See the pictures from our 2013 TGIO:
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It was a great NaNo season and a wonderful Thank-Goodness-It’s-Over party! Many thanks to Ky (scrapacat) for contributing this beautiful scarf she made, to Steve (Whitey) for contributing a very handsome handmade journal (which I won in the raffle), and to Paula (catatone1) for contributing a very precious pink crown she knitted (symbolic of the prizes she awards at game nights for the Journey). I also brought out three magnetic quote frames, three blank journals, two squids and some mini posters with a squid design.
Katherine (Squiddish) brought special squid cookies for all those who wrote squids into their novels; Katherine (KatherineWriting) brought special gifts for all those who won special writing prompt awards.
Becky (Sapphire) presented me with an absolutely gorgeous framed shadow box with the NaNoWriMo logo (she is known for her terrific shadow box artwork).
We sang our regional song accompanied by Cee-Bee’s husband Bart on guitar (a terrific rendition!), recorded by Barry (FinbarrMcG) and we took some pictures for the Chuck Wendig contest (Julius Caesar in the Senate; a pavane from Pride and Prejudice; and an armed confrontation from West Side Story):
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CONGRATULATIONS
First: congratulations to every one of you. As some have pointed out this month, NaNoWriMo is about motivating people to write their novels in November. You get out of it what you put into it and want out of it. We accept that life has priorities; NaNoWriMo likely isn’t your highest and yet you’ve accomplished something. Even those of you who made the effort to sign up have accomplished a positive step. So reward yourself with a treat!
Note: The next three lists are based on our NaNo Faces graph, where an amazing 51 out of 74 participants crossed the 50k words mark (69%!): Top three regional wordcounts: mochomito (135652), Spellguns (126981), KatherineWriting (103333)
Rest of the top ten wordcounts: Mieza, jen.e.moore, TRRDEDEAN, scrapacat, TypesetJez, silverwolf42, PBJ63010
Rest of the 51 winners on our regional Faces graph: Ajey, Lady Gao, Cee-Bee, Mike.Giltner, writertodd07, Anobi, TeenWriter, rupert, fishmama, Squiddish, NewMexicoKid, kamannix, Silira, tireddadx3, MelissaDuncan, feynman_diagram, FinbarrMcG, horatio, john_csy, M.Finchley, SheWrote, callalily05, AnnaVanEast, writeprice, mongrelvw, cableshaft, Citrus Siren, KellyKobayashi , ziplizard, Nitrocat, slrphebos, KellyDuff, beachpig, Sapphire, From the Shadows, YeungJeans, fdahlman, KeithCochran, tregina12000, civile, catatone1
ML’s also have limited access to lists of those who are members of the region. For those who set Naperville as their home region, congratulations to these with wordcount > 50,000 words: AmaranthMuse, yesweremagicians, Spellguns, Sheeva, Qberty, KatherineWriting, Mieza, Earl Fin, ACFalk, jen.e.moore, TRRDEDEAN, scrapacat, TypesetJez, silverwolf42, PBJ63010, WritingStudent, Ajey, Tebor, krhorsejumper97, Lady Gao, GIRYL1015, kheartsfan96, Cee-Bee, WhimsicalSnowflake, Mike.Giltner, writertodd07, Mary Frances Gualandri, astralmeson, CindysNovel623, Anobi, TeenWriter, rupert, skowar, Becks76, fishmama, Squiddish, laurelkff, MMMoreau, NewMexicoKid, xosnorksxo, Silira, DianaArtemis, Midnight Scribbler, InspectorStevi, tireddadx3, Larkk, delboland, tgirl16, 1ChrisM, feynman_diagram, Whimsical Wanderer, samcadams, Kat_808, Dark Angel Bakura, FinbarrMcG, L_Murray_K, Syzygophile, iOc of FF, Jira, cruelestmonth, horatio, john_csy, JediEmma, M.Finchley, DeathByAngels, SheWrote, Knyghtraven, BetsyD, bookaddictsguide, Sigird, heelizabeth, Big