Welcome to Illinois::Naperville! (+ forum index)

Welcome to Naperville, the rough geographic center of this patch of the western suburbs of Chicago that includes many surrounds suburbs.

MLs
KatherineWriting, TRRDEDEAN and I (NewMexicoKid) are your co-Municipal Liaisons, volunteers who somehow enjoy making your NaNoWriMo experience an enjoyable and (hopefully) a successful one.

Local Events
We have a full slate of November write-ins (plus a pot-luck lunch kick-off extravaganza), a few nice goodies to hand out (at our events). Write-in locations are throughout the area, and people can arrange more. Let us (the Municipal Liaisons) know and we'll include them on the calendar and the above file.
See the maps to all of our event locations.

Be sure to Home to Illinois::Naperville

• In the top navigation menu, hover over NaNo Near You
  


• Click Find Your Region
  


• If USA :: Illinois :: Naperville doesn't show on the page, type "naperville" into the Filter regions by name:textbox
  


• Otherwise, if USA :: Illinois :: Naperville is listed as a region closest to you or as an other region, click Join. Reload the page.
  


• Once USA :: Illinois :: Naperville is listed as one of your regions, set it as your home region by clicking the house icon.
  

Now you're set. Naperville is your home region. Remember, you can join as many regions as you'd like, but can only have one home region (thanks to shmoo for her Loveland tutorial on setting a region).

Join the Journey
The Journey is Naperville's year-round writing group.

Websites
You're welcome to visit our NaperWriMo websites:

• 
  Our blog has helpful articles
  


• 
  We have a wiki site chock-full of useful references
  


• 
  Visit our cafepress shops (proceeds help defray local costs; anything above that goes to NaNoWriMo).
  


• 
  Visit our jabber chatroom (see the instructions here). Contact NewMexicoKid to get your jabber account if you don't have one.
  

Questions?
Please let us know if you have any questions!

Index to regional threads (last updated 11/22/2011)

• 
  Need more plot?, created November 12, 2011 19:06 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Brainstorm plot twists, created October 15, 2011 09:49 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Consider joining the Journey!, created November 21, 2011 16:43 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Scenes of wonder? Share your descriptive passages, created November 12, 2011 18:24 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  2011 Calendars (or other such artwork you want to share?), created October 14, 2011 07:02 by Squiddish
  


• 
  6 Free eBooks from Writer's Digest, created November 06, 2011 18:45 by ziplizard
  


• 
  A Moral Dilemma!, created November 02, 2011 23:31 by Sapphire
  


• 
  Anne McCaffrey has passed away, created November 22, 2011 19:47 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Anyone else have this problem?, created November 07, 2011 10:44 by CD0189
  


• 
  Anyone else having problems with NaNo site?, created November 13, 2011 11:13 by Qberty
  


• 
  Be sure to create your novel, created October 29, 2011 09:22 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Be sure to thank the wonderful staff of the OLL!, created November 15, 2011 07:02 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Book cover, created November 16, 2011 03:39 by J.A. Kosse
  


• 
  Brainstorm plot twists for last minute plot help, created October 26, 2011 23:56 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Buddies pages!, created November 21, 2011 08:35 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Calling Team Awesome!, created October 30, 2011 10:24 by AmaranthMuse
  


• 
  Can you summarize your plot in 20 words or less?, created October 16, 2011 12:13 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Can you use Nanowrimo to continue writing a story you've been working on for years?, created October 28, 2011 23:38 by serallina
  


• 
  CANCELLED: Lunch before the Woodridge write-in Saturday, created November 17, 2011 22:58 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Cantigny Museum and Park are free this Friday, created November 09, 2011 18:38 by ziplizard
  


• 
  Carol Stream Library Write-in, created November 03, 2011 10:01 by SarahK06
  


• 
  Checking in at the Naperville Caribou!, created November 14, 2011 14:25 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  Checking-In at Caribou!, created November 13, 2011 13:16 by Squiddish
  


• 
  Couldn't get on Jabber last night, created October 21, 2011 11:34 by Qberty
  


• 
  Downers Grove Caribou Write-Ins, created November 06, 2011 16:17 by Corrupted Flame
  


• 
  Emotionally Drained, created November 09, 2011 17:32 by TogetherAgain
  


• 
  Expressing emotions in dialogue, created November 03, 2011 12:11 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Following Jonathan Lethem's advice, created November 10, 2011 17:53 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Frequently Asked Questions, created October 31, 2011 17:54 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Fresh plot critters, available today (Nov 13) at the 95th Street Library write-in!, created November 13, 2011 08:48 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  From Fantasy: Why do some in Neverland grow up?, created November 04, 2011 13:59 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Geneva Commons?, created November 05, 2011 10:52 by CameronDaye
  


