Archived regional mails, starting with [USA :: Illinois :: Naperville] The 2018 NaNo Season is Upon Us!
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Copyright © 1999 - 2019 National Novel Writing Month :: All posted novel excerpts remain copyright to their authors.
Hi! I'm Tim (akaNewMexicoKid), one of three volunteer co-Municipal Liaisons with Sam (samcadams) and Jenny (GwenTolios). We'd like to welcome you to the 2018 NaNoWriMo season!
You can read about these and other events at ournaperwrimo.org/eventspage.
Be sure to let us know if you have any questions!
--Tim (co-ML for USA::Illinois::Naperville)
NaNo is coming in less than a month. If you're not ready, no worries. Volunteers from The Writing Journey writers group and the Chicago chapter of the Romance Writers Association, along with the support of the Naperville NaNoWriMo regional leadsand area libraries have four prep workshop planned for October.
The first workshop is this Saturday, October 6th, from 1 to 3 at the Nichols Library in downtown Naperville.
Allie Pleiter, an award-winning bestselling author with over thirty titles to her name will and member of the Chicago chapter of the Romance Writers Association, will lead the workshop. Allie will go over her Chunky Method, a step-by-step guide to identify your unique writing chunk and wield it to create a solid plan.No matter what your writing style, The Chunky Method will help you chart an individualized path to your creative writing goals.
Pleiters innovative Chunky Method offers practical, real-world productivity advice in an easy to read and inspiring workbook. Follow a step-by-step plan to identify your unique writing Chunk and wield it to create a solid plan that works even when life gets in the way. No matter what your writing style, The Chunky Method Handbook will help you chart an individualized path to your creative writing goals.
Here are quotes from previous workshop attendees:
"Implementing the Chunky Method has charged my writing with confidence, quadrupled my productivity, organized my days, and enhanced my enjoyment of life. Allie is my hero!"
"I was overwhelmed, but now I feel fantastic
Im only one day into putting your processes into action; but wow, what a difference in my productivity and happiness.
"Some of the most valuable, and applicable information I've received in over fourteen years of conferences and online classes.
Award-winning bestselling author of over thirty books, Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four novels at a time. The dare from a friend to begin writing has produced a seventeen-year career with over 1.4 million books sold.In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on faith, the creative process, womens issues, and her very favorite topicThe Chunky Method of time management for writers. Visit her website atwww.alliepleiter.comto learn more.
ViewAllie's welcome to the Naperville NANO workshopvideo to get a taste of what to expect on Saturday.
Visit thePreparatory Workshops in Octoberthread in the Naperville Regional forums for details on the other 3 prep-workshops and go tonaperwrimo.org/eventsto view the full set of NaNo events planned for the region.
Finally, don't forgot to introduce yourself atWelcome to NaNoWriMo 2018! Introduce yourself here.thread.
Hope to see you on Saturday
Sam McAdams
If you have any questions about Nano or the prep workshops, don't hesitate to reach out to me (samcadams) or one of the other regional co-Municipal Liaisons, Tim (NewMexicoKid) orJenny (GwenTolios)
Hello!
We are near mid-October, with little more than half a month before the start of National Novel Writing Month. Coming up this weekend are two more of our fourpreparatory workshops:
Forum threads of note
Introduction
Sam (samcadams), Jenny (GwenTolios) and I (Tim akaNewMexicoKid) are volunteer Municipal Liaisons for NaNoWriMo, here to answer questions, coordinate and host local events to complement the online resources.
We're creeping up upon the last week before the start of the NaNoWriMo madness, the joy we wait all year for, when we can release our thoughts and send our fingers a typing (or our pens a writing). There are many events planned for November, most of the fun, productive and socially enjoyable write-in variety, but before then we have one more preparatory workshop:
Saturday, October 20th, 1-3 pm, Nichols Library (Naperville):Show and Tell: Its not just for Kindergarten.
