See this thread for copies of the regional e-mail posts we make in 2016 (or in 2017 before the start of the 2017 NaNo season).

Welcome back to NaNoWriMo!

Hi, I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid; Sam McAdams (samcadams),Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders) and I are your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for this region of Naperville that serves the cities and suburbs west of Chicago. We have a great slate of five preparatory workshops in October leading up to the pot-luck lunch kick-off party Saturday, October 29th (keep an eye out for the RSVP thread in our regional forum).

Five workshops are planned for 2016: see the events calendar for logistics

• 1-3 pm, Sunday, Oct 2nd, Woodridge Public Library, Kat Stepp - What The Heck is an AGONIST? - One who is engaged in a struggle. Seems easy enough. Until you start strapping prefixes and suffixes to the word and you end up in a mortal fight to the death. You can always develop characters through their actions and relationships with each other. Antagonist vs. Protagonist, age old story. What about developing them with scenery? Paint a picture so vivid with your words that the reader won't just understand, but actually empathize with your characters. Your characters deserve so much more than good vs evil. These are all areas we will go through in the workshop, and with time permitting we will even have some practice time Bring your questions and a pen, hope to see many of you there.
• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 8, Nichols Library (Naperville), Sarah Johnson - This isnt your storys final form. Theres a lot of advice in the world about how to be a better author, how to create a more compelling story or more relatable characters, and its all designed to encourage you to write, but the truth is, none of this advice will actually help you on your first draft. What will help? Pure writing. So all that stuff about being a better writer? Forget it, because the next best-seller isnt going to spring fully-formed from your brain. Its going to end up a giant document of full of plot holes, terrible dialogue, forgotten story arcs, and flat characters. And that... is awesome. Why? Because you cant make your masterpiece without a first draft. This workshop will help authors and authors-to-be prepare for the insane festival of NaNoWriMo by helping them embrace terrible writing and motivating them to finish their first draft as they remember: This isnt their storys final form.
• 1-4 pm, Sunday, Oct 9th, Glen Ellyn Public Library, Sam McAdams - Story Wall Party - Do you have a great idea for a novel, but are looking for help on how it should start? Have you created an amazing new world and a long list of interesting characters, but are in desperate need of a plot? Is there a story burning inside you, but youre not sure how to turn it into a novel? Is your story mostly planned, but there are still a few nagging issues you want resolved before you start writing? If you answered yes to any of these questions or are looking for ideas to help complete your novel planning, come out to the Story Wall Party. During this brainstorming event, participants will present their novel plans/ideas and receive advice on anything theyre struggling with. Come prepared with note cards or visuals to quickly describe your novel ideas and explain your trouble spots. Then let the brainstorming begin.
• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 15, Nichols Library (Naperville), Melinda Borucki - Who are your characters? - Youve decided to do NaNoWriMo. Great! Youve have a general idea of what you want to write about, and perhaps sort of know who your characters are, but how well do you really know them? Does your character have brown hair? No hair at all? Do they prefer coffee or tea? Do they like Pepsi or Coke or no pop at all? Are they an only child? Grew up in the country? Come get to know your characters even better with this character building workshop. Here well do exercises to better understand our characters and get those creative juices flowing. We all need a little warm up before we embark on our novel writing marathon, so please come prepared to flex those creative muscles. Well be doing a few writing exercises as well as discuss a few tips and tricks to help keep your stories cohesive as you write.
• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 22, Nichols Library (Naperville), Brian Cable - Strategies for Success in NaNo - November's coming up, and the ideas just aren't coming. You're starting to worry that you'll have to put off writing your novel until next year. Well tell those worries to go hide in a corner because it ain't over yet! Get some last minute tips for planning your novel (or learn how to wing it), get plot and character ideas from the group, and learn some strategies to help you overcome any roadblocks you might encounter during November. And for those who are well prepared in advance, these strategies can also help you adapt to any surprises that spring up as your novel develops and changes from what you've planned.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

--Tim

The first NaNoWriMo Prep Workshop for 2016 is this Sunday!!

