 18 percent, I'd say, of my novel is well outlined!
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Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

A new year!

highnez — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:40:52 -0700

Welcome to the 2008 NaNoWriMo challenge!

I'm glad to see that people are getting excited already. I've been thinking about nano for a few months, but haven't made much progress on organizing anything yet. Darn work keeps getting in the way!

As witchling pointed out in another thread, our Sunday nano meet-up became a social gathering. There were several reasons for this: very few people had laptops; people wanted to talk with other writers that would understand and appreciate their craziness; the location wasn't really the best for writing.

Starting last year, our chosen Blenz got very busy with OTHER people doing homework (how dare they interrupt OUR TIME?). I was already thinking that we would have to find another venue, whether we chose to do meetups or write-ins on Sundays. I still want to meet on Sunday, but I'm not sure where yet. I did find a Waves in Yaletown that has lots of power outlets, but it might be awkward for most people to get to, at least for now. After the new Canada Line is built, it will be near a skytrain station.

In addition to the "Sunday Social Session" :-) I did try to organize write-ins during the week, and will try again this year. I know that some people had their own mid-week write-ins close to where they lived and it worked out well for them. I'll be encouraging that again this year and posting locations when people tell me about them.

I'd also like to try "virtual" write-ins this year. I did try during ScriptFrenzy. There weren't a lot of people participating, but there were a couple. I think that might be the best answer for one of the mid-week write-ins, because more people may be willing to "attend" if they don't have to factor in travel time to the write-in venue. There are still some details to work out there, but stay tuned.

- Inez
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inez

Canada :: British Columbia :: Vancouver

New Cities, New Seasons

KibBen — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:39:35 -0700

Hello!

I'm Ben.

I arrived in Vancouver the afternoon of July 15th full of trepidation. Where was this wind I was following taking me? Will the wet west coast be my final landing point? Will this wind change direction and blow me elsewhere? I do not know who can answer those questions, but suffice to say, here I am!

I moved here from Edmonton. The legendary Edmonton. The Epic Edmonton. The Edmonton of unprecedented word counts, success rate, and general passion for NaNoWriMo. How did we manage such fantastic feats? With more then a little help and encouragement from an incredible community of writers that, together, have become one of the most vibrant municipal sections of the greater NaNoWriMo community.

I hope that, in time, Vancouver can grow to rival my old home. It'll take some work, some passion, and more then a little bit of coffee, but I'm sure it can be done.

Suffice to say you will see much of me in the weeks to come.

I work at a nightclub on Davie street, so my hours are... odd, you could say. I just got home from work, and it's 4:30 in the morning. If your hours are similarly bizarre, let me know! We can be late night/early morning buddies.
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