Introduce yourself to the region!

Note: We have an archive of 2010-2011 posts in our region (for those who introduced themselves and want to copy/paste their entry in this thread).

I'm Tim aka NewMexicoKid. With Katherine (KatherineWriting) and Dave (TRRDEDEAN), I am one of your volunteer co-Municipal Liaisons. We're here to answer questions, set up local events and cheer you on to victory. I first NaNo'd in 2003 after hearing about NaNoWriMo just three days before November 1st that year. I've successfully completed the 50,000+ goal each year; and I hope to continue this streak. My first year as co-ML was 2005.

I typically write fantasy (I tried SF one year, but found it too much work to try to do research and writing in November). My this year's novel is a story about an orphaned Faerie princess who was brought up as a rat in our world and who must discover her true identity in time to save her extended family and her people in Faerie (still working out the full plot). I like to use XMind in my plot preparation; and I strongly recommend Writing for Emotional Impact, by Karl Iglesias (also see the list of book recommendations on our wiki).

I helped design the original wcapi (word count API) for NaNoWriMo (working closely with Russ/firebus) and I designed and maintain wordcount graphs for our region that have been pretty popular/helpful motivators.

I am part of the Journey, our year-round writing group that is currently working to wrap up two short story anthologies (nanomail me for details if you're interested in joining us for next year); and I enjoy drawing, reading SF and Fantasy, tennis (in the good weather) and volleyball.

We have four preparatory events coming up in October--watch for the RSVP posts to come; and there will also be a fun kick-off party and pot-luck lunch at the end of October.

Hi! I'm Nikki, 28, from Naperville. This is my second year doing NaNo. This year I am working on planning ahead! This year's novel is about a little girl who whips herself into a religious frenzy after she tries to kill her older sister. I'm excited to write and to meet you guys at the write-ins, though I can't make the planning sessions because of work. Good luck to everyone!

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie, and proud of it! My name is Lauren and I'm doing one of those "rules" and telling as many people as possible about this new adventure in November. I actually just stumbled upon a notice about the Sat. NaNo meeting while looking for the "official" trick-or-treat times (so I don't have dozens of angry kids stomping up and down our front steps on Halloween*).

I was really excited to have discovered this - I feel like it is a whole hidden world of creativity that I had no clue about. I love reading and writing, and this is just the thing I am craving! My mom and I attended the meeting on Sat, and look forward to learning more this weekend. Glad to connect with others in our area. Good luck everyone! Gotta get back to work. Regrettably, my quick mid-afternoon coffee break is coming to an end.

* I still don't have the times for Naperville's Halloween, talk about getting side tracked - haha!!!

Hi. I am Tim aka tireddadx3 from Sugar Grove. This will be my fourth NaNoWriMo. I have surpassed 50,000 words and 'won' NaNo each of those three years. I have done very little writing since last November so I am hoping that doing NaNo again will jump start things and get me back into a regular writing habit that I can carry forward (I said the same thing last year, but hope springs eternal).

I work as a Civil Engineer. I have a beautiful, talented, and amazingly supportive wife, a son in third grade and three four year old girls in pre-school. I really hope to get out to more events this year (I have yet to make a kick off or TGIO event) but scheduling can be difficult.

I have not completely nailed down my Novel idea or title for this year. I am thinking about a main character who meets a guy he knew a long time ago and they talk about a life impacting shared experience and then he thinks about where his life is at and what if he had done something different back then. Then he is shifted into a parallel/alternate reality where different choices were made and he has to naviagate through multiple realities to get back home. I have muddled visions of him traveling through multiple parallel universes searching for his true self with some negative/evil force or outcome or character fighting him along the way. First time I have written any of my thoughts out... I see I have a lot of prep work left to do.

Have Fun and Good Luck to Everyone!

Hey all! My name is Bob and this'll be my...um...fifth (?) NaNo!

I'm a mainstream fiction writer who just might try some supernatural aspects this year...we'll see how it goes!

When I'm not writing I'm collecting typewriters. Of course, I'm usually using those to write so...

I'm excited to be typin' away again near dear old Naperville (by way of North Aurora - unless I can find someone to sublease my house then I'll be by way of Aurora!)

I'm Katherine, one of the co-MLs. I have found that NaNoWriMo is a great way to get a first draft done, especially if I spend time getting an outline figured out before November 1st, although I've been known to go a bit overboard on that, so I'm still fine-tuning that whole outline thing. This year for a change I worked and reworked a synopsis, mainly because I'm still struggling to come up with a good one for last year's novel.

