Post by Chao on Oct 28, 2012 4:22:18 GMT -5
We had plot-polishing meeting yesterday which was all about finding names. Originally we wanted to go to a large and beautiful and old cemetery, but sleet prevented this, so instead we went to a café and discussed names there. Was very productive.
While I understand being socially awkward (seeing that I tend to be the same), I really encourage everyone who can make it to go to a write-in of a local NaNo-group. Because when it comes to writing, NaNoers are always the same, which is that they accept fellow-writers without judging them by appearance or orthography or favourite genre... You get a lot of encouragement out of such meetings.
While I understand being socially awkward (seeing that I tend to be the same), I really encourage everyone who can make it to go to a write-in of a local NaNo-group. Because when it comes to writing, NaNoers are always the same, which is that they accept fellow-writers without judging them by appearance or orthography or favourite genre... You get a lot of encouragement out of such meetings.
About ten years ago, I was member of a rather active forum and the core group eventually decided to meet. We made it to a total of about three open meetings, after which we found that off-screen we were too different to make such meetings fun for everybody. There was a lot of awkwardness and hurt feelings, even if we managed to avoid open fights, I being one of the hurt people. I was especially upset that outwardly the group was trying to be all democratic and accepting, while inwardly a lot of people were not willing to listen to suggestions (no matter how good or reasonable the suggestion was) if it did not come from one of their favourite people. As a result, I rarely ever felt drawn to meeting new people whom I had only known by internet before after this.
Then, in 2007, my first job after graduating from university had me say good-bye to my parents and move about 500km from them. And although the job and I parted within six month, the new city had won my heart, so I stayed. Not knowing anyone in the city apart from my neighbours and my colleagues, I felt that I should find some group with common interests, and well, internet usually is the obvious choice for looking for such. Needless to say that my regular haunts in the internet were rather similar to the one forum, so I was not really tempted to join any such group in the real-world.
It was in October 2009 that I decided to do NaNo for the first time and upon browsing through the regional forum I found that a group in my beloved city was meeting the next weekend. So, despite all the anxiety I felt, I decided to go to the meeting (since of course I could always leave early if I did not like it and never go to another meeting) and it was about the best decision I ever made.
That first year I was my regular, slightly withdrawn self, but that was okay. Also, with the group having only five members, it's easy to take care that nobody is left out. I was simply happy to be accepted and would have even continued to tag along if things shifted more to the kind of meetings I had experienced with the other forum. But then, next year, with the next NaNo-season, the real difference became obvious. Not only was everybody allowed to voice an opinion, everybody was directly asked for their input. And the others did not simply listen politely but were really interested in the input. That's the magic of NaNo to you. No matter how much opposition or weird looks you get when you tell family and friends that you are a writer, with NaNo everybody has been at the receiving end of this, so it is natural to them not to give such weird looks themselves. To NaNoers it doesn't matter whether you write Neopets-FF, are a HP-Hufflepuff-Nerd or notorious at writing gay romance. You are among fellow-writers.
Then, in 2007, my first job after graduating from university had me say good-bye to my parents and move about 500km from them. And although the job and I parted within six month, the new city had won my heart, so I stayed. Not knowing anyone in the city apart from my neighbours and my colleagues, I felt that I should find some group with common interests, and well, internet usually is the obvious choice for looking for such. Needless to say that my regular haunts in the internet were rather similar to the one forum, so I was not really tempted to join any such group in the real-world.
It was in October 2009 that I decided to do NaNo for the first time and upon browsing through the regional forum I found that a group in my beloved city was meeting the next weekend. So, despite all the anxiety I felt, I decided to go to the meeting (since of course I could always leave early if I did not like it and never go to another meeting) and it was about the best decision I ever made.
That first year I was my regular, slightly withdrawn self, but that was okay. Also, with the group having only five members, it's easy to take care that nobody is left out. I was simply happy to be accepted and would have even continued to tag along if things shifted more to the kind of meetings I had experienced with the other forum. But then, next year, with the next NaNo-season, the real difference became obvious. Not only was everybody allowed to voice an opinion, everybody was directly asked for their input. And the others did not simply listen politely but were really interested in the input. That's the magic of NaNo to you. No matter how much opposition or weird looks you get when you tell family and friends that you are a writer, with NaNo everybody has been at the receiving end of this, so it is natural to them not to give such weird looks themselves. To NaNoers it doesn't matter whether you write Neopets-FF, are a HP-Hufflepuff-Nerd or notorious at writing gay romance. You are among fellow-writers.
