Because she wants to keep some anonymity online, Anna didn't use her real name as her display name for NaNo purposes. No more than she did for Wattpad last week. However, one of these write-ins is held in a Saturday afternoon prior to the start of NaNo proper, in one of those independent coffee shops of the Baltimore suburbs. After both Anna and Yulia finished voting, of course.

Oh boy: I must refrain from mentioning my profession since it would likely mean I would be asked a lot of questions about characterization, now and next month, especially in the areas of personality and mental health, should the attendees learn of me being a psychologist. I'm not sure about how would that help with my own writing, Anna starts thinking of what precautions she needs to take going into the preliminary write-in. One of the attendees immediately recognizes her as soon as she enters the coffee shop:

"Anna!" Sam yells in Anna's direction, with her mother around.

"Promise me that you won't be talking about therapy or testing to anyone here today, please..." Anna asks Samantha, fearing that Sam would ruin everything.

"Promise"

My parents let me go here because Anna made them believe some space to cultivate my gifts was needed, Sam starts thinking, realizing that she's the youngest attendee at the event, as the other attendees from a wide range of ages start mingling among each other.

"Who here is new to NaNo? Please raise your hand!" the host of the write-in asks, hoping that some people new to NaNo are attending.

And it turns out that it isn't just Anna or Samantha who take part in it for the first time. A male teenage first-timer raised his hand before the write-in host starts haranguing the first-timers:

"Before we walk through how to update word counts, get started on projects, here is some advice: if you already have a good idea of what your story is about, please don't hesitate to make your own cover page using your favorite AI artwork tool. Remember also that it can be subject to change, just like the title. At some point, you will run into a writer's block and you will often be told about adding a ninja attack scene. While it may be a quick way to add at least a few hundred words in the present, as are regular breaches of the fourth wall, you will have time to edit it later, in December"

No random ninja attacks, no random breaches of the fourth wall, Anna keeps adding to the Manifest of No's. And she easily imagines fellow NaNo participants writing excessively wordy descriptions to get to the 50,000 word count. Which were already in the Manifest.

Anna then starts using the online, free version of Canva for a cover page featuring two Chinese teenagers at the host family on exchange, and with her real name at the bottom. Without affixes. However, she starts thinking of a title when the host begins to talk about the key features of NaNo's system.

So major characters will start a PR company, manufacturing deepfakes, and the host family takes an active role on the business side of things. Meanwhile, both the exchange students and the host family's own kids need to balance schoolwork and extracurriculars. What about Falsebound Kingdom? Anna reflects on a possible title for her writing project.

"I believe the experience will be better if our newcomers could get mentors for the month" the host announces to the veterans of NaNo.

Samantha gets no shortage of would-be mentors since a lot of the attendees seem to like children and, more importantly, giving them the love of reading and writing. Which, for so many, is in short supply among today's youth. Especially when the host makes a quick review of core writing concepts, such as flaws, character development and plotting.

However, Anna, for some reason, while acknowledging that some more experienced buddies would help her finish the project, doesn't seem to attract the same level of interest among the NaNo vets present for a pre-NaNo meet and greet. Yet, what interest she garners seems a little... off.

"Anna, sometimes you give me the feel of a study machine. Or rather, someone who used to be one" a NaNo veteran comments about her.

"How so? I know it's going to be challenging, I know it's hard but if I do all the legwork I can possibly do now, I will be grateful for it later down the road!" Anna responds to the female Iraqi refugee NaNo veteran.

"What makes it hard is not so much the research requirements or even the pace at which you need to write!" the veteran argues with her in an Arabic accent.

"Keeping motivation, and also not falling into the trap of having the work be good enough on the first draft. Developing and maintaining plot lines is not easy either"

It's already hard enough to write a novel of any length without a time limit, even for someone who's good at language arts. It would be a nightmare to write a 50,000-word novel if you were struggling with language arts. And I know all too well about how you could be your own worst critic: maladaptive perfectionism is something I see in my own clients regularly, at least two or three times a week. I am smart enough to make it through, but to make it through, I need to approach this realistically: unrealistic expectations can do people in really fast, irrespective of endeavor, Anna's brain seems to keep churning insights that give her pause, at a speed that bewilders her. These insights stop when she is spoken to.