Cardboard Square, le.starra, KayTi, urbanknight1968, LunaOfLondon, mlkrauss, eaglescorch, WendyByrne, callalily05, mmk9896, bird7s, bartilson9, writerbeeme, AnnaVanEast, stephsco, youcrazything, silver_witch, clearly_insane_87, wink568, jtotheb, Celestial Seraphim, Magdalena49, Ellie A, Grace Ludovico, writeprice, V13Dragongal, michellelee300, mongrelvw, Doogel, khunter1470, Raylin, cableshaft, misslissylou, Ehornig, crjakes, julielmay, rubyliveshere, velocihawk, Citrus Siren, Emma Ackroyd, doconnor, KellyKobayashi, lowkeyoh, ziplizard, Nitrocat, detra_luvsbooks, chisuze, KellyDuff, Anastasia007, corvus dubh, beachpig, msfukaiao, adavaughan, dunhamrc, Sapphire, From the Shadows, YeungJeans, sam_can_do_it, thegrinch, fdahlman, Spurfy Sora, cfbrunner, soapboxblues, AkitoAnemone, KeithCochran, fmmellenthin, MDourado, tregina12000, dragonsaege, currycj2, Tokaara, civile, CtrlAltTabby, blackhawkey19, DJRM, KMGrizzy, garbajack, MYCATSEGA, c.est_la_vie19, weirdghostboo, Jason Huls, Torielinner, Sherrie Henry, catatone1, himmelsgrau, writemore41, AllyCiucur, and Vipushan.
Consider joining the Journey
We have a cafeteria-style writing group, the Journey, that operates in the months that NaNo isn’t active. It’s free and the first of seven general meetings is January 11, 2014 (11:45 AM-3 PM in the Lunch Room at the Naperville Municipal Center). There will be workshops, short story anthologies, an Editing Path, an Accountability Group, Shakespeare Reader’s Theatre and many social Paths. Consider joining us.
Give Generously to NaNoWriMo
None of us would be here without the fantastic non-profit NaNoWriMo organization and its wonderful servers that help us communicate and track our progress in writing our novels. All of this takes money: please consider giving something to NaNoWriMo to help defray their costs. Those unable to contribute financially can still help NaNoWriMo out.
Thank you!
I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow volunteer co-MLs Katherine (KatherineWriting) and Frank (fdahlman) for their energy, creativity, enthusiasm and hard work the past months in preparing for NaNoWriMo and collaborating with me to help serve you better. Thanks also to all of our fantastic library partners: Lisa West at the Naperville Public Library (our oldest and closest partner), Jen Moore (also a member of the Journey) at the Warrenville Public Library (which also hosted our Shakespeare Readers Theatre events), Denise Murray at the Woodridge Public Library (which hosted our popular Writer’s Voice workshop earlier this year), Sarah Kovac at the Carol Stream Public Library, Joy Matteson and Melissa Doornbos at the Downers Grove Library, Mary Kay Akers at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, Angie Baugher at the Aurora Public Library (Eola Road Branch), and Christine Sporleder at the Bloomingdale Public Library.
Many thanks as well to Todd Hogan (writertodd07), Katherine Lato (KatherineWriting), Roger Lubeck (Roger Lubeck) and Frank Dahlman (fdahlman) for their great preparatory workshops. And we thank everyone who organized and hosted write-ins, especially Squiddish, Cee-Bee, Sapphire, Citrus Siren, SarahK06, thePiratess, TypesetJez, jen.e.moore, Nidia.Ceylon, PBJ63010, Miranda Innaimo, fdahlman, and KatherineWriting.
Last but definitely not least: thanks to all of you for your hard work, your enthusiasm, your dedication, your writing talent and your dreams! They inspire me always and are the primary reason I am one of your Municipal Liaisons.
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