Hello!

I'm Tim, aka NewMexicoKid, one of the three MLs for the Naperville region along with Frank (fdahlman) and Sam (samcadams). We're volunteers who are here to help you succeed in your NaNoWriMo adventure. Sam is new this year, stepping in to take over for Katherine (KatherineWriting), our long-time colleague who is busy with other adventures (but who will still be hosting the all-day-write-in Friday, November 13th).

Welcome! We have a full slate of events planned for this NaNoWriMo season, starting with four preparatory workshops that I'll post about in a different thread. We will be handing out this year's version of the hipster PDA at the preparatory workshops. You can use your hipster PDA to collect the library cards at the many write-ins at this year'sLibrary Crawl (Sarah/sarahk06 is coordinating); the collected cards will be good for raffle chances for prizes at the TGIO.

I typically write fantasy or science fiction (though for NaNo, because of the complexity of SF, I have mostly stuck with fantasy). My novel this fall is currently planned to be an exploration of what happens to a group of fourth grader friends who wander through an interdimensional doorway to a magic realm, where they spend years of their lives. When they return through the door, they find only minutes have passed from when they left--and they themselves are returned to their recess-aged selves.

Feel free to post questions in this forum or send NaNoMail to any of us MLs. Welcome! Please use this thread to introduce yourself! What genres do you write? How are you doing in your preparations for this year's NaNo?

Hello

Im Sam McAdams (samcadams), one of the three MLs for the Naperville region. As Tim mentioned, this is my first year as an ML, but I have been a part of NanoWriMo for the past nine years and complete my NaNo novel seven times. I look forward to assisting you to complete your NaNo novel.

We have a full slate of prep workshops and write-ins scheduled already. Go to the Illinois::Naperville NaNoWriMo eventscalendar and look at all of those write-ins. Theres practically one every day and three on Saturdays. Its like when my father threw a party. There was always plenty to eat and drink. If you walked away from one of his parties hunger or thirsty, it was your own. Similarly, if you dont make it to a write-in this November, youve only got yourself to blame. Hit as many Library Crawlwrite-ins as you can and remember to collect your library cards worth raffle chances for valuable prizes at the TGIO.

My NaNo novels have typically been part of my series called the BarnYard Heroes. The stories center on a group of barnyard animals who have been given a variety of superhero powers by a space alien whose company fell on hard times and canceled his project before his work on their powers was complete. The animals use their partially finished powers to save the world and the known universe from a multitude of threats. This year will be no different.

What will be different this year is my prep work. In previous years I have done little to no planning. Im here to say its not a horrible way to go about writing your NaNo novel. Many novelists prefer to do minimal planning and like to let the novel organically develop. As Chris Baty says, Plot happens. That being said, I didn't dolimited prep work for that reason. I didlimited prep work because I tend to be a bit lazy and my novels suffered. The cohesive plots did not organically develop as I had hoped and dreamed and my characters were often flat and boring. But this year will be different. This year I plan to plan. I will be holding Nano prep work accountability meetings to help keep me and others who want to join on track. More on that coming soon.

Feel free to send any of us MLs questions in this forum or to our NaNoMail. Since its my first year as an ML, Ill defer most questions to Tim and the other handful to Frank. (I kid. I kid.)

Happy writings and good luck with your novels.

Sam McAdams (samcadams)

Hi, KatherineWriting here. I hope to see people at the kick-off party, and the all-day write-in (which is on Friday the 13th--how awesome is that for anyone writing scary fiction?) You don't have to attend from 9-9, but you're welcome to. Details will come when it's closer, but ask for the day off now, or arrange for someone to watch the kids, and say no to any invitations for that evening. It's a great way to burst past any middle-of-the-book slowness.

I may need the focused attention myself since I'm starting November by going to a conference in New Orleans connected with the nonprofit my husband started--Partners Bridging the Digital Divide,pbdd.org.It's a very worthwhile endeavor, but a rotten time for a conference in my opinion. My goal this year is just to make the daily wordcount of 1,667, and get a nice bump with the all-day write-in. Oh, and finish the first draft.

This year's novel is book three in my French series about an American who is working in Paris for a year. In book one,French Impression, Miriam's romantic encounter on her first night in Paris turns out to be with her new French boss's husband. Originally, this was one novel, but early readers wanted to see more of how these two women become friends. The novels are told from the point of view of Miriam and her french boss. It's strange how things work since in book two, I describe one of my main characters going to theMuse Marmottan Monet and Versailles, my daughter (was Bookgrrl when she did Nano), is studying in Paris this semester and went to the museum last Wednesday and is going to Versailles today. I almost gave her advice on what train to take based on what my character had done. I'm not sure if life is supposed to imitate art, but suspect she won't believe me that I wrote about them BEFORE she went there.

Hello there, I am Frank the third of your regional MLs. I am not going to repeat all the fabulous information Tim and Sam have posted prior. I am going to take time though to echo their invitation to go to the prep sessions. These sessions are designed to help get your novel of the ground and get your mind ready for 30 days of writing. They are also a great way to meet the other people in the region. It is nice to be able to put a face to the different names we see on the forums.

My novel for the year is still a bit up in the air. I have been roughly coming up with an idea to tell the story of Nest, a character from a short story published in one of The Journey's anthologies. I am excited to tell her story, but a part of my brain is pulling me to try to write a massive sci-fi space opera. You know, the kind with planets warring against other planets on an epic scale. Yeah that kind of novel. So it will be one of those two, and I may not know until the writing begins November 1st.