• Title: What The Heck is an AGONIST?
• Date:Sunday, Oct 2nd
• Time: 1-3 pm, ,
• Location: Woodridge Public Library,
• Presenter: Kat Stepp
• Description: One who is engaged in a struggle. Seems easy enough. Until you start strapping prefixes and suffixes to the word and you end up in a mortal fight to the death. You can always develop characters through their actions and relationships with each other. Antagonist vs. Protagonist, age old story. What about developing them with scenery? Paint a picture so vivid with your words that the reader won't just understand, but actually empathize with your characters. Your characters deserve so much more than good vs evil. These are all areas we will go through in the workshop, and with time permitting we will even have some practice time Bring your questions and a pen, hope to see many of you there.

There are four additional workshops scheduled for October, as well as the pot-luck kick-off party:

• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 8, Nichols Library (Naperville), Sarah Johnson - This isnt your storys final form.
• 1-4 pm, Sunday, Oct 9th, Glen Ellyn Public Library, Sam McAdams - Story Wall Party
• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 15, Nichols Library (Naperville), Melinda Borucki - Who are your characters?
• 1-3 pm, Saturday, Oct 22, Nichols Library (Naperville), Brian Cable - Strategies for Success in NaNo
• 11:45am-2:45pm, Saturday, Oct 29,Lunch room, Naperville Municipal Center -NaNoWriMo Kick-off for the Naperville region

To see the full descriptions of the workshops go to the NaperWriMo Preparatory Workshop page. The logistics and details for all of the Naperville region's NaNoWriMo events can be see on ourevents calendar.

Don't forget tointroduce yourself in our 2016 welcome (back) threadand keep an eye out for the Pot-luck Kick-Off partyRSVP thread in our regional forum.

Looking forward to seeing youall in the coming weeks as we prepare for another awesome NaNo season.

Sam McAdams (samcadams) - volunteer Municipal Liaisonfor the Naperville regionalong withTim Yao aka NewMexicoKid; Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

Hello NaperWriMro Writers,

November is only 4 weeks! We a number events planned for this week to get you prepared and inspired.

• Our second Nano Prep Workshop is this Saturday from 1-3 pm at the Nichols Library in Naperville. Sarah Johnson (Anobi) will present the workshop titled, This isnt your storys final form.
  • Theres a lot of advice in the world about how to be a better author, how to create a more compelling story or more relatable characters, and its all designed to encourage you to write, but the truth is, none of this advice will actually help you on your first draft. What will help? Pure writing. So all that stuff about being a better writer? Forget it, because the next best-seller isnt going to spring fully-formed from your brain. Its going to end up a giant document of full of plot holes, terrible dialogue, forgotten story arcs, and flat characters. And that... is awesome. Why? Because you cant make your masterpiece without a first draft. This workshop will help authors and authors-to-be prepare for the insane festival of NaNoWriMo by helping them embrace terrible writing and motivating them to finish their first draft as they remember: This isnt their storys final form.
• The region's first everyStory Wall Party is Sunday, Oct 9th from 1-4 pm at the Glen Ellyn Public Library hosted by Sam McAdams (samcadams).
  • Do you have a great idea for a novel, but are looking for help on how it should start? Have you created an amazing new world and a long list of interesting characters, but are in desperate need of a plot? Is there a story burning inside you, but youre not sure how to turn it into a novel? Is your story mostly planned, but there are still a few nagging issues you want resolved before you start writing? If you answered yes to any of these questions or are looking for ideas to help complete your novel planning, come out to the Story Wall Party. During this brainstorming event, participants will present their novel plans/ideas and receive advice on anything theyre struggling with. Come prepared with note cards or visuals to quickly describe your novel ideas and explain your trouble spots. Then let the brainstorming begin.
  • For more details see the Story Wall Party Thread in the Naperville region's forum
  • Please RSVP to the Story Wall Party thread and let us know what genre you plan to write in. We will do our best to group Story Wallers by genre.

