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Saturday April 13th is the 2013 NaNoWriMo Writing Marathon!

This marathon isn't 26.2 miles, yay!

A day of writing as much as you want, with old and new friends.

ONLINE: Watch live-streaming from the Office of Letters and Light (OLL) headquarters.

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nanowrimo, hashtag #NaNoThon

IN PERSON: OLL's headquarters in Berkeley (http://goo.gl/maps/kFkuG) is hosting writers from 11 am until around 2 pm depending on the crowd. It's at 3354 Adeline Street and just five short blocks south from the Ashby BART station. Camaraderie galore!

More information about the Writing Marathon: http://www.nanowrimo.org/marathon

Camp NaNoWriMo has started! Post your progress, gripes, and successes on the thread below.

The NaNoThon - a marathon of writing - will be held April 13, 2013. Join your fellow writers in productive literary frenzy.

Congratulations on a terrific November!

Note that the San Jose Barnes & Noble Write-in on Tuesday mornings and the Chromatics write-in on Thursday afternoons are continuing (thanks to skneal ).

Until next year, good luck with your writing. November is just the beginning.

Michele, Municipal Liaison, aka WhitneyPeets

You can do it!

Whether or not you reach 50K, you are invited to the "Thank Goodness It's Over Party" this Saturday night. We are lucky to live in the Bay Area, close to NaNoWriMo headquarters so that we can participate in what is sure to be a fun, fun night. Please join us to celebrate a month of writing frenzy! More details in "Save the date 12/1/12 TGIO Party" discussion thread below.

- Michele, Municipal Liaison of the South Bay, aka Whitney Peets

FOUR DAYS TO GO!

Official results from the Battle of Silicon Valley:

SF Peninsula: Gain of 640 words per person
South Bay: Gain of 1125 words per person

From CRogers, the ML from the SF Peninsula region:
" So yup, you guys win by a landslide. :)
It was fun. Hopefully we will get our revenge next year...mwahahah...."

Our South Bay region is the best (but we knew it all along).

- Michele, Municipal Liaison of the South Bay, aka Whitney Peets

FIVE DAYS TO GO!

Thanks for everyone who attended the Battle Write-ins and who wrote yesterday to help the South Bay in the word war against the SF Peninsula region. We won! Final tally to be posted soon.

THE BATTLE OF SILICON VALLEY ENDS AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.

Log your words written today by 11:30 to make sure they are counted.. It was fun seeing so many folks at Happy Donuts (having a joint write-in w/ Peninsula region) & OVC/Campbell this afternoon.

Thanks for everyone who is writing in a frenzy today.

Michele, Municipal Liaison, aka Whitney Peets

THE BATTLE OF SILICON VALLEY HAS STARTED!

Today, Sunday November 25th, is our all-out Battle against the SF Peninsula. The region with the highest words per person wins. Look for a write-in 1-4 pm @ Happy Donuts (Palo Alto, their turf) and at 3-6 Orchard Valley Coffee (Campbell, our turf). I'll be there at both. Join us for one or both!

Mark your calendars for Dec 1st, 7-10pm in San Francisco for the Pan Bay Thank Goodness It's Over Party. More details on the calendar and on the Pan-Bay TGIO thread.

Michele, Municipal Liaison, aka Whitney Peets

Tomorrow, Sunday November 25th, is our all-out Battle against the SF Peninsula. The region with the highest words per person wins. Look for a write-in 1-4 pm @ Happy Donuts (Palo Alto, their turf) and at 3-6 Orchard Valley Coffee (Campbell, our turf). I'll be there at both. Join us for one or both!

Mark your calendars for Dec 1 7-10pm in San Francisco for the Pan Bay Thank God It's Over Party. More details on the calendar and on the Pan-Bay TGIO thread.

Michele, Municipal Liaison, aka Whitney Peets

Happy Thanksgiving to our South Bay WriMos!

Enjoy this day. I wish you the best of times with your friends and family. And perhaps a quiet moment to sneak off and find some writing time!

Michele, Municipal Liaison, aka Whitney Peets

Thanks to everyone who attended our Halfway Party at Simon's Lakeview Bird Farm. So fun to visit with fellow South Bay writers, enjoy delicious food, feed alpacas, and climb on a long rope bridge to the treehouse! Thanks again to Simon for hosting our South Bay group.

Sunday, November 18th is the Night of Writing Dangerously up in San Francisco - let me know if you are also signed up - it'd be great to see you up there.