This year is going to be a challenge for me so I hope to see it through. I will be coaching my daughters basketball team, teaching my 8th grade classes, working to create an entirely new curriculum for our district, and serving as a union rep. for my building while we try to negotiate a new contract. It is a very, very full schedule this year. But when is nanwrimo ever easy, right? That's why we do it.

Please contact me with questions or concerns as November approaches, and do not hesitate to contact me while we are in the midst of November as well. Tim, Sam, and I will work to make sure November is a great month for you.

May the odds ever be in your favor,

Frank

hey all! I'm Ellie, a student at Wheaton College but originally from Los Angeles. This will be my second official year with NaNo, and I'm also part of the Journey group. I'm still editing my novel from last year, a technothriller about cloning, but I also write a web serial (homeofthebraveseries.wordpress.com/). My project this year will either be a novel I've had swimming in my head for a few years now, or it'll be writing season two of my web series - I have yet to decide. Look forward to seeing new and familiarfaces as November approaches!

Hi, all!

I originally set myself up as Illinois: Elsewhere because Naperville and Chicago are both about an hour away from me (I'm further south), but based on what I'm seeing here, I'm thinking I might flip-flop even if I'm not able to get to the events. I like thesound of the activities you guys (and gals!) have planned.I'll have to wing it and see what happens.

This is my first NaNo, but I'm preparing myself as best I can in advance. I know surprises will inevitably come up, but I figure planning will nip at least some of them in the bud. I really enjoy studying the craft of writing, and I've had the pleasure of getting to know several authors through conventions for the past *mumble* years. (What? I lost track!) I'm actually working on another manuscript right now, and I'm on track to finish by (*knocks on wood*) Oct 24. Meanwhile, I'm organizing my NaNo ideas and trying to figure out character and story arcs before weaving them all together into a writing guideline for myself. I hesitate to call it an outline, since there are always more chapters than uber-important events, and I like to leave some creative license for wandering and discovery along the way.

NaNo is actually coming at a perfect time for me, at least in terms of what I know is happening in my life right now, which is always subject to change! Andusually without my permission, dang it! But I just finished my second bachelor's degree (like JUST finished - turned in my final paper this past Monday!). This one was in history, the one I got in Feb 2014 was in cultural anthropology. I'm looking into a grad program in history and culture (see a pattern?), but that won't start until January 2016. So I'm planning on finishingthe85K or soword count on my NaNo manuscript by the end of the year and then focusing on editing both books while I'm taking classes.

I'm really excited about the chance to finish TWO manuscripts in less than 5 months! I didn't know I was going to do NaNo until I was over 30K words into the book I'm working on now. But it's training me to write something every single day. I haven't missed a session in 18 days, even though one produced less than 400 words (migraine!).

Anyway, I tend to ramble. So...there's me! Nice to meet everyone! (^_^)

~KStarcatcher

Kiela Starcatcher wrote:Hi, all! I originally set myself up as Illinois: Elsewhere because Naperville and Chicago are both about an hour away from me (I'm further south), but based on what I'm seeing here, I'm thinking I might flip-flop even if I'm not able to get to the events.

Welcome, KStarcatcher! Do note that we will have ourIRC-based chat room again this year that will be buzzing with word wars and folks working on their novels. There are a number of folks around the US and Canada who call Naperville home. :-)

Sweet. Thanks, Tim! Just set it up. (^_^)

~KStarcatcher

Hey, all. Melissa here. This will be my seventh NaNoWriMo. I typically write fantasy or soft scifi. This year I'm writing a YA novel about vampires and witches. It's going to be different than all those other YA vamp books because in my book the vampires, you know, actually kill people. That's a shocking twist, I know. I already have a (very) rough out outline without too, too many gaps in it. I know my heroes of my story pretty well. I still need to take a day or two to "date" my villains and get to know them better. Right now they're kind of made of cardboard. Everything should be ready to go by Halloween. This is probably the most prepared I've been in September since I started NaNoWriMo so I'm happy. Heck, there's been a year or two when I had far less prepared come November 1st.

Hi everyone. This will be my 10th Nano. I have worked on nine novels and two short stories during those years. I look forward to continuing my "Legacy Rising" series of science fiction novels. I didn't realize all the region did until the end of my first Nano when I attended the TGIO. I look forward to participating as much as I can as I have changed jobs and no longer commute to the Loop in Chicago. I hope every one has a great year as we work together for our common goal of writing a novel!

Look forward to seeing many of you.

Dave

AKA TRRDEDEAN

Welcome back, both of you!

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone as well. When I signed up, I hadn't intended to get involved in groups, but then I realized that's part of the experience of it - talking with people on forums, competing in challenges, and getting large chunks of writing accomplished at write-ins! Otherwise, what's the point of signing up - I could just do a 50K-in-30-days challenge myself at home, and no one would ever know if I achieved it or not. But...that's the other thing - no one would know when I achieved it!

I'm really looking forward to this experience. It's my first one not because I didn't believe I could do it, but because (total honesty, here) I didn't realize there was an official,dedicated website with such a huge number of people truly dedicated to the craft and willing to help one another throughout the whole year. I figured whatever websites were out there were privately run andmonitored for one month for click-baitand appealed to fanboys/girls who endlessly wrote terrible qualityTwilight and Harry Potter fanfic with no interest in learning the craft, let alone have any hope of ever being published. I'm sure there are a few of those "writers" on the site, but they seem the rarity rather than the norm - and I'm immensely relieved to discover it!