One of the most widely spread rules of writing is the infamous show dont tell. In this program, we break down the hows and whys of this important guideline, and also discuss situations in which its better to tell than to show. This session will provide some quick and dirty tips to ensure readers experience the story through action, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through exposition, summarization, and description.
j. leigh baileyis an office drone by day and the author of 8Young Adultand New AdultLGBTRomanceby night. Shes spent decadesfirst as a reader, then as a writerchasing that vitally important Happily Ever After. Shes a firm believer that everyone, no matter their gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation or paranormal affiliation deserves a happy ending. Those who would like to get one of our NaNo Hipster PDAs for 2018, this is a great opportunity to do so. Hipster PDAs are filled with good advice (freshly created for this year) and are also a wonderful place to keep track of your Library Crawl Cards (yes! the Library Crawl is back this year!). Miss the earlier prep workshops? Some of the notes are available at naperwrimo.org/prep.Other Upcoming Events (see naperwrimo.org/events)
Regional Forum Threads of Note
Help needed for the All Day Write-in November 17th!
November 17th is our all-day write-in at the Naperville Municipal Center, running from 8 AM-3 PM. Unfortunately, we find ourselves with a need for help in hosting. It doesn't have to be all on one person's shoulders--I'm a firm believer in partners, teams and crowd-sourcing. Please contact one of the MLs (NewMexicoKid, samcadams, GwenTolios) if you are interested and available to help out.
Welcome!
Welcome to NaperWriMo, the Naperville region of NaNoWriMo that serves the cities and suburbs west of Chicago. We're the home to the region's year-round writing community the Writing Journey. I am Tim Yao, akaNewMexicoKid, one of the three volunteer Municipal Liaisons that are here to answer your questions and create/support/coordinate local events. My colleagues are Sam McAdams, akasamcadams, and Jenny Johnson (akaGwenTolios).
This Saturday, October 27th: 11:45 AM-3 PM: our fun, friendlypot-luck lunch NaNoWriMo Kick-off partyat the Naperville Municipal Center (400 S. Eagle Street, Naperville; those bringing stuff to share can park in the underground parking lot).Please RSVP with what you plan to bring to help ensure we have categories sufficiently covered. Be sure to bring your stuffed animal for the group photo. Come out to meet your fellow writers, share the pre-NaNo energy, and get ready for November 1st!
This is a friendly bunch; and socializing with your fellow writers can help you connect with those who can help motivate you to finish your novel in style. Plan to come on out and join in the fun.
Regional Forum Threads of Note
Help needed for the All Day Write-in November 17th!
November 17th is our all-day write-in at the Naperville Municipal Center, running from 8 AM-3 PM. Unfortunately, we find ourselves with a need for help in hosting. Note: Sam will be the general host--we're looking for guest hosts to help out for 1-2 hours of the day. Please contact one of the MLs (NewMexicoKid,samcadams,GwenTolios) if you are interested and available to help out.
Welcome!
Welcome toNaperWriMo, theNaperville regionof NaNoWriMo that serves the cities and suburbs west of Chicago. We're the home to the region's year-round writing communitythe Writing Journey. I am Tim Yao, akaNewMexicoKid, one of the three volunteer Municipal Liaisons that are here to answer your questions and create/support/coordinate local events. My colleagues are Sam McAdams, akasamcadams, and Jenny Johnson (akaGwenTolios).
Just hours separate us from the midnight start of the greatest month of the year, when NaNoWriMo begins. Fingers will be poised over keyboards waiting for that minute hand to move forward; pens will be descending onto notebook pages, and at last, people will be able to let out the flood of ideas onto the proverbial blank page.
Some of you might joinour chatroom for online write-ins. Others might be waiting for our upcoming write-in events:
You might want to visit our USA::Illinois::Naperville forum:
Have questions? Shoot a nanomail over to Sam, Jenny or me--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region of Naperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
--Tim (aka NewMexicoKid)
Welcome to the first full week of NaperWriMo 2018. Hopefully youre off and running with your word count and had a chance to attend some of the regional events and write-ins. If youre a bit behind or hit the 10K wall, attending a write-in is a great way to boost your word count (See the word counts from the Nichols Library write-in on Sunday and the Glen Ellyn Library write-in on Monday):
Heres a list of the regions upcoming events:
If attending an in-person write-in is not your thing, check out our chatroom for online write-ins.