• 
  Getting Started, created November 01, 2011 19:54 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Going to both write-ins on Saturday?, created November 02, 2011 13:55 by ziplizard
  


• 
  Good news..., created October 19, 2011 15:18 by J.A. Kosse
  


• 
  Graph for Behind but Plan to Catch Up, created November 18, 2011 19:34 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Graph for I Need A Graph for Motivation, created November 18, 2011 19:48 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Graph for I'm stopping at 50K, created November 18, 2011 19:44 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Graph for Overcoming a Flat Stretch, created November 18, 2011 19:38 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Graph for Write When I Can, created November 18, 2011 19:42 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Graph for Writing Every Day, created November 18, 2011 19:40 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Happy November!, created November 01, 2011 10:28 by catatone1
  


• 
  How are you planning to open your novel?, created October 31, 2011 12:28 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  How are you spending the last week before NaNo starts?, created October 23, 2011 20:27 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  How do you make your main character suffer?, created October 17, 2011 19:25 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  How do you write on the go?, created October 31, 2011 18:22 by PersiaRose
  


• 
  How will you reward yourself?, created November 21, 2011 07:52 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  I resolve not to write any more scenes about..., created November 06, 2011 06:43 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  I'm just not mean enough..., created November 17, 2011 06:27 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  If you plan on starting at midnight..., created October 30, 2011 07:41 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Inconvenient time to add a second POV character, created November 12, 2011 20:12 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  Incorrect algorithm in Author Stats, created November 05, 2011 17:55 by askeladd
  


• 
  Inner Editor Squashing Thread, created November 04, 2011 17:51 by PersiaRose
  


• 
  Introduce yourself to the region!, created October 09, 2011 23:56 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  It was easier when..., created November 20, 2011 18:48 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Jabber chat issues (Adium), created November 06, 2011 11:13 by cableshaft
  


• 
  Jabber Chats!, created October 13, 2011 19:09 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Joliet and Nearby, created November 01, 2011 22:14 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Katherine's WC is kind of awesome, created November 11, 2011 03:38 by J.A. Kosse
  


• 
  Kerplunk...., created November 22, 2011 15:47 by AmaranthMuse
  


• 
  Last minute world-building?, created October 25, 2011 12:57 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Loitering, created November 12, 2011 10:31 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Looking Forward to..., created October 12, 2011 14:56 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Lunch in Carol Stream Saturday, created November 04, 2011 23:25 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Maryland Accepts Naperville's Word War Challenge!, created November 22, 2011 22:54 by punahougirl84
  


• 
  Meet up on Friday, 11/18/11, created November 15, 2011 17:08 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Missing Prep Sessions, created October 21, 2011 22:41 by Archon_Huskie
  


• 
  My car was stolen today., created November 04, 2011 00:13 by J.A. Kosse
  


• 
  My dad is in the hospital, created November 14, 2011 13:40 by Cee-Bee
  


• 
  Nano Survival Guide: Questions, created October 13, 2011 12:19 by AmaranthMuse
  


• 
  Naperville has the best Municipal Liaisons!, created November 22, 2011 17:51 by ziplizard
  


• 
  NaperWriMo blog articles, created October 23, 2011 19:01 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Navigating the new nanowrimo, created October 10, 2011 06:41 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Need help: Running out of plot, created November 11, 2011 20:45 by Jaded Block
  


• 
  No jabber meeting tonight (Thursday, October 27), created October 26, 2011 14:06 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Not Conceding defeat, created November 06, 2011 21:18 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Not Too Late to Plan, created October 27, 2011 08:43 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Nov 30 Write In, created November 21, 2011 11:26 by scrapacat
  


• 
  Novel Validation, created November 02, 2011 21:58 by Corrupted Flame
  


• 
  People who are too busy for Nanowrimo, created November 15, 2011 19:48 by serallina
  


• 
  Perpetual calendar link, created November 05, 2011 15:41 by askeladd
  


• 
  Pictures from our Awesome kick-off, created October 30, 2011 17:55 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Pidgin Chat... Help please, created November 03, 2011 19:31 by scrapacat
  