So...here I am! Chomping at the bit and rarin' to go! I'm pushing through my current project pretty quickly (and keeping track of word count on my author bio page here for accountability), and trying to hash out my NaNo story ideas on the side. I'm a little disappointed my story and character arc worksheet isn't more filled in yet, but I'll get there! To corrupt a Blues Brothers quote, I'm on a mission from Muse!

Happy writing, all! (^_^)

~Kiela

The Naperville community is extremely active for it's size. (Thanks, MLs and anyone who has hosted a write in!!!) I highly recommend going to some write ins, especially early on so you can get a feel for what kinds of write ins worth best for you, like library write ins vs ones at coffee shops or morning write ins vs afternoon vs evening. Also, they're a great way to meet other writers and not feel so isolated (writing is lonely!). My first year I only went to a single write in and I totally regretted it. I wished I gone to more!

As for fanfics, writers have to start somewhere. Fan fiction is a great way for new authors to get a plot down on paper without having to world build or create characters. And it's not like that's a useful skill to have. Anyone who writes for TV or comic books has to use characters they didn't create themselves.

Sounds like sage advice,Zip, and I'm really looking forward to my first write-in on Nov 1!

And I do agree that fanfic is a wonderful tool to engage new writers and help move the learning process along. I think it was Neil Gaiman who stated that a writer can'tstartclaiming to know the craft until s/he has written a million words! If that's true, then fanfic certainly helps writers get to that million mark.But at the same time, there's an awful lot of...well...awful material out there written by people who have no clue how to draft a story and have no interest in learning the process. (I still shudder when I think about the one I stumbled across that portrayed Harry Potter as an emovampire named...wait for it... Vampire! lol) It's fine...it's just not what I was looking forfor myown purposes, and I'm entirely grateful that the NaNo site is a bit more eclectic and ... I dunno... is "sophisticated" the right word in comparison here? It's 1:50 am right now, and my words were all used up about an hour ago when I finished my word count for the night.LOL(^_^)

Cheers!

~Kiela

Hi everyone!

I'm Allison.This is my second Nanowrimo, last year I was at college in Iowa but now that I've graduated I needed to switch regions. Last year instead of a completely new novel I just added 50,000 words to one I am working on. This year I do plan on writing a completely different novel though, so I am trying to plan it out since last year I had a plan and was successful. This year I plan on writing about someone going on a competition show, which means I have to design the show, make the other competitors, a host and everything else. I tend to write either fantasy or realistic fiction, last year was fantasy, and this year I'll be staying in the realistic realm.

Nice to see people posting and seeing that already events have been planned. I didn't get a chance to go to write-ins last year so I want to go to a few events this year!

~Allison/Bookmonkey44~

Looking forward to meeting you! (^_^)

Hi everyone!

I'm Paula, I can't remember how many years I've done or won Nanowrimo. My records on the site got jumbled. But I think my first year was 2007, so this would be my 9th attempt. I win the years that I'm more active in the group, and lose the years I can't make the parties and participate in jabber chats. I think I feed off of the awesome energy that everyone has.

I recently moved to Chicago, but still plan on participating in the Naperville group because you guys are awesome and I can't imagine doing it without you guys!

I mainly write Urban Fantasy anymore and plan on writing a new novel in that genre this year!

Yooooo, friends! It'sa me! Squiddy!

I've done NaNo for a long time but this year I'm kind of taking a step back to try and get some editing done so that I can hopefully look to publish pretty soon. You may see me at a write-in or two, but we'll see how the whole schedule thing goes as I work six days a week. However, if anyone is looking to do some writing out a little further west, let me know. ;) I live in Sugar Grove and so I tend to have a lot easier time getting to things in this area.

I know there will be a couple write ins at the library out this way so I'll try to make it to those. Otherwise, as I do every year and usually fail to follow through on.... I like to suggest kindly that everyone puts a squid in their novel in as fun a way as possible. c: And should I be able to make it to the TGIO party, I'll have cookies there for those who managed to fit squids into their novels! 8D YAY SQUIDS.

Anyho, MISS YOU ALL.

Squids, huh? I may have to find a way to work that into my piratey adventure novel.If I do...unlike SOME pirate stories *cough*Caribbean*cough*, I won't kill the thing off-stage and have its dead carcass just rotting in the sun on the beach as the scene opens...

Seems like a fishy way to write, if you ask me...

(~_^)

~Kiela

;D I accept all forms of squid, living and dead. We've had them in paintings, in cans, in the lakes. In space, if I remember correctly. Edible and otherwise!

Once November gets closer, I'm going to put up a Squid thread for posting squid excerpts. Mostly because I like to think everyone is writing about meeee.

Hi guys! I'm RiverSeal, and I've recently moved back to the area (I live out west near Aurora) and wanted to get involved in some NaNo stuff. I've done NaNo before under another account, but I wanted to start fresh with this one. I've always done it by myself too, so hopefully I'll get myself out to some events this time.

This year, I'm hoping to rewrite/drastically revamp a story I finished for NaNo a few years ago. It needed a massive redo, but the story has stuck with me and won't quit bugging me, so I need to get it written. It's the first in a four part series, so hopefully I'll actually get a good start on the rest of the rest of the series eventually. I think it straddles the line between science fiction and fantasy, and is about a group of people who are trying to escape the end of the universe, but end up becoming the gods of a newborn universe, and the aftermath.

Anyway, nice to meet you all!

I wrote about a secret project in book two of my French series that was called Squid. It's back in book three. Your influence is overwhelming.

