Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Introductory Post

Huushiita — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:12:08 +0000

Welcome to another year at Hogwarts... oh... wait. WRONG CROWD. Let's try this again...

::clears throat::

Welcome to another year at NaNoWriMo. As Karalianne has now moved to Saskatoon, two wonderful and beautiful ladies have risen to the challenge of being co-ML's for the Calgary area. We are Huushiita and Xanataria. If there are any questions, concerns, or you just want to implement any kicking ideas you can come to us.

Huushiita wants everybody to know that this is her sixth year doing NaNo. She's very excited to begin again this year, as always. You may call her Huushi. She was the one that wore that atrocious neon/lime green cowboy hat last year, that later turned into a pink and brown hat. This is her first time being an ML. She likes to take walks in the park while the moon is up high, reading writing books, listening to music, and has never strolled alongside the ocean but would like to one day change that. Huushi likes to joke around but can be very serious when need be. If there is a problem that needs attention, rest assured, she will be there for you. All you need to do is drop her a NaNo mail.

Xanateria is back for her fifth NaNo this year. Though she is hugely excited, she alternates that with spurts of terror because this is her very first year as an ML. You can call her Xana..or any other variation you can come up with. Heck, she also answers to hey you, if you are really stuck. As for which person she was at the events last year, well just think short, brown haired and oh yeah with a dog attached to her wrist. Xana navigates the world with the help of her mobility service dog, Declan. Before she says anything else, she would like to remind the region's participants that even though Declan is wonderful, he needs to be left alone to do his job at events. If you have any dog related concerns though, don't hestitate to drop her a NaNo mail. When she isn't trying to write frantically, or dealing with her share of ML duties, she enjoys reading (especially fan fiction), playing on Live Journal, and day dreaming about taking another cruise some day.

So. What about you guys? Please introduce yourself so everybody can get to know each other!
And how are you guys feeling now that the Count Down has begun? :)

(Ps. I did this wrong the first time, so I'm posting it correctly.)
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Teams A and B

Huushiita — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:43:47 +0000

Team A
Xanataria as Team Captain
Ryan Cartwright
Silver Rose
SperoHawk
AkitaFallow
Stephi Rose
Shiyardia Gariepy
Justlikeme
Winter One
BecksTrinity
IpleadObsession
Nami
yiyth
ShyEmpress

Team B
Huushiita as Team Captain
Feytouched
Miss Krista
Elisha Goodins
Rusla
Shahmeran
CRTisDale
CabbyHat
Hero
coolcatz
Akayla
Squiddy
an-nasc
Cherry_741
Rei

If you so desire, the teams can make a Team A and Team B thread. You can also make up team names, as long as their rated PG.

Now that you've been assigned teams, every Saturday we expect you to send in your *entire* novel word count EVERY time. We'll then add up everybody's word count and post it in the weekly emails. Send them via NaNo Mail to the specified Team Captain, please. (Team A will send their count to Xana, and Team B will send them to Huushi.) Otherwise the word count will not be accurate!
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE AT ANY MEETS TO DO THIS. Just type like mad, send your total word count BY Saturday. And Voila. The team who has the most word count at the end wins a prize.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Flu Season

Miss Krista — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:35:42 +0000

Just wondered if I'm the only one who's been bit by the nasty little bug. I've spent about 40 of the last 48 hours sleeping, and, as a result, have written a WHOPPING 200 words. Ugh. Sorry Team B, I am currently not contributing at all =(

On the plus side, my fever is finally gone, and I have been awake for a whole 2 hours now! I'm hoping this means week 2 will go better for me.

So, how's everyone else feeling?
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Bragging Rights

Huushiita — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:45:29 +0000

Have you written your daily word count? AWESOME.

Have you doubled it? Tripled it? Written so much your fingers are now no more than bloody stumps? Well, if so, POST HERE!!!!

Seriously, post your daily word count that way we can have fun and urge each other on.

My count so far is 3514!
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Legends of the Chat Room.