• The first ever national Indie Author Day is this Saturday and a couple of the local libraries have events planned.
  • Indie Author Day: Plainfield Library
    • Author Panel Q&A, 10:00 AM: Hear from traditional and self-published authors from the Plainfield area about their writing and publishing process. Co-ML Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders) and regional member Mary Lynette Moore (Mary Lynette) will be participating in the panel!!! Registration link
    • Author Fair, 11:00 AM: Meet with more than 15 local authors who write fiction, childrens books, romance and more. Authors will sell and sign their books. Enter a drawing to win book gift baskets from these fantastic authors.No registration required.
    • Digital Gathering With Industry Leaders, 1:00 PM: Writers, authors and readers are invited to join an hour-long digital gathering featuring Q&A with writers, agents and other industry leaders. Learn more about the experts who will be featured on the digital presentation athttp://indieauthorday.com/blog/stream. The digital gathering will be streamed live at the Library, but you can also tune into the Indie Author Day YouTube channel to watch the live panel presentation. No registration required.
  • Indie Author Day @ Fountaindale Public Library - Bolingbrook, from 12:30 to 2:30
    • An in-person and digital gathering with writers, agents, and other industry leaders featuring presentations for our Fountaindale writing community about all the tools available to use at the library. Local Indie Author, Marilyn Ludwig, will be sharing her writing journey, too. Ludwig has published four novels: Searching for Juliette, Haste Ye Back, and Its Perfectly Safe have been enjoyed by young adults and adults. The Secret of Kendall Mountain is more appropriate for middle grade and young young adults. Dont miss out on this opportunity for authors to connect.

To view all of the Naperville region's NaNoWriMo events go to ourevents calendar.

Don't forget tointroduce yourself in our 2016 welcome (back) threadand keep an eye out for the Pot-luck Kick-Off partyRSVP thread in our regional forum.

Hope to see a number of you this weekend.

Thanks - Sam McAdams (samcadams) - volunteer Municipal Liaisonfor the Naperville regionalong withTim Yao aka NewMexicoKid; Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

I hope that everyone's preparations for NaNoWriMo are preceding apace. We've held four prep workshops thus far(see link for the slides and notes on those), with one left Saturday, October 22nd, 1-3 pm, Nichols Library (Brian Cable is leading a session to coverStrategies for Success in NaNo).

We have also scheduled a virtual prep workshop for Monday, October 17th, 8 pm CDT. This will be held in our slack channel chat room. We'll cover whatever topics those attending are interesting, probably beginning with mindmapping for NaNo prep and a virtual (pre) story wall.

Be sure to RSVP for our pot-luck lunch kick-off party Saturday, October 29th, 11:45 AM-2:45 PM, Naperville Municipal Center. There will be some nice door prizes (including two of the beautiful NaNo posters), great food (hey, it's a pot-luck), fun games and the best company to spend the final days before the start of November madness--your fellow writers (and their family and friends).

Don't forget tointroduce yourself in our 2016 welcome (back) threadin our regional forum.

Hope to see a number of you this Saturday. You can always see our full slate of local events at naperwrimo.org/events.

Thanks! Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

We have also scheduled a virtual prep workshop for Sunday, October 23rd, 8 pm CDT. This will be held in our slack channel chat room. This will be our third (and maybe final) prep workshop; see notes from the second one). If you missed our five Octoberpreparatory workshops, you can still find the notes at naperwrimo.org/prep. Many thanks to Kat Stepp (Kat's Meow), Sarah Johnson (anobi), Sam McAdams (samcadams), Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders) and Brian Cable (cableshaft) for their wonderful prep workshops.

Be sure to RSVP for our pot-luck lunch kick-off party Saturday, October 29th, 11:45 AM-2:45 PM, Naperville Municipal Center. There will be some nice door prizes (including two of the beautiful NaNo posters that otherwise you can only get for the $100 donation to NaNoWriMo), great food (hey, it's a pot-luck), fun games and the best company to spend the final days before the start of November madness--your fellow writers (and their family and friends).

Take a look at theSpace NaNo Bingo!It's a fun way to give yourself some objectives to shoot for in November.

Don't forget tointroduce yourself in our 2016 welcome (back) threadin our regional forum. And, if you like, you can sign up for theNaperWriMo community word count graph (NaNo Faces).

We have write-ins scheduled almost every day in November. Most of these are part of the fun Library Crawl, coordinated by Sarah Kovac (sarahk06). Now in its third year, it provides those who go to the participating write-ins opportunities to win some nice prizes at the TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over) party December 10th. Every time you attend a Library Crawl write-in, you can get a Library-specific Space Tourism card.

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Win some karma and consider helping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses.

Thanks! I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

NaNoWriMo 2016is almost here.