Katherine

With a competition show based on fears it'll be interesting to have a squid fear. Never really thought about writing about squid's before...

ROFL! Can't wait to see whatresults your influence leads to. (~_^)

~Kiela

S.K.W.I.D.: It's about a cult of murderers whose crimes aren't very successful due to their flatulence warning awaytheir victims. "Serial Killers With Inefficient Digestion!"

ROFL Yeah, I'm tired. Shouldn't be posted after 1am... (~_^)

~Kiela

Thanks for the heads up on the character development workshop that was at the Plainfield Library on Monday (9/21). I brought my younger brother (he's studying game design) and really enjoyed the info she provided, especially since he's never been to conventions or writing seminars like I have (the former = too many to remember, the latter = too many to count!!).

I spoke to the library rep afterwards, and she was really excited to have the Naperville NaNo group involved in activities at their location. Sounds like our reputation precedes us! (~_^)

Hey all!
Paige here.

I think I'm back for my 4th NaNo but I haven't decided 100% yet. I'm almost 20 weeks pregnant and it has been a rough go this time around. (Think utter exhaustion and all day nausea until about 16 weeks - so 3.5 weeks ago). I'm doing better and have more energy now so I think I'm going to give it a go. However, night time has always been my writing time and I'm in bed by 10:30 most nights now. But I figure if I can win while being out of town for 13 days last year I can do it again. Right? - This is me asking you to convince me to give it a shot. :)

Sine this summer was so miserable I haven't touched anything and have 3 stories I want to finish writing. Those will be what I work on during NaNo this year.

I'm hoping to make it to part of the all day write-in and would be happy to host some in the Tinley Park/Orland Park area. If anyone is interested in that please let me know.

Good luck this year everyone!

Time to crawl out from under my rock and brush off the cobwebs. Hello everyone!

I'm Kaden, returning for my 3rd year in this region. I write mostly fantasy; this year I'm planning a revenge story centered around awerewolf cursed to live as a human, set in a fictional version of the enlightenment.

Is it weird that the part I'm most excited for so far is writing angry 17th century-style pamphlets?

Hello, I'm Carol Gaus from Elk Grove aka CJGEGV. I will be at the planning session on October 4th. Look for my write-ins at the Coffee House in Lombard on Nov. 12 & 19th. I go there to write even when there isn't a write-in.

This is my 5th NaNo. I've never won but hope springs eternal.

This year's novel is the second in my series featuring my intrepid heroine Fran Brewer, traveling medical laboratory temp tech. I'll unveil my clever title soon. This time she's off to Indianapolis for a 6 month assignment. She's not getting too far from her Wisconsin home yet but she has to take the gigs as they come. Sheleases an apartment in a local suburb where she gets to know the neighbors and joins a book club. The drama in suburbanite's private lives rival the plots of the novels they discuss. Soon Fran is in the middle of a real life "who done it."

Hi Everyone - it's Alex / Mochomito. I'm so behind this year - I don't know how much I'll be able to write - but I'm still very excited - This will be my 4rth year - I think? or maybe 5th. I don't even know anymore.

Woohoo! I have returned for another year! This is early for me to be getting involved. Hopefully I can make some better outlines and actually write my book this year. I might have passed last year but so much of that book is lost in a notebook somewhere. Hopefully I can write a new one with the old bits I still have.

I'll be writing a fantasy/romance set in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. (They say write what you know)

I also hope to do some revisions to my first complete novel so that I can get it printed when I win this year.

Hey all! Bob (wordrebel) here! I'm back for more this year and hoping that between a new job and my four kids I'll find time to get out to a few write ins. If you're new and have never been to one all I can say, in the spirit of Shia LaBouf, DO IT!!!!! They can make all the difference in getting to 50k!

This will be something like my tenth year (?) doing this madness...but I was an English major and was never good at math so I could be wrong. Can't wait to get going!!

Hi, I've been a NaperWrimo for perhaps eight years now, and have "won" (completed the minimum word count) about half of these years. I live in Sycamore (where's that? it's near DeKalb and NIU) so getting to and from in-person events has not always been possible. There's also this Gremlin that seems to interfere with my plans every time I try to go to the TGIO party! I'll have to shoo that Gremlin out with the Tribbles!

My writing obsession remains the same: the (somewhat) strange characters who inhabit one of the islands in the Indian Ocean just west of Australia, my made-up island called "Shadow Island."

Hey everyone! My name is Awnna. I just moved to Lisle from Colorado a few months ago and I'm excited to get into such an active NaNo region! (I had to join three separate regions and do a lot of driving to get active with it last year.) I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a bachelor's in journalism in May, and I'll be starting work toward a master's in creative writing in January.

I've participated in NaNo and Camp off and on since 2010, andI write primarily high fantasy and dabble in other speculative fiction. I've won for the past two Novemberswith an original fantasy and then a rewrite of the same project, which is now being totally redone under the guidance of the editorial director of Del Rey Books as a trilogy rather than a standalone. (Phew, that's a lot of work!) This year I'll be starting on an entirely new project, and I'm beyond excited for October's prep time with all the worldbuilding I get to do. I'm hoping to complete the novel during November, rather than just write past the 50k and keep going afterward.

I am an associate editor of YA and adult romance with Entangled Publishing (hit me up if you're working on a romance this November!) and I work as a freelance editor for people who self-publish or want to polish their manuscripts before submitting to editors and agents. I just finalized my attendance as a VIP editor at the Chicago Spring Fling conference for the Windy City chapter of RWA. My new YA fantasy (edited by me, not written) is being used to launch Entangled's new teen paranormal imprint, Crave, on October 12th. In my sparse free/bored time, I've been messing around with a new adult romantic suspense project, as well.