Also, be sure to visit our USA::Illinois::Naperville forum:
Have questions? Shoot a nanomail over to Sam, Jenny or Tim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region of Naperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
Here we are at Day 14. Those of you hugging the 1,667 words per day curve should have 23,338 words by the end of today. Behind? Never fear, you still have opportunities to catch up. In fact, there are a host of great write-ins coming up that can help you out:
If attending an in-person write-in is not your thing, check out our chatroom for online write-ins.
We have just one social event in November--thats the Mid-Month Meetup. This one happens on Saturday late-afternoon/early evening. You can RSVP in this thread.
Also, be sure to visit our USA::Illinois::Naperville forum:
Have questions? Shoot a nanomail over to Sam, Jenny or Tim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region of Naperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
Give back to the community! NaNoWriMo is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that depends on donations from writers like you to do things like maintain and upgrade the online site.
Today is NaNoWriMo Staff and Moderators Appreciation Day. Please visit this threadand help show our appreciation for all their fine efforts. The NaNo staff handle everything from the maintenance and improvements of this website to the sponsorship deals and the coordination of the volunteer Municipal Liaisons and the Come-Write-In Libraries. They create, sell and fulfill everything in theNaNo storeand donation station (so also be sure to considerdonatingto the cause). And they keep the vision for NaNo fresh and forward-looking.
We're (18-strong but plenty of spaces) still writing here at the Naperville Municipal Center's All Day Write-in (till 3 pm today, 2018-11-17). Then we'll head over to the 2 Fools Cidery and Solemn Oath Brewery.
Also, be sure to consider coming out tomorrow (Sunday) to theNichols Library write-ins in Naperville. We'll have coffee and hot water for tea and hot chocolate.
And Monday's write-in at the GEPL, featuring coffee, hot water and bagels.
And don't forget to back up your novel!
Have you missed any of our regional e-mails? You can catch up inthis archived e-mailsthread.
-- Tim aka NewMexicoKid (with Sam (samcadams) and Jenny (GwenTolios), your volunteer MLs.
18K Challenge
Heres hoping that this has been a great first three+ weeks of novel writing for you. Now were in the final week. Starting tomorrow (Sunday, November 25th) we will have just six full days left in the month. To help motivate you for this final stretch, Im offering the 18k challenge. Write an average of 3,000 words per day for the remaining six days (a total of 18,000+ words) and you will win a dragon zipper pull:
Write-ins
There are plenty of write-ins coming up to help guide you home, including:
Thank Goodness Its Over (TGIO) Party
RSVP for the Thank Goodness It's Over Party, December 8th -- this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate your writing efforts for the month. 11:45 AM-2:45 PM at the lunch room of the Naperville Municipal Center.
Have questions? Shoot a nanomail over to Sam, Jenny or Tim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region of Naperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
Donate to NaNoWriMo
Consider taking a moment to donate to National Novel Writing Month. Help them pay for the site upkeep and development and for the small staff that runs the whole operation and coordinates the many volunteers around the world.
Final Day of Nano
Tomorrow is the final day of Nano. If youre looking for a place to write-in and celebrate this final day of frenzied writing, Ill be hosting the final write-in of 2018 at my house (22 West Harding Rd, Lombard). There will be snacks, soup, coffee, wifi, comfy chairs, tea, and pizza. Well start at 5pm and folks can write and party until midnight.
Thank Goodness Its Over (TGIO) Party
RSVP for the Thank Goodness It's Over Party, December 8th -- this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate your writing efforts for the month. 11:45 AM-2:45 PM at the lunch room of the Naperville Municipal Center.