Come join us at the region's kick off party this Saturday, November 29th from 11:45am to 2:45pm at the Naperville Municipal Center. There's still time toRSVP. There will be door prizes, including the highly sought after NaNo posters typically reserved only for those who dontate$100 to NaNoWriMo. There will be food, games, last minute NaNo tips, and a photo opportunity, so bring your stuffed animal. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring the neighbors. Note, early voting is going on at the Municipal Center, so best to park in the underground garage.

If you haven't already introduced yourself on the region's2016 welcome threadwhat are you waiting for? Go to the thread and get that done.

To participate in the region's word count graph and track your NaNo progress against others in the region, sign up by going totheNaperWriMo community word count graph (NaNo Faces)thread.

If you're looking for a place to write in November check out the region's calendar of events. There is a write-in scheduled every day in November, except Thanksgiving. (Any volunteers to schedule a Thanksgiving day write-in?) Most of the write-in are a part of theLibrary Crawl, coordinated by Sarah Kovac (sarahk06). Every time you attend a Library Crawl write-in, collecta Library-specific Space Tourism card. Each card can be redeemed for a raffle ticket towin prizes at the TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over) party December 10th.

Besides the Library Crawl, Kim Strang's Barnes and Noble in Bolingbrook will being hosting write-in and is home to small local writing group which meets twice a month for warm-up writing exercises and short critiques of 1 to 4 pages.

For some extra fun this NaNo season check outtheSpace NaNo Bingo!

Hope to see you all Saturday

Sam McAdams (samcadams), one of thevolunteer Naperville region Municipal Liaisons along with Tim Yao (NewMexicoKid)and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

The All-Day-Write-in is this Saturday(November 12th), hosted by Sam Brown (Basil Cliffside) and Kaden Patrick (silverwolf42), 8 AM-3 PM and beyond at Room B in the Naperville Municipal Center (lower level). Bring your own lunch (optionally bring a dish or a snack to share), your laptop, power supply (and optionally an extension cord and power strip).There will be word wars, prizes, special "event cards" for challenges and inspiration, and more. Sam and Kaden are planning to take the write-in on the road to a cafe afterwards and then to hold a mid-month dinner meet-up. Please let themknow if you're interested in the after-event activities.

Today is Wednesday, November 9th. If you are on the 1667 words per day plan, you should have15,003 words by the end of today. Are you behind? Don't give up! You can still catch up. There's plenty of time (but don't get complacent!). And plenty of write-ins coming up. If you're having some plot problems, try the Plot Doctoring forum.

Consider joining the NaperWriMo community word count graph (NaNo Faces)by simply posting in that thread. This will put you in this chart so you can see how you're doing relative to others in the community. You could nanomail a challenge to someone just above you in word count or a helpful word to someone just below you. :-)

You can also stop by our regional chatroom for an online word war. You might want to post in this thread or write a new thread to schedule something if you want a lot of folks to show up.

Brian Cable (cableshaft) is hosting the Sunday write-in at Nichols Library this weekend (I'll resume hosting these afterwards--thanks, Brian, for covering for me). He has Library Crawl cards and word war prizes.

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Win some karma and consider helping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses.

Thanks! I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

Hello fellow writers,

Today marks the midpointof the November, which means in theory you should be about halfway done with your novel or at 25,000 words. If youre behind the pace, do not fret. There is still plenty of time to make up that deficient, but more importantly, simply enjoy the time you do spend writing. The true meaning of NaNo is to get writing. It doesnt matter how many words, its just the fact that youre writing. For those who have already surpassed the 50K mark, congratulations on your NaNo win and keep on writing.

Todays Write-ins: There are three library write-ins schedule for today (Nov 15^th) and I planning to hit all three. I know, it sounds crazy, but , well, OK, I guess it sounds crazy, because it is crazy. Its still my plan, anyway.

• Kaden Patrick (KadenPeregrine) will be hosting the write-in at the Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien which runs from 6 to 9.
• Brian Cable (cableshaft) will be hosting the write-in at the College of DuPage library from 6:30 to 9:30
• There is no host scheduled for the Downers Grove Library write-in which goes from 5 to 9, so I can only assume it will be run as an autonomous anarcho-syndacalist commune and I look forward to that.