Since I work from home and on deadline rather than schedule, I'm hoping to attend as many write-ins as I can, because they are SO productive! Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Hi, fellow writers! This is my 3rd Nano and I'm hoping to win this one, too! After attending Anastasia's workshop, I'm raring to go. I'm a plotter and I have my work cut out for me. This year, my novel's genre is historical fantasy - time travel / parallel worlds. I'm going to try to write it in first person, present tense with two teenage narrators, one from the present, the other from the Old West. (Lately been reading YA novels to get ideas how teenagers think.)

Elaine (fishmama)

Hello all!

I'm Heather and this will be my 4th (Okay - the first 3 were observatory) NaNo. This year, I decided enough was enough and I will be pulling myself (perhaps a little reluctantly) from the sidelines. I am telling myself that I am committed to making it happen this year. I'm definitely a pantser, but I think that might contribute to my chronic as-I-write editing.

Hopefully with motivation and a word count goal I will put a chip into the habit! I look forward to writing and interacting with you all.

Happy writing!

Hello, all!

Some of you oldtimers may remember me -- SCRTPRNCS particularly, if she shows. :) I've done Nano for years, sometimes successfully (when I used to get a weeklong business trip in November that gave me 8-10 hours of uninterrupted writing time in a quiet hotel room), more recently not (though I have been reworking my 2013 novel now to the point where it's almost done).

This year, I'm trying something new. I'm team-writing (not sure that's been done before in our region) with my 16yo son who's a junior in high school. He's my world builder and plot master, while I'm responsible for character, dialogue and --let's face it --typing. It's a YA adventure/fantasy novel, which is a pretty big departure for me.

Working on my Scrivener setup now...which is a process unto itself.But, I'm looking forward to this mother-son adventure. :)

Hi Everybody!

I'm Lisa and this is my third NaNo and second with the Naperville Region. Last year was my first time winning and I owe a lot of that to the Region events that helped keep me on track.

A couple of tips I learned last year from fellow Wrimo's really helped me so I thought I'd share them with you.

- Don't think you have to stick to the average word count a day model. Since I work a traditional full time job, getting 1667 words m-f was tough, but I could bang out extra words on the weekends. I set my goal to 1k per weekday and 4k per weekend day. This worked well for me and going to the weekend write-ins helped me reach those lofty weekend goals.

- Get ahead early. Build in a cushion that lets you spend Thanksgiving with your family without stressing about your wordcount.

- use //restaurant name// or some other code so you don't stop writing to think of names of people or places. you can use your search feature to look for all instances of // and think of names in December. Don't interrupt your flow to stop and think.

I'm happy to buddy anyone who needs encouragement and I've also been using Scrivener for a couple years if anyone needs help getting started. (I use the PC version)

Thanks to the Region Liaisons and everyone who hosts write-ins and otherwise helps!

Looking forward to another great November!

Hey!!

My name is Kathy and I have lived in the Naperville area for a while now. I have been doing NaNo since 2010 ish and I won last year.I don't know how active I will be in doing NaNo this year because of school, work and moving to a new house. But I plan on doing as much writing as I possibly can.

The story I am writing this year is an idea that has been floating around in my head for a couple years now. I have tried writing it out a couple times during NaNo, but it wasn't working out. This year I actually came up with an outline for my story, so hopefully it helps me with how I want my story to go.

*twists Paige's arm* Come...join us... we may be a cult, but we're such a fun cult! LOL

Grats on the baby! Just think how proud s/he will be when s/he gets to read the stories you finished while pregnant! (^_^)

Hey, Awnna!

Sounds like you have quite a lot going on! It was fun to meet you at the Naperville prep event - hope I see you at the big Nov 1 write-in! That's a big enough one that I figured I can travel up to Naperville for. (~_^) It's a Sunday, after all - yay for nice calendar timing this year!

Hey, Heather. Welcome aboard!

I don't know if the idea will help you at all or not, but I'm adopting a new practice to help shut that annoying inner editor away in her cage for a while: I'm typing without looking. I'll close my eyes, I'll look at the camera pinhole on my laptop, I'll look out the window, at a blank wall, at someone else... anywhere but at the screen. I admit I peek when I know my fingers have slipped and I'll correct that (can't edit later what you can't interpret!), but it really helps me to stay focused on the storytelling.

I don't always remember to do it, but when I look up andrealize that I've only written 250 words in a 30 minute session, I know it's time to keep it up a notch and stop being so damned picky. Time to close my eyes and let her rip!!

Good luck with your project this year - you can do it! (^_^)

~Kiela

Welcome back!

I know several of us are using Scrivener. It does have a bit of a steep learning curve, but if you need any help with features, I'm sure someone here will have the answer you're looking for.

Happy writing to you and your son!!

~Kiela

Hi, YA author,

I doing the same, but without a teenager to help me. Can I borrow yours? I'm writing a story narrated by two 15 year old girls, one from the present, the other from the Old West, who exchange places. It's historical fantasy/ soft sci-fi...parallel universes/ time travel. it's also a first for me. My other 2 Nanos were mainstream & mystery/thriller. Hope I can pull this one off!

Good luck team-writing your novel with your son!

Elaine (fishmama)

fishmama wrote: I'm writing a story narrated by two 15 year old girls, one from the present, the other from the Old West, who exchange places. It's historical fantasy/ soft sci-fi...parallel universes/ time travel. (fishmama)

What a cool idea! I'd love to read that.

