Crochet.Missy wrote:Haha yes! If you have any recs for shops or groups for either let me know!

Actually, i do! Shameless promo for my Etsy Shop: Sturdy Nerdy Stitchery. Where i mostly specalize in nerdy cross stitch patterns...because I was SOOO tired of seeing teddy bears and flowers as patterns when i'd go to hobby lobby or michaels. So, I decided to make my own. I also do a neat variation called "Color-ins" where it's just pattern/shape/image/etc...black outline...so..it's like an adult coloring book, but for cross stitching. Great way to use up scraps of thread! I even take commissions if you are itching for a unique type of pattern/quote/book mark and don't like what you find in the store...

I also LOOOOVE "Wool + Co" in St charles on Main st (next to the river...west side of it), and there is Elgin Knit works! (check out my tumblr blog:https://sturdy-nerdy-stitchery.tumblr.com/because last week, I went to these stores and i blogged about my experience visiting them...posted pics too! omg...elgin knit works...I WANTED TO BUY ALL THE YARN!)

and, a knit group i am with on FB directed me to the Chicago Yarn crawl. Even though the crawl is over, they still have their map available of all the yarn stores...so...if one day...you just want to road trip it across chicagohttps://www.chicagoyarncrawl.com/yarn-crawl-map/

I keep buying yarn...even though...i already have yarn. but...but...it's sooo pretty! how can you NOT! oh! and what's this? I HAVE A COUPON?! even MORE reason to buy that yarn!

Hey hey! I've had the nickname "Biscuit" since I was 12, so the username just seemed fitting. I've been wanting to do NaNoWriMo for a couple years now but I'd never had the time. This year, I have way too much time on my hands, so why not fill it with some fiction? I've written a couple drafts of my book before, but never really fell in love with the plot line. I think this is the year, though. I'm cranking out something special.

I also have 2 cats that I love to bits. (They walk on my laptop while I'm trying to write, so any post that has just random letters is not a secret code. It's just my sweet, entirely unhelpful assistants.)

- Biscuit

Hey everyone! My name is Andy and this is my 7th Nanowrimo! Technically 8th, but I don't count 2013 where I wrote 2,000 words and got too distracted by video games to write any more and didn't write again for two whole years!

I am a super nerd: cosplayer, artist, table-top RPG player (Dungeons & Dragons, Mistborn, Call of Cthulu, Urban Shadows, Vampire the Masquerade), gamer, and of course: fantasy author! I usually write fantasy, even when I try not to! My slice-of-life LGBT teen romance from a few years ago turned into fantasy 40,000 words in. The horror western novel I was planning to write demanded to be fantasy three days before Nano even began this year. Idid manage to crank out a dystopian sci-fi two years ago, but I think I have a poltergeist that only wants me to write fantasy!

I'm looking forward to trying to do more write-ins. I always intend to and then either forget or something comes up. I need to hire someone to remind me. I'm also looking forward to meeting all of you!

Hello! I'm TogetherAgain, aka Lisa, aka the crazy one who drives from Gurnee down to Naperville to write by hand. So I only go to write-ins on weekends, but still, I usually put 1,000 miles on my car for NaNoWriMo. (I tried going to a write-in closer to home once. It was lame. So I drive to Naperville.)

This will be my eighth NaNoWriMo. I have no idea if I will make it to any write-ins this year, because I am also a first year teacher and... it is hard, and busy, and intense, and... well, let's just say that my mom just started cheering because I made it through a week without crying. Also, like I said, I only go to write-ins on weekends, and my weekends are now devoted to lesson planning, so... we'll see? But, fingers crossed. Because I like write-ins. They are helpful. And good. And... yeah, my brain is gone for the night.

I am realistic enough that I'm not really even aiming for 50,000 words this year. My goal is to write SOMETHING every day. As long as I do that, I'll be happy.