My novel is about a couple in Door County running a B&B, and their half-French niece and may be titled 'Too Close for Comfort' although I'm still fiddling with the title.

I like to host write-ins at coffee shops, although I don't write much late at night. I'm a morning person.

I have a full-time job, but have saved some vacation days and plan on taking lots of mornings off in November.

Oh, and I actually like revising, so if you'd like to see last year's novel, version 4 or 5 is at critiquecircle.com. My login there is KatWrite.

I am Roger Lubeck. This will be my eighth NANOWRIMO. Each year I have written a new 50,000+-word novel. The first three novels were a fantasy / adventure trilogy set in the same medieval world. To the Western Border (Book One) is published and available on Amazon. Two of my other novels were science fiction / military stories. Last year, I wrote Bullseye, a noir novel of murder and suspense. It is my most complete novel and will be available on Amazon this month. Each year, I start with only a scene and a character in mind. Personally, I like the freedom this creates, but I have experienced a few false starts. I edit for spelling, grammar, and continuity every day and I may even do some rewriting, but I never find this hurts my word count and it often makes it easier for me to get started on a new chapter or scene. However, I wait until after NANOWRIMO for any serious rewriting. This year I may write a sequel to Bullseye because I like the dark nature of the main character, but it is still early. Good luck to everyone. Start fast and never look back!

Hi! My name is Kate and I am another Newbie! :) I am very excited to do NANOWRIMO. I sometimes have issues completing my writing as I can't turn my internal editor off and I find my self repeatedly editing the same few pages. I am hoping that the time constraints of NANOWRIMO will force me to finish the story without too much worrying about the editing.
I am a little nervous about finishing the word count with a full time job and an attention demanding 6 year old. I'm hoping to attend at least one of the Write-ins to get a break from the distractions at home. I did attend the Prep Session on Saturday and really enjoyed it. I'm planning to go to all three.
I like to write YA fantasy and urban paranormal. My story for this year is about a teenager who finds out her childhood imaginary friend, isn't actually imaginary after all.
Good luck everyone!!

Hey, I'm Robin. This is my first NaNo, even though I've known about it for years.

My story is about a girl who travels through time using a magical watch that she inherited from her grandmother.
I am going to be very busy in November, so writing 50,000 words will be a challenge because I will have an hour long musical practice every day, I will have piano, I have a school trip for three full days, and my birthday's towards the beginning of the month! And, for adults, that might not seem like a lot, but for a student IT IS.

Good luck everyone and I hope to see you at planning sessions!

Hi, I'm Joe AKA The Corrupted Flame. This will be NaNo number nine for me. I'm generally a fantasy writer, though I have ventured into sci-fi and superhero type stories on occasion. Of those 8 other NaNos, I've successfully completed two. (Though one of those two years, I did finish two separate novels.)

I have no idea what I'm writing this year. The only thing that's crossed my mind so far is reimagining one of my stories from a previous NaNo.

Of course, I'll have my work cut out for me, since I'll be out of state for four days this November. And I'm certain while I'm there, I will have no time to write. So here's hoping for the best.

Hi, I'm Claire! This is my second year doing NaNoWriMo. Unfortunately, I'm a member of this region only in spirit this year, as I've gotten married and relocated to Texas. However, I've met lots of great people here, and hope to keep in touch.

Hi, I'm Melissa! This is my second NaNo, although I'm sad to say that last year was a complete failure due to me being in the middle of a major move during November. I hope that this year will be much more successful!

Hey all!

I'm Sarah, age 24, and I'm in Elgin. This will be my third NaNoWriMo, and hopefully my first win! I am, however, rebelling. Memoir time! ;-)

Hi all, I'm Debbie, aka Tyrannosaurus Regina, back for the sixth time this year. I've done and won the last five years only with the help of the region's wonderful online tools and support. This year is going to be a challenge since I'm starting a (very) new job and I'll have less time to check in on the forums. As usual, I know I won't be able to make any of the events, but there's always the wordcount graph (*thank you, Tim*). My stories bounce back and forth between action/adventure and sci fi, and this year hopefully the two will integrate successfully with my Star Pirates inspired effort.

Best wishes to all this coming November for success, however you may define it. See you all on the forums.