• 
  Plots that change themselves...for the better., created November 08, 2011 13:43 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Remember, NEW Caribou for 11/12/11 write-in, created November 11, 2011 16:37 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  RSVP for the pot-luck lunch kick-off party (Oct 29th), created October 18, 2011 21:30 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  RSVP for the TGIO Party, created November 19, 2011 17:56 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Saturday Nov 26 write-in @ Caribou?, created November 21, 2011 23:43 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Share your favorite line so far!, created November 07, 2011 16:30 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  shout out for the first day, created November 01, 2011 11:02 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Sounds of Inspiration, created November 10, 2011 15:17 by AmaranthMuse
  


• 
  staying focused on writing, created November 03, 2011 09:13 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Sudden breakdown of creativity, created November 22, 2011 12:15 by Jaded Block
  


• 
  The Last Dilemma , created November 11, 2011 17:03 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  The Late Bloomers Club, created November 10, 2011 21:07 by thegrinch
  


• 
  The official Naperville "First line" thread, created November 04, 2011 20:58 by CD0189
  


• 
  The Rah-Rah Thread (AKA BFF's are REALLY the Best), created November 10, 2011 20:40 by Hezzah
  


• 
  The top ten mistakes writers make, created October 19, 2011 22:01 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Those lovable, huggable distractions!, created November 21, 2011 18:39 by Sapphire
  


• 
  Title Survey!, created November 16, 2011 16:56 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  To delete or not to delete?, created November 08, 2011 18:03 by WritingStudent
  


• 
  Too Many Characters?, created November 09, 2011 22:22 by clearly_insane_87
  


• 
  update is broken, created November 16, 2011 09:57 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Update on the CreateSpace offer for NaNoWriMo winners, created November 14, 2011 07:26 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Using celtx's virtual index cards to take stock and organize, created November 18, 2011 07:41 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Visual Thesaurus, created November 09, 2011 09:35 by RobinM
  


• 
  w00t - halfway there..., created November 15, 2011 17:06 by askeladd
  


• 
  Weird Dream and Nano, created November 12, 2011 05:55 by TRRDEDEAN
  


• 
  Welcome to Illinois::Naperville! (+ forum index), created October 09, 2011 23:54 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Well, it seemed like a good idea in October..., created November 16, 2011 15:54 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  what about Thursday?, created November 06, 2011 21:20 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  What is your typing speed? How about your writing speed?, created October 22, 2011 22:47 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  What little gadgets help you (or might help you) during NaNo?, created October 26, 2011 06:17 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  What to bring to a write-in?, created October 30, 2011 20:59 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Where are you in your novel preparation?, created October 14, 2011 07:07 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Where are you sending your internal editor?, created October 30, 2011 08:37 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Where does your inspiration come from?, created October 15, 2011 09:52 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Who reads your novel?, created November 17, 2011 10:45 by sonofjohn
  


• 
  Who Would You Cast as Your MC in the Movie of Your Novel?, created November 13, 2011 17:13 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Whoops! Did I do that?, created November 07, 2011 13:28 by Squiddish
  


• 
  Woes of Length, created November 09, 2011 16:23 by AmaranthMuse
  


• 
  Would it Be Cheating If...., created November 07, 2011 21:45 by Tairisanders
  


• 
  Write in St. Charles?, created November 02, 2011 11:40 by hirajung
  


• 
  Write-in at Naperville Caribou 11/3 at 5:30pm, created November 02, 2011 23:40 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  Write-in at Naperville Caribou 11/7 at 12:30pm, created November 07, 2011 11:39 by ThePiratess
  


• 
  Write-in of one, created November 20, 2011 14:03 by Squiddish
  


• 
  write-ins, created October 13, 2011 21:09 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  write-ins -- who attended when and where, created November 02, 2011 18:28 by KatherineWriting
  


• 
  Write-ins at Woodridge Public Library, created November 01, 2011 08:03 by Cee-Bee
  


• 
  Writer's References, created October 29, 2011 19:13 by NewMexicoKid
  


• 
  Writing buddy?, created November 01, 2011 20:49 by askeladd
  


• 
  Writing Software, created November 02, 2011 16:18 by hirajung
  


• 
  Your novel in five words (or fewer!), created November 03, 2011 12:51 by NewMexicoKid
  

Hello, Illinois::Naperville affiliates and homed participants!

Just one day and some hours remain until the start of this 2011 NaNoWriMo (Eek! I don't have all my scenes plotted!). You can start writing just after midnight November 1st.

Whether you are a "plotter" or a "pantser" (someone who writes by the seat of their pants), the time of reckoning is drawing closer minute by minute. What will Tuesday (November 1st) bring? Will we be creative? Will we be rich? Here's what you need to know... Que sera, sera...!