Next Sunday, November 25th is the 24-hour word war with the SF Peninsula region to see who can get the biggest gain in WPP (words per person). More details soon.

We are lucky to be near the birthplace and home base for NaNoWriMo. One of the perks is being invited to cool events like the Pan-Bay "Thank God It's Over" Party on Saturday December 1st, 7pm-10pm in San Francisco. Come and meet writers from other Bay Area regions and celebrate the end to a long but exciting month. You don't need to fundraise or sign up ahead of time. Just drag your body out of bed on December 1st for the 7pm-10pm party. Dec. 1st is earlier than usual, so mark your calendars. I will be there and I hope to see you.

Michele, Municipal Liaison for the South Bay region, aka Whitney Peets

HALFWAY PARTY FOR OUR SOUTH BAY REGION - This Saturday you won't want to miss the official Halfway Party at The Lakeview Bird Farm in Los Gatos 3-8pm November 17.

You can gets lots of writing done and catch up with your South Bay friends. Enjoy great scenery and play with goats, alpacas, chickens, parrots, and the new puppy. If it's raining, bring your umbrella to see the farm & there's plenty of room inside. Check the "Halfway Party" thread or the calendar for more information. Come join the fun.

THE BATTLE OF SILICON VALLEY - War has been declared. On November 25, we are engaging in a 24-hour word war with the SF Peninsula region to see who can get the biggest gain in WPP (words per person).

PARTY DEC. 1st - The Pan-Bay "Thank God It's Over" Party! We've been invited to celebrate the end of NaNoWriMo with the other Bay Area regions on December 1st, 7-10pm in San Francisco. This is an earlier date than usual, so don't forget. I will be there. I hope to see you.

BACKUP YOUR NOVEL - It's as easy as mailing it to yourself. How sad would you be if what you wrote so far was lost?

WRITE-INS - Some of the dates/times may be changing with the Thanksgiving holiday next week, so check the calendar to find out the latest.

Our South Bay region has written 6.2 million words so far. Keep going!

Michele, Municipal Liaison for the South Bay region, aka Whitney Peets

Two items for your attention today:

1. Our Halfway Party is coming up this Saturday at Lakeview Bird Farm, Los Gatos 3-8pm. Come celebrate the halfway point of NaNoWriMo!

You can get lots of writing done & catch up with your South Bay friends. Enjoy great scenery and play with goats, alpacas, chickens, parrots, and the new puppy.

If it's rainy, there's plenty of room inside. Thanks Simon for hosting. Look for Lakeview Bird Farm thread for more details.

2. Today is Donation Day. This year we especially need your help because we're behind on donations.

Hourly prizes to be given away from 6am to midnight. Find out more:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/donation-day/

Thanks and good luck writing today. Can you believe that today is the end of the second week of NaNoWriMo? Keep writing!

Michele, Municipal Liaison for the South Bay, aka Whitney Peets

One week already? How time flies.

Now's a good time to reflect on what's working, what's not.

What was your best writing session this week?
-- At the group write-in?
-- At the library?
-- After the kids went to sleep?
-- Or in the quiet of the early morning?

Do you have a "writing place" you can go to, even if it is a corner of your house or the local coffee shop?

If you are on a roll, you might consider reaching out on the forums to help others.

If you are struggling, you might consider posting a "help" message or sending a buddy a message via NaNoMail.

If you haven't started, well, let's get to it! Drop by a write-in to get inspired & motivated. You signed up for NaNoWriMo because you want to write a novel.

Reach out to the South Bay NaNo community; we're here to help make writing your novel a reality.

NEW WRITE-INs:
-- Saturday afternoons 1-3pm at the San Jose public library (East SJ Carnegie branch).
-- 11/13 Tuesday evening: Tied House (Mountain View)
-- 11/19 Monday evening: Duke of Edinburgh (Cupertino)

Write-ins during the day: SJ Barnes & Noble, Tuesday mornings & Chromatics Coffee, Santa Clara, Thursday afternoons.

Write-ins at night: Red Rock (Mountain View) Thursday nights.

Weekend write-ins: SJ public library, Saturday afternoons & Orchard Valley Coffee, Sunday afternoons

Save these dates:
1. Halfway Party - Sat., Nov. 17th, 3-8pm, The Lakeview Bird Farm, Los Gatos
2. Battle of the Silicon Valley Word War - Sun, Nov. 25th all day, our South Bay region vs. SF Peninsula region
3. Pan Bay Post-NaNoWriMo Party - Sat. Dec. 1st, 7-10pm, Root Division, San Francisco

Check out the South Bay NaNo Calendar for all the details.