Hi, Awnna,

After Nano and lots of revision, I would love for you to read it! Good luck with your Nano novel, too!

Elaine

Hi!

My name is Alison Colman and this is my first NaNoWriMo! I will be on vacation for 10 days in Walt Disney World but I will hopefully be inspired to write even more while there! Maybe wishful thinking but we shall see.

I'm the Teen Services Librarian at the 95th Street Naperville Public Library. Some of my hobbies include reading, writing, playing volleyball, Zumba and obsessively watching my TV shows. Too many to name here!

Good luck to everyone and see you at the potluck!

Hi,

My name is Brian Pelczarski. This will be my third NaNoWriMo and I am still looking for that first victory.

I had been hoping to be more involved in writing and in particular, The Journey group in 2015,but this year wound up beingrather turbulent for me, so looking to rebound with a strong NaNoWriMo showing. Ending the year with a victory would be awesome.

I am looking to try my hand ata superhero story with an a fall and eventual redemption arc for my protagonist, definitely influenced by Star Wars. I always hated how they did Anakin's fall in the prequels - I didn't see enough of the good man who he supposedly was to care about his fall - so I am taking great care to make my protag likable enough to make the fall tragic.

Good luck to everyone this November!

Hi everyone!

I'm Candy and I've been participating in NaNoWriMo for probably about 6 years now (under a different account), but last year was the first time I "won." Last year I lurked a lot here, but I don't think I ever posted--not even to introduce myself!

I'm really hoping to make it to some write-ins this year, as well as the kick-off potluck. I have a good friend who's very active in the Detroit area NaNoWriMo group and we were writing buddies last year. She's really encouraged me to get out and active in my own community...so that's my plan for this year.

I look forward to meeting some of you soon!

Hi all! Greetings from Texas! Claire here.

I haven't been back to Naperville since my firstNaNo, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this region.

I'm not really sure what genre I typically write in, but this year I'm planning an epic fantasy adventure.

I look forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Good luck everyone!

How perfect...friday the 13th..how perfect...because i'm writing scary fiction...i can't wait!!! <3

Hello. I'm Tanya.

Last year was my first nanowrimo and i LOVED it. it felt SO refreshing to hang out with other people who understands the feels of all those writing/reading/book nerd memes...and it felt refreshing to sit and write with those people.

I look forward to this year...as i have been in prep/planning since 2 months ago when i came across this writing planner chart on "the writer circle" on facebook. And then...shit went DOWN when i bought myself a pretty composition notebook and used my favorite pens and started writing the hell out of the pages. Amazing how one can just...get in the groove if you give them an awesome pen that writes really well.

Not to mention, i get this weird euphoric feeling when i flip through the pages of my note book and read my plans.

I am super excited to start writing...and i want to stay true to nano and write the first word starting nov 1st ...but there are moments when i get so itchy to start writing actual story...that i have to force mysef to just write notes instead. Though, there is nothing against me writing story excerpts as part of planning.

Enough about nano:

Last year was my first nano and i loved it, i am married to my husband and we just celebrated our 3 year anniversary on oct 7th...the dog (which is my avatar) is my wee little baby. at 3.5lbs and 4 years old...he is 100% full grown...so i guess you could say, i live witih 2 children in the house (come on wives, amirite?!?! lol! kidding). i am a huge geek and often wish i could just do a magical girl transformation and then run away with a handsom man into a big blue box (which makes me excited for the Doctor Who lego set coming out in december. LOVE LOVE LOVE me my legos!!)

My career right now is babysitter/nanny for 3 wonderful girls...the eldest...who is a 7th grader...loves to read books and loves to write...shh....no one tell her that she is my favorite lol! As of now, i am VERY part time, since now ALL girls are in public school and i am not needed until 3:30pm vs my previous 11am. ..so i have ALL this time to write!!! or find a second job lol!

I turn 31 on the 15th of this month...and i can't believe it's taken me since last year to try nano...I look forward to meeting you all at various events

Looking forward to meeting you at the potluck too!

May I ask? What shows do you watch?

Hello everyone! My name is Nikole and I'm a college student aiming for a degree in marketing and management. I've participated in Nano once before, so I hope this year is just as successful! I've been writing since I was six and I'm an avid reader while playing the role of a stressed out college student.

I mainly focus on writing in the fantasy/paranormal genre, but I love to play around with romance and horror and comedy. My goal is to write a novel or short story in every genre! I'm slowly preparing for Nano this year, unfortunately. I've had my novel planned since August, just haven't had the time to create a thorough outline. However, it's all in my head :D so at least I have all the details!

I look forward to working with and meeting you all! :)

Nice to meet another fellow Aurorian...are you west or east side? or no...wait...you mentioned "near aurora" lol.

Hi,
its Annerose aka Anna VanEast here, this is my third year with NaNoWriMo and I am going to rewrite the YA novel I wrote two years ago. I am going to change the POW and some other things because despite editing it for a while i found it was not working well. We'll see how that goes :-)

I am looking forward to November and hope to attend at least some of the session,
see you there

Goddess_Astra wrote:i am married to my husband

I too am anxious to get NaNo started, and I suspect I'll be up on Nov 1 writing from midnight til about 2am before I go to bed! Until then, I still have a lot to do, and I definitely don't want to wish away the time I need to get ready. I'm still working on another project, for pete's sake! LOL

Ah well. Happy writing/planning!! (^_^)

~Kiela

Successful business student by day, dedicated writer by night. You're a superhero and a writing prompt, all rolled into one! (~_^)

Welcome aboard, and happy plotting!!