Geolojazz — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:44:21 +0000

There is a lowly creature who guards the harbinger of Word Wars. Its name is Cambot, and it's startlingly rude.

Geolojazz - !eightball is anyone here?
18:43 cambot - Geolojazz: It is possible.
18:43 Geolojazz - !eightball but is it probable?
18:43 cambot - Geolojazz: The answer is a resounding no.
18:44 Geolojazz - !eightball do you understand anything about what you just said? The scientist in me is rebelling.
18:44 cambot - Geolojazz: Maybe...
18:44 Geolojazz - !eightball Are you going to be honest with me?
18:44 cambot - Geolojazz: No clue.
18:44 Geolojazz - !eightball Now you're just being deliberately vague, aren't you?
18:44 cambot - Geolojazz: You know the answer better than I.
18:45 Geolojazz - !eightball Do I have to come over there and open up a can of whoop-ass?
18:45 cambot - Geolojazz: The answer is certainly yes.
18:46 Geolojazz - !eightball Are you fine with the fact that I'm going to ignore you and start writing now?
18:46 cambot - Geolojazz: Naturally.
18:50 *** NinjaDuckie joined #CalgaryNano
18:50 NinjaDuckie - It's ten to two in the morning, I've drunk a pint of chocolate milk, and I see Tim.
18:50 Geolojazz - He's ignoring me.
18:51 Geolojazz - I've been having an awesome conversation with cambot.
18:51 Geolojazz - !eightball isn't that right, cambot?
18:51 cambot - Geolojazz: The outlook is poor.
18:51 Geolojazz - oh shut up.

Has anyone else encountered this beast and lived to tell the tale?
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Regional Word War :: Saskatoon vs Calgary - Friendly Taunting and Challenges!

karalianne — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:32:17 +0000

Hello, hello!

Saskatoon is throwing down the gauntlet and challenging Calgary to a Word War. We have several unique awards that will be given out at the end of November, but I will allow James to do the honours for that, later on in this thread. (That's your cue, James!)

In addition to the regions going up against each other, I am hereby challenging the MLs of Calgary, Huushiita and Xanateria, to individual word wars. We can watch the regional progress in our regional headers; we can watch me kick the other ladies' butts in this post. ;)

Let the taunting begin!

Current Status:

**This thread is posted in both the Saskatoon forum and the Calgary forum. Through the magic of this post, people from one region may easily taunt people from the other region without needing to affiliate with the enemy. How's that for snazzy?**
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-Janna
Moderator, Character & Plot Realism Q&A
ML, Saskatoon
Canadian Overlord

The Book of Tim

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Just Curious... What's being written in Calgary this year?

Shahmeran — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:31:22 +0000

I'm just posting a little survey type thing to satisfy my own curiosity, but maybe other people are interested too :)

As for me, I'm writing a Science Fiction novel about a couple of earthlings who get stranded on a planet (actually a moon of a gas giant) that was colonized and abandoned several hundred years before. They know a comet is heading for the planet, but they have to convince the technologically-regressed natives that they need to evacuate the area of the original colony in order to avoid getting caught in the aerial blast that will result...

What are all you folks writing this year?
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

POLL: 12 Hour Write In Date Options

Xanateria — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:37:38 +0000

Hi all,

I am hope everyone is currently pleased with their word count, or at least can see pleased at the end of the tunnel.

In other news, due to overwhelming interest, we have gone ahead with planning a 12 hour write in.

The 12 hour will be held at Denny's Mcknight, located at: 5014 4th St NE (the corner of McKnight and Edmonton Trail) in their back room.

However, we have 2 options in terms of day, November the 21st or 28th. Both are a Saturday.

So, what say you wrimos, which would you prefer?

