Who are the SockMonkey Writers?
The SockMonkey Writers Group is a casual group of friendly people who meet at various locations in Pierce County to write, edit and generally give each other support and inspiration. Our group traces its roots to NaNoWriMo (more on this story further down this page), and we try to preserve some of the spirit of NaNo all year. No skill or experience level is too small, no aspirations are too big, all genres are welcome, as are all ages, genders, races and orientations, etc. Most of our interactions are online, although, during November and sometimes during Camp Nano, write ins are hosted at Starbucks, libraries or other public spaces where people can write and also take occasional breaks to chat, ask for ideas and commiserate. Our group is a fun, friendly and informal space where we can encourage each other to make writing a regular part of our lives.
SockMonkey: The Saga Continues
Why, you may ask, is a SockMonkey our regional writing mascot?
That's a great question! In fact, it was asked in our Facebook group last fall, and one of our regional Municipal Liaisons, Kyrthanna Elvendahl, decided to ask around and see if she could find the answer, since SockMonkey was the mascot before she joined the group. The following is copied verbatim from her posted report on the NaNoWriMo forums:
The SockMonkey Saga: Part 1:
I started by speaking with one of our previous MLs, who I thought would know the story. She promptly referred me to her then co-ML, because, as she said, it was all her co-ML's idea. I chuckled and sent a message.
The message I received told me that, at the time, a member of the group, who attended a number of write ins, always wore a SockMonkey hat. They thought it was cute and decided that SockMonkey would make a great regional writing group mascot. I spoke with that member and she was happy to share with me a picture of the hat that inspired it all (along with a few other SockMonkey items, because I think she's a big fan ;) ):
The message I received told me that, at the time, a member of the group, who attended a number of write ins, always wore a SockMonkey hat. They thought it was cute and decided that SockMonkey would make a great regional writing group mascot. I spoke with that member and she was happy to share with me a picture of the hat that inspired it all (along with a few other SockMonkey items, because I think she's a big fan ;) ):
I was also told that the original SockMonkey, who left the state when his person moved away, was named Steve.
Here is a picture of those MLs, along with Steve in pirate gear, another pirate SockMonkey and a Sockmonkey treat bucket. (The theme for that kickoff was Pirates/Adventure and people were encouraged to dress up.)
Sadly, all of those SockMonkeys left the state and SockMonkey was forced to live on as the virtual mascot of our region....until now.
The SockMonkey Saga: Part 2:
In speaking with Saucy_Wench, we both agreed that we wanted to find ways to get SockMonkey involved in the group again. We felt the mascot had been in mothballs too long. We also agreed that it was about time our group branched out into a few other social media outlets and in order to let people know they were in the right place, it seemed like having our mascot as our thumbnails was the way to go.
Sockmonkey then helped announce our Preptober Workshop and Kickoff Party:
And, being such a wonderful mascot (and model!), Sockmonkey helped show off some of the stickers that went out in the goody bags at the Kickoff party:
Sockmonkey loves being involved, but we both felt there was something missing....
The SockMonkey Saga: Part 3:
Our previous mascot had a name. It was Steve. But our current mascot does not have one. :( This is where you all come in:
Starting with the Kickoff, where we received a number of name suggestions, you will be able to write down a potential name for our new mascot. It could be masculine. It could be feminine. It could be gender neutral. It could be silly. It really doesn't matter. Any write in that I host or attend in November 2018, I will have Sockmonkey, this sign and bucket and some slips of paper with me. (There will be a sign nearby with a few sample mascot names, to help with inspiration.)
Was a name chosen?
Unfortunately, there was a bit of a snag in the naming process:
That's right. It was a tie. So the suggested names were put up for a virtual vote with a deadline of mid-December. The votes were tallied. Duplicates from the previous round were discounted. And, once again, our ML was left with a conundrum. What should SockMonkey's new name be?
You'll have to come back and find out!
(Written May 11, 2019. New name TBA.)
If you've stopped by looking for updates on the name since the last addition was written, I apologize. I did post an update in the form of a blog post, which you can see here, if you're interested, with the intention of adding the information to this page but didn't get back to it, until now.
As mentioned in the post, even though the second tie meant that the name should have been chosen by a random roll of the dice, I found that I just couldn't do that, because both names fit so well. But, there was only one sockmonkey. I did a bit of searching and came up with another solution.
A lovely outfit was purchased for Sockmonkey and I found her a Sockdog friend, giving us
Polly Esther Socks and Pierson!
(Because, really, we're writers and many writers love puns, plus, Pierson represents Pierce County, which is our region and it only felt right to include them both somehow.)
My daughter drew a digital thumbnail/profile picture graphic for me with both of them in it and I gradually replaced the profile pictures everywhere I was able to, in order to make it more uniform for anyone who might visit.
That is the saga as it stands. Although, as time goes on, more Sockmonkeys may be added to the menagerie and more naming might be in our regional future. Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in either submitting a name, voting on a name or both!
(Updated April 17, 2020)
Updating the Sockmonkey Saga
If you've stopped by looking for updates on the name since the last addition was written, I apologize. I did post an update in the form of a blog post, which you can see here, if you're interested, with the intention of adding the information to this page but didn't get back to it, until now.
As mentioned in the post, even though the second tie meant that the name should have been chosen by a random roll of the dice, I found that I just couldn't do that, because both names fit so well. But, there was only one sockmonkey. I did a bit of searching and came up with another solution.
A lovely outfit was purchased for Sockmonkey and I found her a Sockdog friend, giving us
Polly Esther Socks and Pierson!
(Because, really, we're writers and many writers love puns, plus, Pierson represents Pierce County, which is our region and it only felt right to include them both somehow.)
My daughter drew a digital thumbnail/profile picture graphic for me with both of them in it and I gradually replaced the profile pictures everywhere I was able to, in order to make it more uniform for anyone who might visit.
That is the saga as it stands. Although, as time goes on, more Sockmonkeys may be added to the menagerie and more naming might be in our regional future. Once again, thank you to everyone who participated in either submitting a name, voting on a name or both!
(Updated April 17, 2020)