Hi! I'm Ky, and I live in Aurora. This is my second year, but I didn't quite make a 'win' in 2010. I'm a retired biologist working with rescued animals and making art. This year, I'll be writing about a spoiled, rich duchess and her butler's son getting cursed by a necromancer (er, or something like that!). I'll be traveling during the month of November, so I really need some focus to get it done. Hoping to attend some of the group sessions to meet you all!
~scrapacat

Hi Everyone!
Im Kirsten, known as Larkk in Nanowrimo-land. This will be my third Nano, and I wouldnt miss this for anything.
I have a story that has been stewing and bubbling since this summer that I am itching to start writing. Those eighteen days until November 1 cant go by fast enough! Of course, I will try to do a bit more planning than I have in the past years, but either way, I am so ready to lose myself in the whirlwind of words that is Nanowrimo.

The story is something of an epic fantasy with a bit of sci-fi thrown in, kind of like what might happen if you crossed a bulldozer with a t-rex, and the hero main character has been pestering me of late to just start writing already.

I cant wait to see everyone at the write-ins. Ive still got the purple MacBook and the music addiction, so Ill probably have headphones on, but I'm always happy to talk writing or take a cookie break.

Hello, hello, dahhhlings!

I'm Heather, sometimes known as AmaranthMuse or the inscrutably fine handwriting spilling across a nametag in front of my laptop with the distinctive golden Japanese woodblock print cover. (Could I string any more adjectives together? You bet!) During the month of November, I become a regular fixture in Caribou coffeehouses and isolated in my own little fantastic world except when plot bunnies and word wars rear their head. This will be my third (!) year of active participation with the NaNo group, though the siren song of writing has called me since I was small and this particular wondrous adventure on and off for several years. I also belong to our year-round writing group, The Journey.

You might know me as the girl typing at a blazing(ly loud) speed to Schubert or Liszt, the brunette who kept offering spices and herbs as prizes last year at the Caribou write-ins, or not at all and wondering why I'm only sporadically showing up. I've since moved to Michigan to start a new job but I am committed to participating, starting with a presentation this weekend (eep!) and hopefully making some appearances throughout November as my schedule, progress, and weather allow. I'll definitely be there at the end of the NaNo party, though! :D <3

Hello,

I am askeladd, hailing also from Elgin ~ This is my third attempt at NaNo; previous times I was unable to complete, although at least last year I managed to get farther in word count than in my first year.

I've had a basic idea for my novel since early summer, but I haven't had time to flesh things out as much as I'd like prior to Nov. 1. My story is about a black sheep in a family, and the events leading up to the estrangement. For the format of the novel, I plan to start each chapter off with a pair of letters exchanged between two sisters, and the remainder of the chapter will bring the letters to life, so to speak.

Hey, everyone! I'm Melissa and this will be my third nanowrimo and should also be my third win. I had planned on writing this one story I've been trying to figure out for a few years for nano, but this summer a new story idea hit me and while it's not the most original idea in the world (nothing ever is), I'm super excited to write it!

My story is about a teen who's siblings disappeared through a magic portal 12 years ago leaving him behind in foster care. Now they came back for him because they need his help in taking down an evil queen in their world, but he gets seperated from them after traveling to their world and when he meets the so called evil queen, she doesn't seem all that evil and so the teen has to decide which side to be on, the queen's or his family's.

Hello, all!

I'm Squiddish, or Katherine, and I live way out in the boonies. Also known as Sugar Grove. I've excited to be back in the game this year and hopefully make it in to some write-ins and all that fun stuff, despite having quite the hectic schedule. (Writing not included.)

I've only 'officially' done NaNo once, and won with 25 words over the bar and like... three hours to go. When I did it the following year, I didn't put any effort at all into it and rather, just kind of forgot about it. But this year will be different. I plan on cranking this baby out because it's a story I've had in mind for a long time and I absolutely love the characters to death.

For my novel, the characters and their stories unfold as they're each faced with a difficult decision and one inescapable question with horrible consequences either way: life or death?

The novel's going to touch on several issues through these two, including fear, control, fate vs free will, and nature vs. nurture... I plan on putting my characters each in their own little room--for one, a hospital waiting room. The other, tied to a chair in pitch darkness. And seeing where it goes from there... it should be interesting, since I've never attempted something quite like this before, always opting for... you know... options with scenery and things of that nature. But it should be really interesting and i'm excited to get started. Just me, the characters, and a whole lot of inner conflict to work out.

I look forward to meeting you guys through the write-ins... some of you I already know, but that's alright. ;D Even if you don't know me.... I know you...

Buh-byeee.... mwhahaaha....

No, no. I kid.

Most of the time.