Xanateria -- eagerly awaiting your input :)

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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Sometimes you need to kill your precious children

Ryan Cartwright — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:02:28 +0000

I can't remember who said that but taken in context he was actually referring to editing...I enjoy bastardizing things for fun so will give it a new spin as this very morning I allowed one of my character to die while I sat by and did nothing. I felt slightly bad as usual but I figure if someone is stupid enough to get eaten by a crocodile well that was their own fault. Of course one could counter with 'isn't their intellectual capabilties the result of your characterization and did you not put them in the spot in the first place and provide the beast?'. The answer is yes of course to all three points - but I tend to be a rather cruel god at times and in this case I really liked how I did it. Normally characters die in fantsy novels at the end in some dramatic way fighting evil - but this death was completly out of the blue and rather pointless. I'm not sure if any more will die but you never know - it's all about avoiding the cliche - or is it a cliche to avoid cliches now?

Being the third book I've already killed my main characters mother and father, his mentor was killed, a major character's mother killed herself, and a number of minor character have failed to heed the cry of head up...or perhaps the cry should have been duck...oh well semantics.

So...who here has the blood of their precious children on their hands? Being gods of our universe we could have prevented these deaths but for some reason we didn't and sacrificed them to feed our own ego's. Consider that you sick, sick people as you confess your heinous crimes on this post.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

C-Train Writing

maramyfriend — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:19:07 +0000

http://www.torontonano.org/?q=node/6

The Toronto peeps rode the subway writing. See the above link for the pic of last year.
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

NE, SE, SW, NE?

Huushiita — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:16:04 +0000

Hello everybody. If I could have which quadrant everybody lives in, this will help us coordinate our weekly meet ups to best serve you. Or if you live out of town where in relation would that be? Thanks!

I live in the NE. Xana lives in the SE. :)
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Whose book is taking place in Calgary?

Dunmaglas — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:31:10 +0000

Mine is. Mostly around Kensington, Downtown, and up in the North-West.

I'm also including a few Calgary specific events in my story. Like, remember that guy who broke into the zoo and got his arm chewed up by the tiger? Yeah, he's going to be in here.

Who else is patriotic enough to use Calgary as a setting?
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http://www.dunmaglas.ca

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

IMPORTANT - Re Word counting in MS Word and Open Office Write

maramyfriend — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:27:22 +0000

So at home I use Open Office and my word count is (I round down for now) 8500. I emailed my manuscript to work and opened it in Word and my word count dropepd by 2,000 words.

I have so far found that I am not the only person to experience this:
http://blog.garycorby.com/2009/05/word-count-in-openoffice-writer-and.ht...
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Location, Location, Location

maramyfriend — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:15:13 +0000

Yeah, buying a house is about the location.

So where is your story set?

I have left mine non-descript as of yet. I have a picture in my head but I have not specifically named where it is in the novel.
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Breaking the Tim rule.

maramyfriend — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:02:02 +0000

Sorry guys, but it was the first name that sprung to mind. At the moment in my book Tim is alive and well and is a geeky techy secret hacker/cracker. I am not sure if anything bad will come to him, I don't have plans but you never know if I get inspired.

So, as Tim is a programmer and network guru, and alive and well and currently helping police with an investigation by undeleting stuff and retrieving files etc from a victims computer....should he suddenly be offed?

Lets see the love (or hate) you have for Tim. Maybe the best idea will get in my book. And who knows, if it gets published after the rewrite....
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Sex

maramyfriend — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:22:25 +0000

There, that got your attention didn't it.

OK, I am actually asking a sex question here...I am jsut interested in general and for the sake of my novel.

1. How many sex scenes is too much in an average novel?
2. Do you prefer descriptive, suggested, or the time loss method? *
3. If you wrote a descriptive scene do you feel obliged to do that again in the same novel or would you do a descriptive and then a 'time loss' in the same novel?

Main reason, I have a fairly descriptive scene (I would class it as erotica for this chapter) and I am in two minds as I am at a sexual junction in the story. Another scene could happen very soon and my gut is telling me to do a 'time loss' type scene.

*
Descriptive = Full details.
Suggested = soft focus silhouette type descriptions
Time Loss = For example "They looked at each other and went up to bed. The next morning they awoke in each others arms." So the whole scene doesn't exist at all.
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

I say that Ryan Cartwright is quite the character and I'm going to put him my book.

