United States :: California :: South Bay

[STICKY] how (and why) to update your word count

marcopolo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:22:03 +0000

On your profile, and next to any forum post you make, is a nifty blue bar that shows your progress and the number of words you've written. How does it know? Well, you have to tell it -- the feature that goes into your computer and checks your novel document hasn't been implemented yet (and maybe that's just as well).

The easiest way to update your word count is to enter the total number of words you've written (as calculated by your word processor or team of pigeons) into the little box at the top right of every page of the site when you're logged in. Hit the yellow "Update" button, and you're done!

You can also update your word count on the Novel Info page: Go to the "My NaNoWriMo" menu and choose "Edit Novel Info", OR go to your profile and look in the left sidebar for "Novel Info" (under "Edit Info"). In the field that says "Word Count", type in your word count, then scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Submit". (On the Novel Info page, you can also put in a synopsis of your novel, an excerpt, and even book cover art, and change them as often as you like. Doing this is entirely optional, but fun.)

Alternatively, you can copy the full text of your manuscript and paste in into the Word Count Validator, and the nanowrimo.org counting monkeys will count the number of words for you.

Why You Should Keep Your Word Count Updated

Try to update your word count on a daily basis so that:

- Your friends will know you're really making progress on your novel, and not send you messages of concern.

- The cool chart under the "NaNo Stats" tab in your profile will accurately reflect your day-by-day word count. If you're obsessive about that sort of thing, be sure to update before midnight every day (and make sure your time zone is correct in "User Settings").

- But most importantly, keep updating your word count so that the South Bay can demonstrate our power as the GREATEST REGION IN THE WORLD on the word count scoreboard. Okay, maybe some of those other regions have a size advantage over us, but we still want to make as good a showing as we possibly can. If your home region is set to the South Bay -- and it is, right? -- then your words go toward our total. (Note that the scoreboard only updates about once a day).

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United States :: California :: South Bay

[STICKY] Write-in schedule for November

marcopolo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:02:13 +0000

It thrills me to announce the amazingly packed schedule of write-ins for the South Bay, which includes events every day of the week in 8 different cities throughout the region. Wow! Below is the complete list of write-ins, and you can also view it all in its calendrical glory on the South Bay calendar.

Most write-ins are in public places (generally cafes), and you can just show up at the appointed time with your laptop or notepad and look for the group with NaNo signs or t-shirts. Don't forget to buy some food or drink to support the cafes that kindly let us camp out and write for hours!

Sundays 3-6pm (not November 1)
Orchard Valley Coffee
349 E. Campbell Avenue, Campbell
http://www.orchardvalleycoffee.com/
hosted by Lisa (marcopolo) and Ian (idunno)

Mondays 12-4pm
Barefoot Coffee
5237 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara
http://www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com/people/barefoot/barefoot-cafe/
hosted by Lisa (marcopolo) and Steph (skneal)

Mondays 5-9pm -- MOVING TO DIFFERENT MONDAY NIGHT VENUE?
Coffee Society
21265 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino (The Oaks)
http://www.coffeesociety.com/stores.html

Tuesdays 9am-12pm
Blossom Hill Barnes & Noble (cafe area)
5353 Almaden Expressway, San Jose (Almaden Plaza)
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2909
hosted by Steph (skneal)
WARNING: no power outlets available!

Tuesdays 7-9pm
Red Rock Coffee (upstairs room)
201 Castro Street, Mountain View
http://www.redrockcoffee.org/
hosted by Lisa (marcopolo)

Wednesdays 6-7:45pm
BookSmart
80 East 2nd St, Morgan Hill
http://www.mybooksmart.com/
hosted by Meg (coastermeg)

Wednesdays 7-9pm
Prolific Oven Palo Alto
550 Waverley Street, Palo Alto
http://www.prolific-oven.com/
hosted by Shuai (scribblegrl)

Thursdays 12-4pm
Barefoot Coffee
5237 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara
http://www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com/people/barefoot/barefoot-cafe/
hosted by Lisa (marcopolo) and Steph (skneal)