Write-ins the rest of the week:

• Wednesday:
  • Helen Plum Library in Lombard from 5:30 to 8:30. (I will be hosting - samcadams)
  • Elmhurst Library from 6:30 to 8:30 (Library staff is hosting)
• Thursday Thomas Ford Library in Western Springs from 5 to 9 hosted by Ed Pongklub (FredDuck)
• Friday Plainfield Library from 9:30am to 1pm hosted by Kat Stepp (Kats Meow)
• Saturday:
  • Woodridge Library from 9am to 12pm hosted by Catherine Brennan (Cee-Bee)
  • Plainfield Library from 9:30am to 1pm hosted by Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders)
  • Glenside Library in Glendale Heights from 1 to 4 (no host)
  • Fountaindale Library in Bolingbrook from 2 to 4 hosted by the Library Staff
• Sunday - Nichols Library in Naperville from 1:30 to 4:30 hosted by Tim Yao (NewMexicoKid)

A mid-month meet-up is scheduled for this Sunday at Ballydoyles in Downers Grove. Folks will be socializing over dinner from 5:30 to 7:30 while listening to the Whiskey Brothers, which includes NaperWriMo member Paula Johannesen (catatone1). So for those planning to go to Nichols Library write-in that afternoon, stop by afterwards for dinner, music, and socializing. There will also be folks writing at Ballydoyles from 3:30 to 5:30. See the Nov. 20th Irish Pub write-in and meet-up forum thread for full details.

Its not too late to sign up for the NaperWriMo community word graph by going to the Nano Faces thread in the regional forums.

You can also stop by our regional chatroom for an online word war. Bestto create anew thread to schedule something if you want a lot of folks to show up.

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Please considerhelping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses.

Thanks!

Sam McAdams (samcadams) one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Tim Yao (NewMexicoKid) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

We're heading into the final stretch: today is November 23rd; tomorrow is the first of the final seven days of NaNoWriMo 2016. Are you on track? If not, think about attending some write-ins to catch up. Stop by the regional chat room for some word wars. Or take the 18k challengeto write 3000 words per day for the final six days and win a special button (shiny)!

Visit naperwrimo.org/events to see the many write-ins between now and the end of the month. This includes the final Saturday write-in at Carol Stream, Sam'sSmall Business Saturday Cafe Crawl (Nov 26th), and the last Nichols Library write-in (Nov 27th)(lots of word war prizes to be given out then).

Congrats to those on our regional wordcount graph who have crossed the 50K mark:

#	Name	Words	Reaction
1	writergirlmel	256349		Congrats, you've won! Be sure to validate!
2	Spellguns	164304
3	mochomito	82481
4	TRRDEDEAN	62481
5	mongrelvw	57052
6	odd soul	54067
7	Silira	52236

Keep an eye out for our TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over) Party RSVP thread. It will be posted shortly. The TGIO is from 11:45 AM-2:45 PM on Saturday, December 10th.It will be a pot-luck lunch celebration.

Many thanks to Sam Brown (Basil Cliffside) and Kaden Patrick (KadenPeregrine) for hosting the fun-filled all-day write-in!

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Win some karma and consider helping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses. Also:stop by and express your appreciation of the hard-working NaNoWriMo headquarters staff (NaNo Staff Appreciation Day)

Thanks! I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

Whether you've already passed 50,000 word, or whether you've readjusted your goal to something manageable, orespecially if you're approaching the 50,000 goal, DON'T STOP WRITING NOW. We've still got two more days of this fun to go.

Library CrawlWrite-ins for these last couple of days:

• Tonight:
  • Plainfield Library from 5:30 to 9
  • Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien from 6 to 9
  • Glenside Library in Glendale Heights from 6 to 9
• Tomorrow night:
  • Downers Grove Library from 5 to 9
  • Plainfield Library from 5:30 to 9
  • Elmhurst Library from 6:30 to 8:30

The TGIO pot-luck will be Saturday, December 10th at the Naperville Municipal Center from 11:45 to 2:45. RSVP at our our TGIO forum threadand let us know what you plan to bring. And don't forget to bring yourLibrary Crawl cards.