The Writing Journey
Looking to keep on writing after November? Join The Writing Journey, a free year-round,a la carte writing group that is associated with the Naperville region of National Novel Writing Month. Some of the popular activities of the Writing Journey include: monthly general meeting with writing workshops, short story anthologies, the (in-person) Critiquing group, the Editing Path, the query path, the MiniWriMo challenge (10k in 2 weeks), the Writer's Voice workshop, Shakespeare Reader's Theatre, the Writing Excuses Master Class and the Poetry Path.
To join (or rejoin for existing Journey members),please take this survey: http://journey.naperwrimo.org/survey2019/
Validate
If youve passed 50,000 words, dont forget to validate and claim your winnings. Plus, if you dont validate, youre Nano profile will not show you as a 2018 winner.
Donate to NaNoWriMo
Consider taking a moment to donate to National Novel Writing Month. Help them pay for the site upkeep and development and for the small staff that runs the whole operation and coordinates the many volunteers around the world.
Have questions? Shoot a nanomail over to Sam, Jenny or Tim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region of Naperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
Thank goodness it's over! Another NaNo November season has drawn to a close. We have a big pot-luck celebration party planned for December 8th (11:45 AM-2:45 PM) in the Naperville Municipal Center. Please RSVP here! (only those who RSVP will be entered into the raffle for door prizes, which is a separate raffle from the Library Crawl).
Those planning to come, please also remember to bring your stuffed animal for the group photo and your Library Crawl Cards (these are needed to participate in the Library Crawl raffle for gift cards, including the top prize of a $100 USD Amazon gift card). We'll sing the regional song, have a delightful new ice breaker courtesy of Jenny, go over possibilities for what to do after NaNo, and enjoy a wonderful pot-luck lunch.
What to do after NaNo? Join the Writing Journey
Look here for information about our region's year-round writing community, the Writing Journey. All of the Writing Journey events and activities, just like those of our region, are absolutely free, thanks to the kind sponsorship of the Glen Ellyn Public Library and the Woodridge Public Library. To join, just fill out this survey.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the 130 folks who are subscribed to our region who won: writergirlmel, Aralynne, cdemi12, Knyghtraven, Frost E. King, mochomito, alexismroark, ShannonMGT, Contemplative Cat, Me - n - Jesus, TRRDEDEAN, ZeffLister, CindysNovel623, MadAuthorMadi, Alcatraz's Girl, Renkluaf, Haberdashing, pareidoliawrites, Talent2max, slinker, Hickumu, Kiela Starcatcher, Jessicactd, paintminion, Cee-Bee, WriteAllNight, jschalk, IcicleFerret, tireddadx3, debko, WillowSanders, Cedison, GwenTolios, chiakicorner, PanicRoomer, Purplesage1859, Cathe404, samcadams, Rueddi, LibraryLore, alkamy, isabelle_lila, Martymay58, tregina12000, rons_pigwidgeon, b-writer, Odakota-Rose, C.S., crispycannibal, NewMexicoKid, DJRM, Catherine.Johns, JLW 2018, dmurtagh17, ChaShiree M., Anastasia007, khokis, midwestraised, Goddess_Astra, acastro1, Leslie Hatch Gail, Taillefer, aprilkitty, mango350, writertodd07, JayMontville, coyotesusan, Walkitch, stephsco, KayTi, Jayaych, MaryK171, Chip_the_Red, bookmonkey44, Redwolfdream, Claymation, EmilyErica3, vaderofborg, rubyliveshere, bridgeterin, fishmama, Lady Gao, mom_n_co, silver_witch, nanosue, L. Evans, MelShakespeare, dohenyster, czarnoff, PBJ63010, misslissylou, MoonshinesGuide, eBirdie, SMattimiro, jtotheb, nmjenkins, Tori Ruby, ShiroXIX, Falconlore, meashastone, Tokaara, sorakazeno, Niassa, Kimberly Christianson Kennedy, LaneyJWrites, horatio, Evenchaos146, beckalule, kenzie.writes, Kathleen 2.0, AlyssTheWitch, Gina Charlton, mlywag, bellacro, Florana, winter_rose, Kwajgal, dudewithak, shelbyvanpelt, vikileakz, Neliamne, mindiloohoo, Gabbycakes212, MiraFM, Ttszmp, SweetEuphony, YeungJeans, SLM18, Samantha243, megswriting17
... including 21 folks who aren't homed to Naperville but who follow along.