Thursdays 7-10pm
Caffe Trieste (upstairs loft)
315 South 1st St, San Jose
http://www.caffetriestesj.com/
hosted by Diane (mootmom)

Fridays 5-7pm
Nexus Cafe at Stanford Hospital Clark Center
318 Campus Drive, Stanford
http://campus-map.stanford.edu/index.cfm?ID=07-340
hosted by Shuai (scribblegrl)

Fridays 8:30pm-12am
Suju's Coffee (conference room)
3602 Thornton Ave, Fremont
http://www.sujuscoffee.com/
hosted by Melissa (qualroh)

Saturdays 1:30pm-3pm
Printer's Inc Cafe
320 S. California Ave, Palo Alto
http://www.printerscafe.com/
hosted by Shuai (scribblegrl)

A few write-ins have a different structure and require advance RSVPs. See below for details of these special write-ins.

Monday, November 2 + Tuesday, November 17, 5-7pm
East West Bookstore
324 Castro Street, Mountain View
http://www.eastwest.com/
hosted by East West through the Come Write In program
RSVP by calling the bookstore at 650-988-9800 to ensure there is a seat available for you

Playdate write-in for NaNos with small children
Wednesdays 10am-12pm
private home in San Jose
RSVP by NaNoMail to Ian (idunno) for address

Wednesdays 5:30-8pm
Psycho Donuts
2006 S. Winchester Blvd, Campbell
http://www.psycho-donuts.com/home.html
hosted by Dylan (Vampiryyn)
We can hang out in the store after closing and eat whatever donuts are left over, but we'll be roughing it (limited counter space, overflow at chairs without tables), so only attend if you'll be comfortable with that arrangement. Space is limited, so RSVP by NaNoMail to Lisa (marcopolo)

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United States :: California :: South Bay

[STICKY] Back Up Your Novel - Early And Often!

idunno — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:54:39 +0000

Just an early reminder:

Back up your novel. Back it up early. Back it up often. In fact, stop reading, back it up RIGHT NOW, then return to this posting (unless it's October, in which case you haven't started your novel yet). This isn't like voting - the more times you back up, the better. You want to stack that ballot box with a resounding win for your COMPLETE novel, not just a partial recovery you managed to dig up after spending several hundred dollars at a data recovery center.

But how, you ask, can I back up my novel without purchasing expensive automated back up software and dozens of redundant external hard drives to write those backups to?

I'm glad you asked. You don't need to spend top dollar to protect your creative efforts. There are plenty of cheap, if not free, ways to do it!

Email your novel to yourself. Save a copy to a floppy disk (by the way, if you still have a floppy disk drive, you SO need to upgrade your computer!!), a USB memory stick, a burnable CD/DVD. Hell, plug your digital camera into your computer and save a copy there, if necessary. Just save an extra copy somewhere OTHER than the computer/PDA/AlphaSmart/whatever you're writing it on. Anywhere. And do it every time you sit down to write.

Here's what I do. Every day, I make a copy of my novel-in-progress, with the date as part of the name. I then work on the new document. This means if my computer crashes or somehow corrupts the file I'm currently working on, I still have the previous copy safely tucked away. And every day, when I'm done writing, I email myself the latest copy of that novel.

Those of you using a typewriter (old school!) or writing by hand (even older school!) may think you don't need to make backups, but consider this: paper can burn, get eaten by a pet, be used as toilet paper in a moment of desperation, get caught up in a gust of wind, or fall into the wrong hands. So you might want to use that copy machine at work to make a backup of your novel. Or have a friend with a photographic memory read your dailies. I'm just saying.
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idunno, co-ML for California :: South Bay
2009 Novel: The Stephen Hawking Detective Agency

United States :: California :: South Bay

Attention Bay Area Wrimos!