Congrats:

• Congratulations to all who have passed the 50K goal and remember to validate. Don't wait. Do it now. The site can get really busy in those final hours. You can continue toupdate your word count after validating.
• Congratulations to those on our NaNo Faces graph who have won:
  • writergirlmel, Spellguns, mochomito, TRRDEDEAN, Animollya, NewMexicoKid, odd soul, Cee-Bee, alkamy, KadenPeregrine, mongrelvw, Mary Frances Gualandri, Silira, IcicleFerret, KatherineWriting, samcadams, HuMVee15, johnthetech, tireddadx3, mom_n_co, tregina12000
• Also, cheers go out to folks who have already completed the18k challenge:
  • writergirlmel,writertodd07, andcallalily05.
• Finally - hooray to all who wrote with us this November. We all have more words written now than we did at the start of the month.

Looking for for what to do after NaNo? Consider joining the Writing Journey, a free year-round a la carte writing group associated with the Napervile NaNo region. For more details see the Writing Journey thread in the regional forums.

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Please considerhelping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses.As you may already be aware, today is #GivingTuesday and NaNo is looking to raise funds to distribute 2017 Young Writers Program classroom kits.

Thanks!

Sam McAdams (samcadams) one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Tim Yao (NewMexicoKid) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

Table of Contents (since this is a bit long)

• Congratulations
• Thanks
• Celebratory TGIO Party - logistics
• What to do after NaNo
• NaNoWriMo

First, congratulations to all those who wrote in November. Whether you made your 50K objective or not, whether you finished your story or not, as Sarah J. told us in her prep workshop, every word written is a precious step forward in your writing journey, something that will help you make progress in developing your stories.

Congratulations to all of those who made their 50K wordcount in November. Those homed to Naperville: Spellguns, Madame de la Barricade, Knyghtraven, ThatOneGinger, mom_n_co, mochomito, Kat's Meow, TRRDEDEAN, Animollya, AmyAlessio, bdillvarga, odd soul, NewMexicoKid, iOc of FF, ZeffLister, Cee-Bee, KadenPeregrine, alkamy, WhimsicalSnowflake, crispycannibal, Mary Frances Gualandri, johnthetech, IcicleFerret, mongrelvw, The PRO fessor, anitairons, WillowSanders, grnhrnyrnspnnr, Silira, tregina12000, Rachel_Anne, rons_pigwidgeon, Bauer4, Me - n - Jesus, Expatri8, samcadams, epeedoug, tireddadx3, Frost E. King, KatherineWriting, Kamille Leak, ajkimbers, fishmama, CindysNovel623, MaryK171, artemiskid, L. Evans, Grachael, sorakazeno, Almost Athena, Kwajgal, SadieRose, SMattimiro, HuMVee15, Larkk, SLM18, rebel_cheese, bird7s, linusandlucy, BennyBoytheMagnificant, cableshaft, KayTi, MoonshinesGuide, deanshake, Lois Y Easley, callalily05, Micizzle, orty8, Johnsonkathy1215, swimyfishy44, Nidia.Ceylon, adavaughan, writertodd07, Horizon77, BetsyD, grayliz, PurpleCat09, meashastone, Schmabsagail, Tokaara, Evenchaos146, Valante byDesign, Vanilla_Lion, MelShakespeare, Avatarra, AriaDear, maryrosey, Uniasus, Lucky4432, Sherrie Henry, Icefeather, JPAT, Zookeeper605, JoeCur, horatio, eBirdie, doconnor, Falconlore, Meowtain von Kailus, DemonFoxx, Evestory, AnnaVanEast, Lavenderleaf31, Rynsgonnawin, Kimberly Christianson Kennedy, RLShepherd, YeungJeans, ShiroXIX, rjk122, kb4night, Fr0st6yte, Samantha243, Lordhigheverythingelse.

In our regional NaNo Faces graph, 56% of those in the graph made it past 50,000 words. Congratulations to: writergirlmel (332983), Spellguns (205289), mom_n_co (100798), mochomito (94158), and Kat's Meow (94020) for the top five wordcounts in the NaNo Faces graph. Congrats also to: TRRDEDEAN, Animollya, bdillvarga, odd soul, NewMexicoKid, Cee-Bee, KadenPeregrine, alkamy, Mary Frances Gualandri, johnthetech, IcicleFerret, mongrelvw, WillowSanders, Silira, tregina12000, rons_pigwidgeon, Me - n - Jesus, samcadams, tireddadx3, KatherineWriting, fishmama, MaryK171, L. Evans, SadieRose, HuMVee15, cableshaft, callalily05, Nidia.Ceylon, writertodd07, Schmabsagail, Vanilla_Lion, Uniasus, horatio, Falconlore, Evestory, AnnaVanEast, and RLShepherd.