All of you wrote at least 50,000 words in just the 30 days of November.
130 out of 473 subscribers overall = 27.5% win rate
109 out of 406 homed-to-Naperville writers = 26.8% win rate for Naperville writers--congratulations!
Of course, even for those who didn't complete their 50K, there were 317 of you who wrote at least some words for NaNo, parts of your story that will hopefully help you for when you complete the novel later.
Of the 59 of you who subscribed to the NaNo Faces graph for Naperville, a whopping 59.3% of you won, with the median word count achieved of 50,319 words (and a mean of 45,997 words)! writergirlmel topped the list with 450,512 words written! Top ten on the NaNo Faces chart:
Top ten of those homed to Naperville includes:
18K challenge winners
Congratulations to the ten winners of the 18K Challenge--they each wrote at least 18,000 words in just six days! All prizes will be awarded at the TGIO party.
Validate
If youve passed 50,000 words, I hope you've validatedso you can claim your winnings (looks like some folks in our region did not validate). Plus, if you didnt validate, your Nano profile will not show you as a 2018 winner. It's not quite too late--use the late validation process:No WriMo Left Behind: Validating, the Deadline, and Late Validation (please read instructions before posting!)
Donate to NaNoWriMo
Consider taking a moment todonateto National Novel Writing Month. Help them pay for the site upkeep and development and for the small staff that runs the whole operation and coordinates the many volunteers around the world.
Have questions?Shoot a nanomail over toSam,JennyorTim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region ofNaperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.
Thank goodness it's over!It's not too late to RSVP for the big pot-luck celebration party planned for December 8th (11:45 AM-2:45 PM) in the Naperville Municipal Center.Please RSVP here!(only those who RSVP will be entered into the raffle for door prizes, which is a separate raffle from theLibrary Crawl; we're also preparing certificates for those who RSVP). You don't need to have won NaNo to come and socialize with folks; this is a great opportunity to unwind and prepare for the creative year ahead..
Those planning to come, please also remember to bring your stuffed animal for the group photo and your Library Crawl Cards (these are needed to participate in the Library Crawl raffle for gift cards, including the top prize of a $100 USD Amazon gift card). We'll sing the regional song, have a delightful new ice breaker courtesy of Jenny, go over possibilities for what to do after NaNo, and enjoy a wonderful pot-luck lunch.
Is there interest in a book swap at the TGIO? Let Jenny know by responding to this thread:Book Swap Interest??
What to do after NaNo? Join the Writing Journey
Look here for information about our region's year-round writing community, theWriting Journey. All of the Writing Journey events and activities, just like those of our region, are absolutely free, thanks to the kind sponsorship of the Glen Ellyn Public Library and the Woodridge Public Library. To join, justfill out this survey.
February RWA workshop with author James Scott Bell
Stephanie Scott (stephsco on NaNo; Windy City Romance Writers of America) shared information about an excellent (but not free)Writing Workshop James Scott Bell - Feb 2019. Registration is $135 and the topic is: Writing a Novel They Can't Put Down.
Donate to NaNoWriMo
Consider taking a moment todonateto National Novel Writing Month. Help them pay for the site upkeep and development and for the small staff that runs the whole operation and coordinates the many volunteers around the world. NaNoWriMo needs your help.
Have questions?Shoot a nanomail over toSam,JennyorTim--we're your volunteer Municipal Liaisons for the NaNoWriMo region ofNaperville. We're here to help you out and coordinate local events.