Tavia Stewart — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:15:06 +0000

We wanted to make sure you all knew about the third-annual NaNoWriMo Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon. This noir-themed noveling event will be held from 5 PM to 11 PM on Sunday, November 22 at the beautiful Julia Morgan Ballroom in downtown San Francisco!

All you need to do to raise $200 in sponsorships through GiftTool from family and/or friends by November 18. And if you raise $300 or more you can bring a guest!

Not only is this a great chance for us to see the faces of those who support us, but all proceeds from the evening make our programs possible, including the classroom-based Young Writers Program. Come show your support this year by helping us reach our $25,000 fundraising goal! The more money you raise, the more tickets you'll get for our prize raffle. Plus, the top fundraisers will walk home with one of our grand prizes. Check out our Night of Writing Dangerously Write-A-Thon 2009 page to find out what this year’s grand prizes include.

Don’t miss your chance to come write with us for six hours surrounded by San Francisco’s city lights and 200 fellow NaNo-novelists typing frantically alongside you!

Already shopping for my Noir costume,

Tavia Stewart-Streit
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United States :: California :: South Bay

This is so going in my novel t-shirts

idunno — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:07:02 +0000

We've had a couple of people ask about the 'This is so going in my novel.' t-shirts that some of the veteran SoBaNaNos have been wearing. The shirt was designed by the South Bay community way back in 2003, but has always been popular. If you're interested in getting one, they are available here: http://www.zazzle.com/idunno3

As with the tip jar at write-ins, any money we make will go first toward reimbursing Lisa and me for the expenses incurred to put on the Meet n' Greet (~$140 total). Once we've recovered those costs, any additional money will be donated to NaNoWriMo in the name of the South Bay Nanos.

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idunno, co-ML for California :: South Bay
2009 Novel: The Stephen Hawking Detective Agency

United States :: California :: South Bay

donation box + raffle

marcopolo — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:06:04 +0000

At the write-ins with MLs present, you'll see a donation box out. If you've been at one of these write-ins, you may have already heard this explanation and perhaps put in a buck or two. Thanks!

For those of you who haven't heard: Ian and I had to spend our own money to pay for room rental and refreshments at the Meet and Greet party. Due to library policy, we weren't allowed to ask attendees for donations to help cover our costs during the event, so we're seeking contributions in a time-delayed fashion. That's what the donation box is for.

The money raised in the box, through regional t-shirt sales, and from the raffle we're going to hold during the Halfway Party (on November 21) will first go toward recovering the Meet and Greet expenses. After that's paid back, all additional funds raised will be donated to the Office of Letters and Light on behalf of the South Bay.

We already have some cool NaNoWriMo merchandise to raffle off at the Halfway Party. A few more prizes would be swell. If you have any unused, unwanted NaNo merch from any year (a tshirt that didn't fit, a poster you'll never hang) or something else to donate that you think would make a great raffle prize, please send me NaNoMail.

Lisa
South Bay co-ML
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Donate to NaNoWriMo + help the South Bay win!

scribblegrl — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:47:26 +0000

Hey guys!

We're second place for donations to nanowrimo again! which is good, but not awesome--Let's try to kick it up a bit! If everyone donates just 10 bucks (and you get the spiffy halo next to your name), we can top Seattle!

*** Please click here and donate: https://store.lettersandlight.org/donations ***

Here's some info on how OLL spends your money and inspires lots of kids and adults into writing--just think about the great impact they have on your own lives!! http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/wheredonationsgo

And if you really can't spare a couple of bucks, you can still help OLL and nanowrimo by using goodsearch or ebay: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/donatingwhenbroke

We can totally beat Seattle! Let's do it!
Shuai aka scribblgrl :)
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Why we kill Cliff Brooks, and how did you do it this year?

mootmom — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:07:14 +0000

If this is your first year, or if you weren't totally forum-obsessed in previous years, you may be wondering about this requirement you've heard about, which says that we must all "kill Cliff Brooks" in some way in our novels. The first post in this thread (this one) should help you understand the history of this edict. The rest of the thread is meant as a place where you can post a description of how you off Cliff in this year's novel. We're hoping to have a read-a-thon at the TGIO party this year consisting solely of passages in which Cliff is killed off, with the man himself in attendance for maximal enjoyment, so keep this in mind as you're writing those gruesome scenes.