Congratulations to the 18k challenge winners: writergirlmel, writertodd07, callalily05, Rynsgonnawin, Animollya, TRRDEDEAN, and cableshaft; and congratulations to all who participated.

Many thanks to Sarah Kovac, who set up, ran and coordinated the third annual Library Crawl program. Thanks also to all those who volunteered to host the write-ins: cableshaft, Cee-Bee, Christine Delphy, Dawn Weeks, eleanor.roth, FredDuck, IcicleFerret, KadenPeregrine, Kat's Meow and JohnTheTech, Kjplonz42, Mary Lynette, NewMexicoKid, samcadams, sarahk06, and Willow Sanders.

We also thank all the participating libraries: Batavia, Carol Stream, College of DuPage Library, Elmhurst Library, Fountaindale Public Library (Bolingbrook), Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Glenside Public Library (Glendale Heights), Helen Plum Library (Lombard), Indian Prairie (Darien), LaGrange Park, Naperville (Nichols Library), Plainfield, Thomas Ford (Western Springs), Wheaton, and Woodridge.

With special thanks to our sponsoring partners: the Naperville Public Library (Shannon McGregor), Glen Ellyn (Amy Franco), and Woodridge (Patti Naisbitt). Glen Ellyn and Woodridge Public Libraries are sponsors of the Writing Journey.

Thanks, again, to the volunteers who helped us offer five preparatory workshops in October: Kat Stepp (Kat's Meow), ably assisted by John Mullins (JohnTheTech); Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders), Sarah Johnson (anobi/IcicleFerret), Sam McAdams (samcadams), and Brian Cable (cableshaft). They all did a wonderful job.

You've labored hard this month on your novel. Now it's time to rest and party a little with your fellow writers! RSVP in this thread to our fun-filled, pot-luck lunch Thank Goodness It's Over (TGIO) party. 11:45 AM-2:45 PM, Saturday, December 10th in the Lunch Room of the Naperville Municipal Center.

ONLY those who RSVP will receive a certificate and graph of their NaNo progress; and ONLY those who RSVP will be entered into a drawing for various door prizes, including the book: Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise, 2nd edition

The party is a pot-luck event that begins with a fun ice-breaker to help people get to know each other. Bring your favorite stuffed animal for our group photo and help us sing our regional song (Typing Away Again Near Dear Ol' Naperville, a parody of Margaritaville).

Be sure, also, to bring your library crawl cards that you've been gathering for attending the library write-ins. You'll be able to use them to get tickets for the Library Crawl prizes.

The Naperville Municipal Center is located one block south of the Nichols Public Library; everyone bringing a dish or something to contribute to the pot-luck can park in the underground parking area. From there, it is just a turn to your right as you enter the door. If you park in the above-ground parking lot, just come down the stairs and head to your right.

Join the Writing Journey. This is our regional writing community, an a la carte writing group where anyone can create a Path for others to follow. There is no membership fee and all our activities are open to everyone (just like our regional activities).

Paths can be a one-time social event like a lunch or dinner out at a restaurant or a picnic or they can be as complex as a short story anthology. Some recent popular Paths include: short story anthologies, the (in-person) Critiquing group, the Accountability Path, the query path, the the Editing Path, the MiniWriMo challenge (10k in 2 weeks), the Writer's Voice workshop, Shakespeare Reader's Theatre, the Japanesey/Asian Paths, the Writing Excuses Master Class and the Poetry Path.

The Journey is a fun group--I encourage you to join it and explore what we have to offer.

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Win some karma and consider helping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses.

Thanks! I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

What to do after NaNo

We're in the cold middle part of December; NaNoWriMo may just be a warm memory for many as they tuck away their finished (or unfinished) novels to, ah, gain some objective perspective before editing/finishing. But it is actually a very good time to think about what happens next. Do you stick your novel and creativity into a drawer until next November? Or will you make some plans on how to continue with your beloved characters?

