Neonjade

I was seated between a UAH professor of social anthropology and her husband and a retired DoD technical writer and his wife. Our table had a teacher that had not only participated in the regular NaNoWriMo for the past several years, but that had also run her own group of teen participants for her high school classes. We had a participant who’s never written fiction before… ever. Our table ruled! There was such diversity in background and goals that I don’t think there were less than two conversations going at any given time: from the time the table was filled, until Bryan Jones and Amy Herring stood to make their ML presentation.

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, for the uninitiated, and the event starts today. Jump in by visiting the NaNoWriMo website anytime. If you live in Northern Alabama, make sure to join our Google calendar and the North Alabama NaNoWriMo Group as well.

Amy mentioned that she will be populating the calendar shortly. Until then, the write-in schedule is:

• Thursday evenings 6-8pm (except for Thanksgiving) at the Atlanta Bread Company on University, in the Target strip mall area.
• Saturday afternoon write-ins will also be held from 1 to 3pm, starting at Starbucks on Governor’s Drive, and possibly moving to the Books-A-Million at University and Memorial Parkway. Amy said she’ll definitely add locations to the calendar for future events.

Write-in amenities include:

• Atlanta Bread Company - regular tables and chairs, plus a large table near a fireplace where we can all sit if someone gets there soon enough to hold it for us, a few power receptacles (someone will bring a power strip for sharing), and free Wi-Fi.
• Starbucks - few small tables with nice comfy chairs, a couple of power outlets, and access to Wi-Fi with the purchase of a $10 Starbucks card.
• Books-A-Million - huge area of small tables and chairs with plenty of outlets. Wi-Fi access is provided with the purchase of a $25 access card.

I’ll be at the Atlanta Bread Company write-ins. The location is closer to my home, and I prefer to keep a flexible schedule for the weekends, which is “hubby time.” I’ve never joined in anything like a write-in before, so I look forward to the experience. I’m trying not to even form expectations because the only thing I have in my mind to compare it to is writing in a school environment, and that just rings a big red gong in my mind! I’ll jot another note after the first one to share how it goes.

Well, that’s it for the festivities for now. I’m off to check out a deal on Scrivener software for the Mac that one of the writers shared with us. They are supposed to be having a special NaNoWriMo trial version and winner sale. I might actually use my Mac if I get it. My husband will be so proud. Then it’s writing time. I have some catching up to do as several at our table reported a word count of 300-400 for the day already!