- Michele, Municipal Liaison for South Bay, aka Whitney Peets

Welcome or Welcome Back to the South Bay region -

Just Write! That's the mantra. Turn off your inner editor and just get some words down.

Check out the write-ins listed below on the calendar.
Check out the forum discussions for advice and inspiration.

The South Bay community is here to help you.

Keep going!

Michele, (Municipal Liaison, South Bay region) aka whitneypeets

In a few days, we'll be starting our 50,000 word novels. Here's an update of what's going on in our South Bay region:

1. New Write-ins Scheduled: In the past week, we've added write-ins in both San Jose and Santa Clara. Write-ins are a great way to meet fellow writers and boost your word count. Keep checking calendar - more day and evening write-ins are on the way.

2. Our "First Minute" write-in to celebrate the beginning of NaNoWriMo is this Wednesday, October 31 at 11pm, with the first writing at midnight. It's at the Denny's at 1745 El Camino in Santa Clara. There are several Denny's on El Camino so you'll want to double-check that you have the right one.

3. Our "Halfway Party" Scheduled: Thanks to Simon at birdfarm.org for hosting us again this year to celebrate the halfway point of NaNoWriMo at his Los Gatos bird ranch. Come for the fun on Saturday, November 17, 3pm-8pm. More details on calendar.
Since a few days from now you will be busy with your novel, why not take a few minutes now to donate to the National Novel Writing Month at nanowrimo.org.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Meet 'N Greet Kickoff party at Round Table on Sunday Oct. 28th. Great fun! Nice seeing new faces & old friends. Good luck to everyone this November!

Visit our South Bay forum to get know fellow writers and exchange NaNo tips. Introduce yourself, if you haven't already, on the "Welcome to NaNoWriMo 2012' thread.

- Michele (aka Whitney Peets, Municipal Liaison for the South Bay region)

Welcome back to another terrific year of NaNoWriMo writing frenzy!

You'll want to know about these upcoming events in our region:

1. Our NaNo Kickoff Meet 'N Greet Party is:
Sunday, October 28th 7:00-8:45pm at:
Round Table Pizza, 14940 Camden Avenue, San Jose.

2. Our South Bay "first minute" write-in to celebrate the beginning of NaNoWriMo is at:
Denny's on Oct. 31st 11pm - 1am (writing begins at midnight)
1745 El Camino, Santa Clara

3. We have been challenged! The SF Peninsula region has challenged our all-mighty South Bay writers to a 24-hour WORD WAR. For one day, we will crank out as many words as possible to try to beat them (and work to complete our novels) on Nov. 25th -- the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

There are a number of write-ins scheduled around our region:

* Mountain View - Red Rock Coffee Thursday nights 7:30-10pm (upstairs)

* Campbell - Orchard View Coffee, Sunday afternoons 3:00-6:00pm

Check the calendar for more. If you have a write-in that you would like to get on our regional calendar to invite other Wrimos to attend, please contact me via NaNoMail.

If you haven't already, go ahead and introduce yourself on the 'Welcome to NaNoWriMo 2012' thread and check out the other discussions.

In the meantime, rest up and get ready for a great November!

- Michele (aka Whitney Peets)

Hello to South Bay NaNo Writers!

With about a month to go...the excitement is building. Stock up on your favorite caffeine drink, take time now to see your friends and family, and get your fingers in condition to type in a frenzy. November 1st is just around the corner.

Everyone knows the South Bay has the best weather and the most dedicated writers. Those 50,000 words are going to be a snap. At least that's what we tell our rivals in the San Francisco, Peninsula, and East Bay regions. We can beat them both in word count and in style.

The South Bay covers a big region, from Sunnyvale down to beyond Gilroy. We'll be planning events & if you are interested in helping organize one in your area, please contact me.

No matter where you live you can join in on the forum discussions below. Check out the new threads on:

* Welcome to NaNoWriMo 2012
* Your first NaNoWriMo
* Why South Bay writers are doing NaNoWriMo

Note there is a PRIZE offered for the best reason *YOU* are doing NaNoWriMo this year. The forum has the details.

Questions or comments? Email me at: SouthBayNaNo@gmail.com

I look forward to sharing a great November with you!

- Michele (Municipal Liaison, South Bay region) aka whitneypeets