Cliff Brooks is a real live guy, a really great guy who writes horror stories; he lived in the South Bay seven years ago and came to a number of write-ins. At one weekly write-in, my younger son Philip, 13 at the time and writing his own mini-novel, peered over Cliff's shoulder, read the scene he'd just written, and burst out laughing. Cliff scowled at him. "That's horror, that's not supposed to be funny!" But Philip insisted it was, in fact, hilarious. In a mock huff, Cliff wrote a character named Philip into the scene and killed him off quite grotesquely. The next week, Philip was eager to get to the write-in to show Cliff the scene he'd written, in which President of the United States Clifford Brooks morphed into a monster with multiple appendages and two heads, and then exploded. As a horror writer, Cliff loved it. Several of us decided that we, too, would kill a character named Cliff Brooks in our own novels, and from there the things just grew legs, as they say.

If you'd like to hear Cliff himself explaining this phenomenon, he called in to an interview with Chris Baty on NPR's Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan on Nov. 23, 2004.
You can find the intro article here: The Simple Art of Writing Novels
The interview itself is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist...
Cliff calls in at the 8:53 mark, and speaks with Neal until the 12:05 mark. (One error: Cliff says Philip was 16 at the time, he was not, he was only 13.)

Now. How did YOU kill Cliff Brooks this year, hmmm? I'll reveal my method once I've actually written the scene.

Go forth and murder! : )

--moot/Diane.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

PLOT NINJAS - Weeks 1+2

marcopolo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:11:55 +0000

Packs of plot ninjas will be released here daily. Beware: letting them into your novel will lead to havoc and fun!

Throughout the month, I'll be collecting plot ninja ideas on sticky notes at write-ins, and you can also send suggestions by NaNoMail. Contribute ideas for crazy characters, silly settings, preposterous plot twists, dangerous diversions, extreme episodes, and wacky words that can be thrown into a NaNo novel when authors run short on ideas. Please keep your contributions sticky-sized: a phrase or short sentence.

Lisa
South Bay co-ML

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United States :: California :: South Bay

Everyone is officially AWESOME!

mootmom — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:14:02 +0000

I just have to say, one week on, looking at everyone's word count progress bars creeping upward at various speeds, that you are all totally and completely awesome. Officially and without exception. Every last one of you. Here's to an amazing three more weeks.

Right on, and write on!
Group hug! :)

--moot/Diane.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

archive of regional emails

marcopolo — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:27:44 +0000

Messages to the South Bay region that get emailed out will be archived here. If you're affiliated with this region and aren't receiving the messages, make sure your settings are correct under My NaNoWriMo > Manage Notifications ("Emails from your local Municipal Liaison"), then check your spam filter.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

NaNo Calendar

ca.bookwyrm — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:57:06 +0000

Hi there everyone, do you hate your MC yet?

That's what this NaNoWriMo desktop asks about today: NaNoWriMo Desktop

This was shared with me by a noveling friend, and I thought I'd pass it along. I particularly like Day 17. I suspect many of us may try it by that time...
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2009: Into The Fog
2008: Tarot Troubles (won)
2007: CP
2006: Shadows & Ash
2005: Strip Search (won)

United States :: California :: South Bay

What should my 25,000th word be?

sfield — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:19:34 +0000

I happened to type a period at the end of my sentence, and my word count is
exactly 24,999.

I'm going to stop writing for the evening.

If anyone is reading this before I start again in the morning, what should I put
down as my 25,000th word?

Give me something interesting, but not sabotaging, and I'll work it in.

In other words, something like Pandemonium would work, but Ninja or
Obama will totally fail.

It is the beginning of a paragraph. What is the best work you have used to begin
a paragraph?