I'm being a rebel this year and working on an earlier story. Specifically, I'm going back to my NaNo from 2013. But life is complicated by things like the fact that my computer has pretty much ceased to function. Yes, I write by hand, but then at the end of each day I type what I've written to get my word count... I managed to get my computer to let me log in earlier today, and it looks like my last back-up DID work, which is good... if it worked correctly. Because when I tried to open the file for my 2013 NaNo, because I've been wanting to take another look at that... well, um, I only saw two words, with weird formatting, and... that's as far as I got. So, somewhere on my to do list, I will be buying a new computer and desperately hoping that with the external hard drive I used to back things up, I haven't lost everything. But, y'know... I do have a lack of free time, and extra energy, so... I'm really going to have to just type this year's NaNo in Google Docs on mom's computer so I can get a word count. (Yes, I HAVE written SOMETHING today and yesterday. I just don't have numbers yet, so my progress bar still says 0. Very sad.) Granted, mom's computer has its OWN issues... Yeah, I need to go computer shopping. Also, I could use a nap...

Nano is what helped me sit down and do it and now I've written 6 manuscripts! I know you can do it. Don't get discouraged if you miss a day or two. Last year I only wrote for 11 out of the 30 days and ended with 45,000 words. It's possible and we're all rooting for you! Good luck!

With that many words (19,000+) it looks like you're well on your way, good luck to you!

Hello,

I'm Sherry and new to NaNoWriMo. I'm currently working on a psychological thriller (with paranormal elements) and used to writing daily. Although I'm hitting the ground running, I did manage to fall behind in my writing goals over the summer and I blame that entirely on life happening. So, I'm looking forward to meeting the 50k word count goal. I also write poetry and short stories. I look forward to participating, learning and meeting other writers!

-- Looking forward to meeting you all!

Hello all,

My name is Danielle. I have been doing Nanowrimo for a long time, but I never finish a novel. In fact, I still look back on those abandoned projects every year and think, man, those are some good unfinished ideas in there... so let's add one more. This year, I'm attempting a political fiction novel. I plan to write two points of view so it's going to be a challenge to switch back and forth into different mindsets as the story progresses. Between working two jobs and starting a new weight loss program, I probably won't finish, but that's not really important to me. I participate in this to try to get down ideas that are floating around in my head so that I don't have to think about them 24/7 all year and wonder what that story will play out to be. If you're out there worried about word count and watching as that number of words you need to write each day increases, don't stress on it. It's ok if you finish your novel in 2021 or if you finish in 2019 or if you don't finish at all because this is for you. You're writing for you. You got here and that's more than all the people still sitting on the couch wondering if they should participate. Good luck to everyone!

-D

ShiroXIX wrote:I'm looking forward to trying to do more write-ins. I always intend to and then either forget or something comes up. I need to hire someone to remind me. I'm also looking forward to meeting all of you!

I kind of miss writing longhand. When I started writing, most of my writing time was between calls at work, on breaks, during lunch hour, waiting for meetings/appointments, etc. We didn't have smartphones back then, nor did most people carry laptops around. So, I wrote everything longhand. Then, I'd type it up each night, editing as I went. I really think that was my productive period of writing. I'd go back to it, but after 37 years of playing piano and a couple of decades of near constant typing, my hands just won't take the stress anymore.

That's one of my favorite advantages of writing by hand. Portability. Last night, I worked on my novel while sitting in a drive-thru line, waiting for dinner. Can't do that with a laptop. Sometimes I'll even write a few words while I'm at a stoplight. The trick is to be ready to STOP writing just as quickly as you start, even if you're in the middle of a letter.

Besides, I've always felt like I think better when I'm holding a pen.

Whitey here. I'm in...again. I'm a glutton for punishment. Using my 50K this year to finish up some works wounded and left for dead. Hope to see you all at some point this month.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Friday, November 16 from 6-8:45 pm at the Woodridge Public Library. Be there or be square!

My name is Shanna and I have been a member since 2010. I have finished NaNo twice...I think? Maybe three times? Anyway, I'm a published author and I try to just do my best to write some every single day. My work this year is a dystopian fiction novel for older middle graders or young adult readers. I also work as a circulation clerk. :)

Shanna,

Author of Payton is Afraid of Dirt.