~Kiela

since my hubby has been getting unlimited overtime at work...he comes home...eats dinner...and then ON TO THE COMPUTER to play skyrim for several hours with a beer at his side or whiskey on the rocks. his way of unwinding

and he wants to get an xbox one...but i give him the stern wife look "are you SURE you are going to play it?? You've been playing skyrim for the past month"

"but i'm almost done with it!! i can finish the main quest in a few days but it's all about the side quests"

we just bought a WiiU for christmas...do we really need to spend money on an xbox one?!?!?!?!?!?! ahhh....geeky/nerdy hubands and their toys lol

Hi. My name is Tim. I have been doing NaNo for several years now. I am always the optimist, in that every year I go in thinking this is the year that I convert a successful November NaNo experience into a year round writing habit. So far I have not even made it into the New Year and have only a drawer full of never edited NaNo novels to show for it. This year is definitely the year.

This year I have a barely formed concept for a fantasy novel, Our Brothers World. Three sisters have a brother who does not connect with the outside world but is always immersed in the world in his head until they find a way into that world and adventure ensues.

It is always a challenge trying to balance work and family and attend events and write-ins. I didnt make a single one last year, but when I have gone I always score huge word counts, so this is also the year I manage to attend some write-ins again.

Best of luck to everyone!

I feel ya...though last year was my first attempt into nano....i thought "i'll do this story and finish it to the end!!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOPE. It's now somewhere on my desk...and i have no idea where. i haven't seen it in a month...i haven't touched it in 6 or more months...

so i figure...last year was my "toe dipping" experience...and i liked it...so this year...lets hope i can fully immerse myself! i am taking THIS novel seriously...i hope!

Hello! Anobi, here, back for another exciting month of writing abandon. Things have been crazy so far. I haven't done any worthwhile planning yet because I have been focused on my Master's program. (Last assignment, ever, of all time, is due on Oct. 24!) I'm hoping to be able to transition right into NaNo after I finish.

This year my goal is to finish what I start. I haven't yet actually finished a novel; I usually get sidetracked somewhere along the way and end up forgetting where I was going or losing interest in the project. It's a terrible affliction to have.

Hi everyone! I'm Jen (...obviously) and this will be my 4th NaNo with the Naperville region. I've had a brutal year and have only managed to make it to one Journey meeting, so I'm really looking forward to the pressure of NaNo to help me get going on my writing again. I work Saturdays, so I don't expect to be able to make the potlucks, but I'll try to get to as many write-ins as I can.

I'm still working on editing last year's NaNo novel, so I was going to work on an old project and give myself a break from new novels, but then I got smacked with an idea for a horror story and it won't leave me alone. So.

Good afternoon all, John here. This is my first year doing NaNoWriMo. I have written approximately 100 words in my entire life in novel format. My superpower is the ability to look at a piece of paper for 2 seconds and see the spelling errors. A wee bit of insanity lends itself nicely to the creative writing process.

I had completely dedicated myself to an idea for my novel last month. Then at the workshop last week, I went off on a few different tangents and came up with a few more novel ideas that I shared with my small group. 15 minutes later I discarded them all but one, which I promptly forgot what it was about.

20 minutes ago I sat down and the NaNoWriMo website insisted I feed it an excerpt from my "novel". Winged it. Totally a pantser today. Ended up working out most of the story in my head by the time I was done with the first paragraph. Which I no doubt will come to realize is farce by the end of paragraph two or three.

I do think its best that I write a mystery, as writing itself is a mystery to me. I can keep myself on my toes, turning pages as I write, and hopefully surprise myself with a great climax towards the end.

My book will most likely involve a main character who is strong in many ways, but has achieved those strengths by disregarding or repressing other aspects of his life. I fell in love with the antihero concept reading Daniel Suarez's book Daemon (think computer program, not biblical). I want to lean heavily on how a person can disregard almost anything in life in the attempt to achieve their goals. The character will compensate by replacing his ethics with moral behavior, and in doing so end up worse off than when he started.

I hope to totally have my mind blown during the next 60 days. I will attend as many workshops as my schedule allows, and I'm really looking forward to some great constructive criticism from the group.

See you all around,
John



P.S. - Regarding my picture - I had a horrible tragedy that messed up my face bad enough to scare children. So I did what I thought any smart person would do and I googled "How to hide a deformity". It turns out a nice guy who lived underneath an old opera house had the same problem. A little costuming and bam ... problem solved.

I consider the squid as a writing prompt every year. Carol CJEGV

I lost count. This will be my SIXTH NaNo. Already changed the direction of my plot a little since I first posted. CJEGV

Hi again! I'm actually planning for this year's Nano, hoping I can find time between all of my commitments to actually write. My daughter, CatJunil, will be participating in the Young Writer's Program again with a lofty goal of 34,560 words. (Her goal last year was about a third of that.) I don't think we'll make it to the kick-off, but we'll try to be at the TGIO party again.

Frances

Hello there :)

My name is Ashley. I am from West Chicago but just moved to the Aurora/Naperville area.

I don't really know what I'm doing, if we're being honest. I've been told that I am a "good writer" but I'm not sure what that means. I have written poems and song lyrics, I write resumes and cover letters for all of my friends, etc., but I have not attempted a novel (at least not seriously) in a long time. Actually, I haven't written anything in a very long time.