Elisha Goodins — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:51:56 +0000

Hoping tostart a new trend.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

CHALLENGES Thread

Huushiita — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:42:04 +0000

Once upon a time ago there was a beautiful girl. Her name was Janna. She was having a hard go of her NaNo novel. Her fellow NaNo-ite told him to 'put Tim in the novel'. And she did. Janna put Tim in her novel and that year was her first year winning.

Ever since then, Calgary's challenge was to put Tim in novels. The challenge is now tradition. Last year, Tim went global. People from all over the world started putting him in their novels, and had fun with it.

This year, put Tim in your novel!!!! Again.

Also, feel free to put other challenges that are all age appropriate in this thread!

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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Day 3 our worst yet

Ryan Cartwright — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:25:42 +0000

Was just looking at my lovely little graph on my personal Nano page and noticed as a region we had a big dip in production yesterday and so I ask....who slacked off yesterday???

However, I did notice were 56th overall in words for all regions and while we don't really have a chance to beat some of the big centers surely we can move up...so get writing already people or I'll go into my 'phong' rant. Trudge on people - trudge on our I'll leave you naked for eternity.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Reading During November

Ryan Cartwright — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:55:14 +0000

I imagine some of you at least are hopeless Bibliophages such as myself and are unable to stop devouring books no matter what else is going on in your lives...so I was wondering what everybody is reading. Personally I got through the last 50 pages of Mad Ship by Robin Hobb this evening and plan to start the first book of Jim Butcher's Dresden files tonight...or perhaps tomorrow as the alarm goes off at 6 am as it is...
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Weirdest or favourite place you've written..

Geolojazz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:19:16 +0000

Hey peeps!

I started my writing yesterday en route from Banff after an attempted trip to the hot springs...sitting in the passenger seat, laptop on my ...lap top...tapping away another load of glorious Wrimo verbal vomit.

That led me to wonder: What's the weirdest place you've written for NaNoWriMo? Or conversely, your favourite place to write?

Cheers,
Jazz
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Twelve Hour Write-a-Thon

Huushiita — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:13:38 +0000

Your beautiful and ravishing Co-ML's have discussed the possibility of holding a twelve hour meet up/write-a-thon.

This is just a poll to see if there is enough interest to hold such an event.

Please put YES or NO if you are INTERESTED in writing for twelve hours. Location and time will be discussed upon soon after this poll closes.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Help me a tad

K.Stone — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:04:26 +0000

Can you guys name every Fairytale Princess/Fairytale you can possibly remember? It's needed for my story.
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Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Time Off Work for extreme Writing

maramyfriend — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:45:52 +0000

I am taking a week off work to use up my vacation.

The week beginning the 16th Nov I will be at home writing like crazy. Just wondered if anyone did want to meet up somewhere, anywhere, during the day then I am pretty much free (have laptop, will write)
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--
Paul Webber
Don’t settle for shampoo! Demand real poo!

Canada :: Alberta :: Calgary

Gauntlet: Calgary Word And Donation War

bpunkert — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:06:11 +0000

Our expatriate participant, Huushita, is now a co-ML in Calgary and has asked if we want to resurrect the Calgary/Manitoba word war for this fall. I'm in - anyone else game?

Last year we compared average word count by individual and that worked well to balance out the difference in numbers.

If people are interested, post here... this worked really well for us as a way to get people involved and active last year... (Please remember, a little good-natured ribbing between the cities is fine - personal attacks, flaming, and just plain nastiness are not. Be. Nice.)

-Betty & Heather-

(For the record, we beat their pants off. Which means there are now a lot of pantless Calgary wrimos facing the winter....)
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Participant / Winner: 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 ...09
Winnipeg, MB Municipal Liaison: 04, 05, 06*, 07*, 08*, 09*
* with help
-=-=-=-
Reach the Winnipeg co-MLs at
http://www.nanowrimo.org/mlcontact

Canada :: Manitoba