First, Sam, Melinda and I would appreciate your helpful feedback to improve our regional NaNoWriMo preparations for 2017. Please visit and fill out the survey here: naperwrimo.org/survey2016/

Second, consider joining the Writing Journey. This is our regional writing community, an a la carte writing group where anyone can create a Path for others to follow. There is no membership fee and all our activities are open to everyone (just like our regional activities). Join by filling out this short form: writingjourney.org/join

Paths can be a one-time social event like a lunch or dinner out at a restaurant or a picnic or they can be as complex as a short story anthology. Some recent popular Paths include: short story anthologies, the (in-person) Critiquing group, the Accountability Path, the query path, the the Editing Path, the MiniWriMo challenge (10k in 2 weeks), the Writer's Voice workshop, Shakespeare Reader's Theatre, the Japanesey/Asian Paths, the Writing Excuses Master Class and the Poetry Path.

The Journey is a fun group--I encourage you to join it and explore what we have to offer.

Lost a blue scarf at the TGIO? I picked this up after the TGIO, but no one has contacted me, so I will drop it off in the Naperville Municipal Center lost and found on Monday, December 19th.

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month, a 501c3 non-profit organization, provides its wonderful forums, stages the larger event, coordinates over 900 volunteers in many different locations and supports the Young Writers Program that benefits so many school-aged children around the world. Win some karma and consider helping NaNoWriMo meet its expenses. Thanks to all of you who have helped NaNoWriMo with your donations!

Thanks for a fun NaNo season; and best wishes for happy holidays and a bright, successful year in 2017. I'm Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid, one of yourvolunteer Municipal Liaisons for the Naperville regionalong with Sam McAdams (samcadams) and Melinda Borucki (Willow Sanders).

Happy Summer to everyone! I hope that this note finds you all well, happy and making good progress on your writing and creative projects.

Some of you may have seen the e-mail from NaNo HQ about the Great NaNoWriMo Road Trip, the initiative to generate funds needed for a significant improvement to the NaNoWriMo site. If you can spare some money for this effort, it will help determine the scope of what they can tackle. Some possibilities:

• Making the site more active year-round, with powered-up goal trackers and word-sprint tools.
• Improving the word-count updater and statistics with more options on how to view your stats and what you want to track.
• New forums with more personalization and better discovery tools
• Improved regions functionality, with event invites, group chat space, scheduling tools.
• A much-improved mobile experience for phones and tablets

A lot of interesting wishes from wrimos are posted in this thread:Your dream NaNoWriMo website(Site & Message Board Feedback & Suggestions). There is also this thread if you have questions about this effort:The Great NaNoWriMo Road Trip Q&A Thread.

Closer to home, we have a couple of events you might be interested in:

• June 10 (Saturday), noon-4 pm (bring your own lunch) at the Woodridge Public Library, we have the last Journey meeting till September. There will be two workshops: A story setting workshop by Anna Gabrielli; and Creative process, getting that spark, by Sam McAdams. All are welcome!
• June 17th (Saturday), 1-4 pm at the Woodridge Public Library is the Writer's Voice workshop. Registration is free but required--space is limited.Your writers voice is the distinctive quality of your writing that characterizes it in the minds of those who read your works. Readers fall in love with their favorite authors writing voice and seek out their books. Becoming aware of your own writing voice is a helpful step towards mastering the craft of writing. This free three-hour workshop held at the Woodridge Public Library is designed to help you understand what your writers voice is. Participants should bring paper and pen and/or their laptop computer as there will be writing exercises.

The Plainfield Public Library (Plainfield, IL) is planning events for Indie Author Day in October and we are looking for local authors to participate. Attention Local Writers & Authors Indie Author Day will be onOctober 14and is a national event where libraries all over the country host programs to support their local writing community. The Plainfield Public Library District is planning a series of sessions on Indie Author Day. If you are a writer and are interested in participating, please fill out thisformbyJune 30and the Library will be in touch. https://goo.gl/forms/2e8qbO8OmcSg68cl2

Thank you for considering.

Kind regards,

Kara Kohn
Plainfield Public Library District
kkohn@plainfieldpubliclibrary.org
815-436-6639 x233