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United States :: California :: South Bay

Welcome to NaNo 2009! Introduce yourself!

marcopolo — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:46:43 +0000

Greetings, brave NaNoWriMo novelists of the South Bay! Welcome to NaNo, or welcome back for 2009! I'm Lisa, aka marcopolo, and I'm one of your municipal liaisons for the South Bay, along with Ian, aka idunno. The two of us will be posting lots more regional NaNo information in the coming days, but since the site has just relaunched, I wanted to get our forum started with a thread for introductions. Please tell us a little bit about yourself!

This will be my 8th NaNoWriMo and my 3rd year as ML. The fun of fast-paced noveling and the awesome people I've met through NaNo mean that November is my favorite month of the year. I'm lucky enough to get to spend the other 11 months working on novels as well. When I'm not writing, I watch a lot of movies from Netflix and play a lot of Rock Band in my home in Santa Clara.

For next month's novel, I've decided on the main characters and the situation they're in, and I'm planning to figure out what happens to them as I go. There's bound to be a lot of fights between significant others, adult children resenting their parents, worrying, guilt, and probably some sex. Maybe some Rock Band, too.

Who are you? Do you have ideas about what you're going to write?

%) Lisa/marcopolo

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United States :: California :: South Bay

What's Your First Sentence?

allsun — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:09:46 +0000

Nano 2009! What's your first sentence?

My Novel's Title is Skating On This Ice

A young girl, perhaps seven or eight years old, stared at me in the reflection of the mirror - wide, terror-filled eyes and crouched down next to the toilet in the handicapped stall in the rest room of my new office space in the Administration building of the former mental hospital.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Informal evening write-ins near the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose next week

judegriffin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:20:10 +0000

Hi all:

I am at a conference next week in San Jose and would love to meet up some wrimos for an informal write-in one or two nights Mon-Thurs (9-12 Nov) maybe starting around 7 pm? I'll be at The Fairmont where I am sure I can find us a nook or two.

jude
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Southbay Nanos on Twitter?

SomeoneMagickal — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:47:52 +0000

Hey everyone,

I was wondering how many people here in the southbay are on twitter. I'm here in South San Jose (work and go to school in Palo Alto). I figured that if any one of us has an urge to run out of their house and drop into a coffee shop, bar, or lounge to get some writing done (or take a break from writing) we can tweet to announce it and/or see if others are available. On the same vein, there are times when we simply need a touch of inspiration for creativity.

Example
Tweet: What's the first word or phrase that comes to mind when I say "You did what!?"
Reply Tweet1: Monkeys throwing poop.
Reply Tweet2: The doctors vs the dog whisperer
Reply Tweet3: Your mother.

My twitter ID is innerinquiry (don't be alarmed when you see a totally different picture - for some reason I can't update my nano pic). Reply with your ID if you think you might want to get in on this.
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Mwuah! ^_^ Nadia

United States :: California :: South Bay

Suju's Write in, on Friday 11/6

qualroh — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:58:17 +0000

Hey all. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be at the write in that I'm supposed to host. I had an aunt pass away this week, one i was close to. I'm going to be down with my family this weekend, and I'm going down tomorrow. Sorry I couldn't find someone to host it. Tried to find someone in the area who could do it.

Melissa
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Erondon's Prophecy: Blackthorne's Peace

United States :: California :: South Bay

Regional Forums are All Ages

idunno — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:40:25 +0000

Just a heads up to everyone, in case you didn't know. In previous years, nano had special forums designated All Ages for younger nano participants. For the last three years, the All Ages designation expanded to include the regional forums, such as this one.

As an All Ages forum, the content that appears here has to be appropriate for people of all ages and sensitivities. This means:

- no profanity or sexual content of any kind
- no abusive or threatening language directed at other users or groups
- no blatant sales or promotional posts in this regional forum. As a clarification, if you have a non-nano related event or get-together happening during November that you want to let your fellow nanos know about, you can post that in the 'SoBaNaNo Off-Topic Board' thread in this regional forum. If you post about such an event as a new thread, don't be surprised if we move it to the off-topic thread.
- no pornographic or otherwise graphic material
- Please refrain from political posts. It's important to remember that we have people of various political affiliations present in the forums. Don't assume everyone agrees with you, or make politically-themed attacks. We want the forums to be about noveling, not who is doing (or not doing) what in the political arena.