This is my first NaNo, and I am very excited about it. Also slightly terrified. I have a hard time finishing things if I get discouraged, so my hope is that I can actually accomplish this. I am very determinedso we shall see how it all plays out.

Kathy from Lombard. I've started and successfully completed 5 NaNos. Signed up for one morewhile my head was still in the deciding stage, and then decided "meh, not this year." About me, well, I'm a project manager, business analyst, and technical writer currently working from home, writing under contract forGoogle. I have one short piece of published literary fiction from a zillion years ago. And I have some fun stuff on NaNo at KathyBright.com, including recommended books, tools, prompts, and even a quiz to test your 'readiness' for NaNo. (You'll find the link at the bottom of my home page.)

So I'm ba-ack. This year I'm trying something different. This year I'm looking for fodder. A spark. A notion. Perhaps a bit of serendipity. This year I'm planning on 1,633 words a day of writing prompts. Looking for that magical a-HA moment that launches meinto a rabbit hole worth chasing down. Because it's Dean Koontz who famously said...

Write, write, write. Many new authors operate under the mistaken impression that they should not sit down at the typewriter until they have thought ofan absolutely perfect idea, something to make Robert Ludlum or Lauren Sanders for Helen MacInnes weepwith envy. Perhaps you will writestacks of unpublishable material at the start of your career, but while you're writing that throwawaystuff, you will be generating better and better ideas, until at last you willbe turning out the real thing. Sometimes, during the writing of one story you will conceive the plot line ofanother story, or even for two others.

I'm trusting Mr. Koontzon this. At the end of this journey, I want piles and piles of potential. Or piles of scrap. Stacks of things that can be added, subtracted, and combined into new shiny, timey-wimey, widget-y things to explore. Or things to beignored while chasing some even newer, shinier thing. As the cover of my NaNo notebook for this year says:

Start Something Wonderful.

That's my plan.

Hi Writing People,

Looking forward to the lack of sleep and making BIG progress in November.

Progress = Happiness.

-Frank

Hi all! I'm Anna. This will be my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. When I was in college, I had friends who did it, but I never made the commitment myself until now! I wish I had done it back then, though. I had way more free time when I didn't have to spend time adulting!

As far back as I can remember, I've always been writing things - stories, journals, bad poetry, you name it. It's been a long time since I've written creatively, but now that I'm getting back into the creative mindset, I find I've really missed it, and I'm having so much fun planning out my story!

I will be working on a fantasy novel thatcame from adesire to explore a forgotten history that gets rediscovered.I plan to spend the next couple of weeks planning things out and putting it into a cohesive outline of some sort. I have written pages and pages of backstory and character motivations, etc, and I have some major plot points in mind, but I need to go back through my notes and get to the bones of the story so I actually have a plot to put down on paper next month!

It will be a challenge, but I'm really excited about it!

Doing writing prompts is a great idea! When I started thinking out my novel, I kept getting stuck. But meanwhile, I was doing daily writing prompts to get me back into a creative writing mindset, and one of them just clicked and I was able to getmy story back on track. But even the ones I did before that lead to intriguing results that I might go back and explore later! Good luck!

This will be my first time doing NaNo too, and I feel pretty much the same way you do! I haven't written anything in a long time (aside from simple things for work, like letter mailings), and I'm also pretty terrified to be doing this! Planning has helped me a lot, since I never bothered to do that with any other story I attempted to write. I figure even if I fail, it will have been an experience, and I will have made progress on my novel that I wouldn't have made otherwise!

Hey there everybody, I'm Morgan from Downers Grove, known online as Phyl, Morgan or Max, but you can call me whatever you like. This will be my...fifth nano i've attempted, though i've won only twice. I'm looking forward to being a bit more active in the region this year and not being so much of a writer goblin.

my novel will be supernatural this year, about a small town girl that falls in love with a beautiful vampire duchess, with all the drama and comedy that entails. I've been planning on and off for a few weeks, hopefully i won't run out of steam before november starts like what happened this summer. We'll see.

Looking forward to write ins and squids all over the place!

No need to be anxious...last year was my first nano and i can tell you...the best advice is to just have fun. find a spot you like...whether it's a cafe, starbucks, or library...heck...even wear "writer" inspired clothes with lots of scarves and big sweaters...and once you find that zone...you'll forget about time until the store manager taps you on the shoulder to remind you that "we are closing in 15 minutes"

That's acctually...pretty solid advice...it's advice i've been trying to stick with...it's even on my chalk board as a daily goal (along with others) to: write once daily...

that...once daily...turned into twice weekly...which turned into once weekly...which turned into 2 weeks of no writing...oops lol

Welcome to nano!! Will you be attending some write-in events...or the all day write in...or potluck...or tgio event?

Hello,

I am Dan, aka Phoenix Autumn. I am a member of the Writing Journey and the anthologist for our upcoming short story anthology, Voices from the Dark.

With school and work, I'm honestly not expecting to "win" NaNoWriMo this year (unlike my awesome job of winning last year). But hopefully I can at least finish the first draft of the novel I started last year.

That would be awesome sauce!

Don't sell yourself short this year. You might get into a writing frenzy and go for the "gold". Personally, I always go for the quantity words and then wait on the quality words to come after November. Unfortunately some of those quality words are still unminted and waiting their discovery.

Hope you reach your personal goals this year and Happy Writing/Editing.

Dave

Your story idea sounds really cool! :) I'd read that. My story is about non-straight women too, although it's less of a romance and more of a science fiction novel. But I figure I might as well write what I know!