Hi, guys!

I just wanted to take a moment to praise write-ins. Write-ins are awesome. They offer a sense of community, they motivate you to write more than you might otherwise write, and they mean that you can get ahead of your expected word count for the week.

This sentiment stems from the fact that I was too cold and tired to make the trek to Naperville for the Nichols Library write-in. But I decided to attend the write-in virtually and it was a really good choice because I got a massive amount of words written. Not only did I log a lot of words, I got through a tough section of my outline that I was worried about getting through. And I might not have been able to do that in one sitting if it weren't for the word wars.

If you are interested in attending a write-in virutally, by the way, you should know that it worked surprisingly well. The IRC chat that we are now using has a nifty function that counts down to word wars and lets you know when you only have 15/10/5 minutes left.

So, if you're feeling stuck, consider trying a write-in. I know they aren't for everyone, but it just helped me so much that I wanted to write this forum post. Bye for now!

P.S. Feel free to share your write-in success stories!!

I agree wholeheartedly! This has been a tough November for me, and while I haven't been able to attend many write-ins, the two that I've hosted at IPPL have really helped me to at least somewhat stay on track and get back to where I should be.

In past years, write-ins are what really boosted my word count and got me across the finish line. Last year, I wrote over 7K atindividual write-ins onthree different occasions. In 2011, I wrote over 9K at a write-in (and hit 50K while there!). Seriously, if you can just focus, feel the support of everyone around you, and throw in some good old fashioned competition, you can easily get high word counts like that in a single sitting.

I've only been able to attend a little less than half of the write-ins I normally attend in person this year, due to me working over two hours away this year, but I have attended a few more write-ins virtually, and it's still very fun.

The amount of words I've written during write-ins this year so far: about 14k out of 27k. If I didn't go to the write-ins, I would be very unlikely to finish at 50k at all this year.

Unfortunately, you can't always tell which write-ins will have people on the chat, also. I tried popping on the chat a couple times during other write-ins and no one was in the chat. That's why I try to make an effort to go on the IRC chat, even if I'm attending the actual write-in, to catch those who can't be there in person.

There are several people that move away from this region, but still write for this region because it's just that much more awesome than the rest (especially where they move to). Ky just had her local region completely disband mid-Nano, for example, and down here in Bloomington there's been like 8 posts in their forums all month. When people are in the chat, it feels like they're still participating in the group. It's not as good as being there in person, but it's still pretty fun. So if you attend these, and the chat won't be too distracting for you, please try to make an effort to join the chat :)

Both Jez and Tim have been very good about participating in the chat, by the way. You can count on their write-ins to be able to be attended virtually :).

That's a good point, people aren't always in the chat. What I did this past Sunday was go through the NaperWriMo word count spreadsheetfirst, and then from there Tim told me to go in the chat to coordinate word wars. So I'd suggest declaring yourself in the word count spreadsheet first so that people know you want to participate.

I love having the chat open during write-ins. 1) because it makes word wars so much easier and 2) because it gets your involvement up (and my boss let me count those in my statistics!).

If I go to any write-ins, you can count on me being in the chat, but, unfortunately, I've only been to the ones I've hosted so far. Now that my portfolio is out of the way, I'll be in there more often.

Mary makes a good point, though, it's helpful to check in on the spreadsheet. Sometimes the write-ins themselves are not well attended (I only had 2 show up to Downer's on the 4th) and that's why no one is in the chat to coordinate.

Love the focus of write-ins. Went to a write-in tonight in Elgin. Yes, there it is. I cheated on Naperville with Chicago. I'm not proud of my philandering ways, but their ML lives close and does write- ins in Elgin on Tuesday. But I passed 30k tonight. I'm officially caught up after being behind all month. Yea, write-ins!

Fear not I always come back to Naperville. Look, I just typed with them. With you, I write.

See you at the next write in.

Hey, whatever works best for you! And congrats on passing 30K!

I write on my desktop glued into headphones and a mountain of coffee. I haven't attended a write in yet, but now that I have a laptop and a weekend off of activities, maybe I will.