One thing that November will bring is a whole slate of write-in events. See event logistics and details. Note that the cute plot bunnies (and other plot critters) will be available as word war prizes at the Sunday write-ins and any other of the write-ins I attend. Katherine will be offering one nice blank journal at each of the write-ins that she is hosting. The Carol Stream Public Library has some prizes for their Saturday write-in (Katherine is hosting); and I will be attending the one Catherine (Cee-Bee) is hosting on that same Saturday in Woodridge. Dave, Katherine and I will also have our limited supply of official NaNoWriMo stickers for those who didn't get theirs at the kick-off party.

Katherine is hosting the first few write-ins at Caribou Coffee (11/2 and 11/4).

I've created a new tool to make it easier for folks to browse the introductions in the Introduce Yourself thread (see below for the link to that thread). See http://naperwrimo.org/faces/naperville.html

As of today (November 30th), the wcapi (wordcount API) has not yet been released. I am attempting to put together some backup tool for doing our regional word count graph (just in case); hopefully we will be able to offer that again this year.

Write-Ins
See this thread

Communications from the MLs
Just as we did last year, we three co-Municipal Liaisons are planning to send out regional announcements and encouragements twice per week (likely once on Monday or Tuesday; and once on Friday). We definitely do not want to annoy folks with too-frequent e-mail notifications, so we also will be posting in our regional forum (http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/regions/usa-illinois-naperville); do stop by regularly to stay up-to-date.

Communications to the MLs
Need to contact us? You can send NaNomail to NewMexicoKid, KatherineWriting or TRRDEDEAN; or you can use our contact form

Welcome!
I am Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of your three volunteer co-ML's. My co-Municipal Liaisons are Katherine Lato (aka KatherineWriting) and Dave Dean (aka TRRDEDEAN). We are here to help you succeed in your novel writing for NaNoWriMo. Feel free to NaNoMail us any questions you have; or you can post your questions, ideas and things you want to share in our regional forum:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/regions/usa-illinois-naperville

Set your novel info and author info
I know at least a few of you have not yet populated your author info (edit author info) or your novel info (menu item available under My NaNoWriMo). Although I don't believe that these are required, I think you need to have a novel created in order to access the wordcount functionality for your novel (where you can keep track of your novel's wordcount online) and you need to have your author info established so that others can visit your profile.

Notes from the prep workshops!
I've posted the links to the notes and slides from each of these very nice workshops. See the regional thread. Many thanks to Tom Ostler, Heather Jones and Crystal Blount for taking the time to put together and share such valuable information with all of us!

Introduce yourselves
Part of what makes NaNoWriMo so fun and effective is the strong sense of community that can provide support to help you make it to your 50,000+ word goal. The community works best if it knows who you are! So come post a brief intro of yourself in our Introduce Yourselves! thread

Come visit our website!
We have a blog, a wiki and many resources available at http://naperwrimo.org

You can find our cafepress store here as well: http://naperwrimo.org/shop.php

Join us in our jabber chatroom
NaNoMail me if you would like a jabber account or if you need help setting up your jabber access. You can also use your google or gmail account to access the jabber chatroom. We will use this in November for virtual write-ins. See our jabber page.

Katherine is also going to try google+ hangouts.

General Info
There is a post with general information and links at the top of our regional forum

Other events
See our events list-- we have write-ins at various locations and on various days in November. These are also in our google calendar and displayed in our regional forum.

This is an article reposted from our blog.


A whole host of new plot critters await the winners of the word wars at write-ins on Saturday and Sunday this weekend (note: the squid is already promised to Squiddish, who charmed everyone at the kick-off with her great Halloween costume (Ragedy Ann).
Don't know what to bring to a write-in? We have a thread for that (yes, come visit our regional forum for lots of useful information and as a way to become part of the extended family that is NaperWriMo).
But what are write-ins for?
They are for people to come to with their laptops and notebooks to work on their stories in a communal setting. There is a little small talk, but the main focus is to get words on paper. We have some fun word wars (with small prizes) to help motivate folks.
It's too far away :-(
Have difficulty coming out to our write-in events? You can host your own (see the thread for details) and let us and others know where, when you are writing. You can also use our jabber chat room for virtual write-ins. We even have a helpful jabber bot named word_war that you can use to time the word wars. Just type: word_war help. Let me know if you need a jabber account.
I want to see more of those plot critters
Ah, I thought you would never ask! The first image above is hyperlinked to the picasa gallery, but here are a few images:



See you at the write-ins!
Wait! Where are the write-ins and when do they begin?
You can find them on our events page and on our google calendar.