"Surely you have realized that, Anna, but smart characters are hard to portray properly. Do you have any tips?" the veteran asks her.

"You probably know about doing your research, and you may need to do so piecemeal, but even if you did your research, there's one more thing: show their thought processes to the extent it makes sense to do so. Oh and what's your name?"

"Rania. I feel like we can get along" Rania, the Iraqi NaNo veteran, then gives her contact information to Anna, and the same in reverse.

Anna then leans down to face Samantha, who comes back to her after collecting contact info from Sam's own mentor. And is also very easily the smallest of the attendees beyond simply being the youngest.

"Do you feel comfortable among people who are much older than you?" Anna asks Sam, in a room now reeking of coffee.

"Yeah; I will continue going on weekends if my parents will allow it" Samantha answers her therapist.

"You're learning writing notions that are much more advanced than fourth-graders usually learn. I think you should be able to apply what you learned today, and put your talents to good use"

"Thank you for believing in me"

Thus far, I can only tell that she's gifted in one area. Until the SCAT results arrive, and the CogAT in two weeks, it's a way to nurture her gifts, and, since Samantha seemed to trust me, I willingly accept to be one of her writing buddies for NaNo. However, this gives me an idea of another item to add to my Manifest of No's: no teacher-student romance, Anna's mind seems to play tricks on her, and she starts getting headaches.

"I have a question for you: who's your mentor for this month?" she asks Sam after writing down no teacher-student romance on the Manifest.

"Yulia, I think?" Samantha answers her, a little uncomfortable.

"She's my roommate. Speaking of her, I would like to speak with Yulia for a bit"

Yulia is in the queue, waiting for her turn to grab a coffee, like so many attendees. And, of course, Anna is in line, too, but entered the line much later so she will have to wait, too. Surprisingly for her, Anna is able to wait in the line without her headaches intensifying, despite the ideas flowing from all over the café and coming from the other attendees.

Once Anna has finally gotten her latte, which soothes her headaches somewhat, she gets seated at the same table as Yulia, and Anna has her own questions for her roommate, believing that maybe Yulia might have dragged her into taking part in NaNo on top of Samantha.

"Hey Yulia, maybe you did your research while I am at work, but what are you writing about this year?" Anna asks her.

"This year, I am writing a fantasy story called Alcoholic Massacre. It's about an air superiority witch who discovers her gifts with alcohol magic and then insists upon serving in a different capacity" Yulia answers, seemingly unfazed by the sheer surrealism of the concept.

"Air superiority?" Anna gasps upon hearing the words air superiority in the context of fantasy literature. She instead expected air superiority to be used in military fiction. "I never heard about a fantasy story where the concept of an air superiority wizard even exists. However, because of alcohol magic, I trust that you're familiar with the effects of alcohol poisoning. I assume that air superiority wizards are analogues to fighters, and other types of airborne combatants or flying creatures would fill other aerial warfare roles"

"Not the most original thing in the world, but my main thrust of research this year has actually been aerial warfare" Yulia explains to her, before stopping to drink the coffee.

More stuff to add to my Manifest of No's: no "chosen ones", no damsels in distress, no overly convoluted names, no purely good or evil characters, but maybe I keep adding stuff to the Manifest of No's just in case I pick a different genre in a future year. If I participate again in the future based on how this year goes. I know that I won't have a damsel in distress, nor a "chosen one" kind of character this year around, so while it may seem superfluous to me in the here and now, I may never know... Anna's mind seems to pick up some speed again while Yulia is drinking her own coffee. And it's surprising just what sort of knowledge you're exposed to, as a therapist, by your clients: everything I know about aerial warfare comes from a client who played science and history in quiz bowl.

"I must confess my own story isn't the most original either, but I'm not that concerned about how original it is. As you said, the size of my Manifest of No's is a reflection of how formulaic indie literature has become" Anna then sips her coffee in turn.