The South Bay nanos are a great group of people, and I'm confident we won't have any problems. But I wanted to make sure that everyone is aware of the rules for posting to this forum.

If you have any questions or concerns, please PM me or marcopolo.
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idunno, co-ML for California :: South Bay
2009 Novel: The Stephen Hawking Detective Agency

United States :: California :: South Bay

South Bay Nano pictures

idunno — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:54:07 +0000

I've created a South Bay Nano group on flickr: SoBaNaNos 2009 (http://www.flickr.com/groups/1304088@N22/). You can post your photos there if you like, to segregate them from the bazillions of nanowrimo pictures from all over the world.
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idunno, co-ML for California :: South Bay
2009 Novel: The Stephen Hawking Detective Agency

United States :: California :: South Bay

Hello!

hackwrth — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:20:43 +0000

My name is Cheryl and I've participated in NaNo two of the last three years, and have yet to win. Seems life is always getting in the way. I'm fully planning on winning this year, though, and have come up with some great suggestions about how to keep on track from everyone's postings so far. I need to come up with a more detailed plot than I have for my novel now (I have a few ideas running through my head, but none that I'm happy with), and the suggestion of an outline will prove immensely helpful, I'd wager.

I wish all of you the best of luck!
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Google Wave

holyspigot — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:15:19 +0000

I just got my Google Wave invite from a friend, and it occurred to me that South Bay -- ground zero for Silicon Valley and, you know, Google -- maybe there're more than a few people who already have Wave access.

I'm still trying to figure out how to use the darned thing, and what it's good for (or not good for), but maybe others have a better idea. Are we interested in starting an open one for South Bay Nanoers?
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Photos of Halloween party.

cdonnelltx — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:58:10 +0000

Photos of the Halloween party at Steph's are uploaded to Flickr - NaNoWriMo.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/nanowrimo/ I think.
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United States :: California :: South Bay

Halloween Party + Write-in - Saturday, October 31

marcopolo — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:13:03 +0000

Halloween is a great holiday all on its own, but what makes it even better is that at midnight it turns into NaNoWriMo, the best holiday of the year! On October 31, you're invited to a Halloween potluck that will become a write-in the moment that November 1 begins.

Steph (skneal) has generously invited all South Bay NaNos to attend a Halloween party at her beautiful South San Jose home. Come in costume, bring some food to share, party, and then break out the laptops and notepads at midnight and start your novel!

RSVP TO RECEIVE THE ADDRESS by replying to this post or sending me NaNoMail. Please RSVP even if you know Steph's address so that she knows how many guests to plan for. Feel free to use this thread to talk about what food you're planning to bring, discuss your costume, or arrange carpools.

Halloween Party + Write-in
Saturday, October 31
8:00pm-1:00am
skneal's home in South San Jose -- RSVP for address
bring: potluck contribution, noveling implements, costume!

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United States :: California :: South Bay

First Day Write-in - Sunday, November 1

marcopolo — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:21:29 +0000

Spend Day 1 writing your Chapter 1 at Mission City Coffee in Santa Clara! We're holding an "all-day" write-in from 10am to 6pm. Come for a little while or a long while, make a good start on your word count, drink coffee, and eat food (Mission has good sandwiches, soup, and more).

There will be some sort of optional noveling games and word wars, and even exciting prizes. This is the first time we've held an event like this, and also the first time we've had a write-in at Mission, so it will be an adventure!

First Day Write-in
Sunday, November 1
10:00am-6:00pm
Mission City Coffee Roasting Co
2221 The Alameda, Santa Clara
Parking: The lot behind the cafe is fairly small, but there is also street parking in the area.
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