Anna reviews her research, and she finds a glaring hole. It has to do with the manufacturing process for deepfakes, as well as the software used in their manufacture. At the same time, she feels like it's no use going too deeply in the research for Falsebound Kingdom at this point: before she leaves the café where this pre-kickoff is held, she researches the process to start a business. Which also raises a question in her mind: how would they get the seed money to get their business up and running? And, of course, getting the W-9 made, as is often requested in the business-to-business world.

She then starts jotting down character sheets, their putative roles in the plot as well as their character traits. Like how the host family says they will try to get customers for the exchange students' deepfakes, the need to juggle coursework, extemp, their deepfake business and other extracurricular activities, and Yulia does exactly the same on her side. Yet it appears that several people are interested in getting their contact information as soon as they start getting an interest in their writing projects.

However, Samantha leaves before the other attendees do, because her parents didn't want her to incur unnecessary risks. That, even though Samantha did there was mostly talk and write.

"Goodbye, Anna, goodbye, Yulia!" Samantha tells the two ladies before her parents pick her up to return home.

"See you later! And good luck everyone!" Anna wishes Samantha, and the other attendees, the best.

But that quiz bowler client who taught Anna what little she knew about aerial warfare also reminded her of a harsh truth, in a flashback of a therapy session with him, that would serve her well in creative writing: No battle plan long survives contact with the enemy. To her, this saying means, in the context of NaNo, that she shouldn't be too detailed in her planning, and, of course, leaving herself some wiggle room for unexpected twists and other issues. So she decides to stop doing research beyond what she already did. I guess, better stop doing research now and assume the consequences later, but I think I'm comfortable with what these are, since I mostly expect these consequences to come piecemeal. However, that's what my writing buddies, and the state's Discord server, are for.

------------------------

Back at home, she spends some time on the state's NaNo Discord server and looks at the schedule of write-ins on the state's NaNo calendar. She then peruses the procedures for participants to host their own write-ins, realizing that most write-ins are held in various places around the state, such as Frederick and Federalsburg, but either on weeknights or on weekends. So she decides to host one, weekly even, starting with the daytime in-person kick-off on November 1.

At the same time, she peruses potential locations either in the Baltimore area or in the DC area (on the Maryland side of the latter) that isn't a Starbucks. Because she knew from the last pre-kick-off write-in that NaNo participants often sought to drink coffee when doing write-ins in person. And ideally the write-ins should be scheduled outside of breakfast hours.

Her search for the right coffee shops is cut short when Rania (she knew it was Rania based on her introduction on the state's NaNo Discord server) DMs her about a warning she feels must be issued. After exchanging some formalities:

"I hope you're not using your writing project for wish fulfilment" Rania warns her.

Oh boy, Rania must talk about Mary Sues! As if Yulia didn't talk about these already! Anna starts to feel dread when Rania even mentions wish fulfillment. And Rania reminds me of my clients, too! Some of them feel like whatever they're doing is not enough, they want to be smarter, more accomplished, and maybe even wish they could have a do-over of something specific, often a major tournament, athletic or academic. Or just dating someone else with specific traits, or even dating someone at all. Sometimes I wonder why my brain, or my memory, plays tricks on me that often: it's exhausting, and it gives me headaches, too! There are times where the intellect I have is an asset, there's no question. But my mind is overexcited in all directions right now, Anna's headaches take over and she reaches for the nearest painkiller, putting her laptop to sleep beforehand.

At this point, she feels like her train of thought has derailed and its derailment causes her migraines. So she decides to go to bed for a bit, trying not to think about NaNo or her clients, as she attempts to give her brain some much-needed rest. And time for the painkiller to kick in, too.

Once she awakens, about an hour and a half later, she is healthy again. She then proceeds to allocate her top 5 choices of coffee shops for these Thursday morning write-ins among the dates, believing hosting it at different coffee shops each time would be a good idea to help the attendees get their creativity on track. So on odd-numbered weeks, she feels like it's going to be in the Baltimore area and on even-numbered weeks, in the DC area.