Born in NaNoWri

 By Maureen Bonatch 

 

It’s almost November so you know what that means? 

Ok, maybe you don’t if you’re thinking about turkeys, and fall turning to winter and the upcoming holiday season and not immediately thinking about NaNoWri like me! 

 November is National Novel Writing Month 

Otherwise known as NaNoWri. I might write all year, but the enthusiasm of everyone participating in NaNoWri in November gives me an extra push to get those words on the page. 

I’ve talked about NaNoWri a lot over the years—whether anyone cared to listen or not 

 You might say I'm a little obsessed with it. Here are a few of my favorite posts: 

•  Making a DIY standing treadmill desk 
•  Secrets to Winning NaNoWri 
•  For Your Loved Ones Dealing with the NaNoWri Obsessed 
•  How NaNoWri is like Being An Alien 
• The Month After NaNoWri Poem 

 There are many more, I’m sure. 

How Do I Know NaNoWri Works?

                   My daughter and I winning NaNoWri Last Year

I haven’t “won” NaNoWri every year I participated, but I enjoyed it regardless. Although I have “won” (aka: finished a 50k first draft) more years than not. 

For me, NaNoWri inspires me to get those words on the page and prioritize my writing. Many of my books were born in NaNoWri. 

A few NaNoWri book babies have been polished and published—I’ve listed those below. 

•  Hexes, Highballs & Hockey (2017) 
•  Not a Chance (2014) 
•  Grandma Must Die (2013) 

 And now… Magic, Mimosa’s & Mistletoe (2020) 

I thought I wouldn’t win NaNoWri in 2020 I was feeling kind of down with 2020 and the holidays weren’t looking the same with lockdowns and restrictions on visiting with family and friends. 

I had started one story and was struggling with it until I decided to revive my holiday spirit by writing about it.

Magic, Mimosa’s & Mistletoe flowed out of me like water and was such fun to write! I had to do ‘research’ by playing Christmas music and was ‘forced’ to watch holiday movies. It really helped bring back my holiday spirit. Since I write paranormal I made the story a fun mash up of the Halloween and Christmas holidays.

I’ll be introducing Magic, Mimosa’s & Mistletoe to the world on October 31st. 

Here’s a taste! 

 I don’t see dead people, but my dog does. 

Hi, I’m Marissa Hale. When my friend, Grace invites me to visit the Inn she inherited, I’m high-tailing it back to my home state of Pennsylvania. Like most things in life, there are strings attached to her inheritance—and these ones have twinkly lights. The Inn, and the town, are Christmas themed. No witch worth her broom would choose Christmas over Halloween, unless that witch’s bloodline is the magic mainline for keeping the yuletide spirit alive. 

Her aunt’s death was already suspicious, but then we stumble upon a dead body amongst the poinsettias that resembles one of Santa’s fabled elves. It sure seems like someone is trying to force Grace to sell Kringle Inn. I’m going to need all the help I can get to solve these crimes, and save Christmas, but when the only witnesses are a pig, and a ghost, I’m not sure that’s going to be enough… 

Get Into the Holly Jolly Spirit Early by Grabbing Your Copy Right Here

I have several more ‘winners’ from past years (2015, 2016, 2018) that will be polished and released to the world in 2022. 

 What About You? Do You NaNo?       

Maureen’s first novella was a paranormal romance published when blogs were a new-fangled thing. She’s since changed her focus to writing paranormal cozy mysteries as M.L. Bonatch and urban fantasy as Maureen Bonatch. 

While she’s not busy writing or doing nurse-things, she’s a mom to her twin daughters, bicycling in the beautiful woods of PA with her hubby, doing the bidding of a feisty Shih Tzu, and dancing as much as possible. She believes music can be paired with every mood, laughter is contagious, and that caffeine and wine are essential for survival. 

 Visit Maureen's Website Here

HERE BE NEWS for November 11, 2019

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Monday, November 4 - 
"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the gang at Here Be Magic, including the winners from our October Scary Movies Contest.

Tuesday, November 5 -
“NANOWRIMO REBEL” – Author Nicole Luiken is taking part in National Novel Writing Month – but being a rebel means choosing your own goals! 

Thursday, November 7 -
"PLANNING FOR 2020" - Every author needs a crystal ball to help decide what ideas will become stories and when. Author Shona Husk has decided to kick off 2020 with cryptids and romance. 

Sweet Contemporary Romance from Linda Mooney

Excerpt and buy link here:
https://lindamooney.com/WhentheHeart.htm

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NaNoWriMo Rebel

I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month (hereinafter known as NaNoWriMo) again, but this time I'm breaking the rules.

The rules of NaNoWriMo are to write a complete 50,000 words novel from start to finish during the month of November, but a significant portion of us bend the rules. There are so many of us Rebels, that NaNoWriMo staff made a badge for us. (See left)

My goals for the month are two-fold: First to finish the first draft of Mike and Angel 5 which I was supposed to finish in October. (I feel like I only have a chapter or two to go, but my outline is sketchy at best so we'll see.) Second, to lay down as many words as I can on a sequel to my unpublished epic fantasy novel Path of Power.

I still want to hit that 50,000 word achievement, but being a rebel means choosing your own goals. This may mean trying to hit a smaller goal like 10, 20 or 30,000 words or simply to write every day.

So if you've been avoiding NaNoWriMo because you feel it's impossible or you're already in the middle of a project, I encourage you to go for it! There's no penalty if you fail (I have both won and lost NaNoWriMo in the past, but I've never regretted trying) and no monetary prize hinged on winning just the simple joy of accomplishment.

Lessons Learned from National Novel Writing Month

Many of you may be familiar with National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo). I’ve rambled on about it time and again. 

But if you haven’t heard, each November writers try and write 50,000 words toward a novel. 

As #NaNoWri has evolved, there are many different versions so goals can be attainable for kids as well. I’ve participated for many years. The first few years I didn’t even come close, but once I won, I wanted to have that feeling of accomplishment every year. 

Because NaNoWri is about more than just writing 50,000 words, it’s about discovering just what you’re capable of if you apply yourself to a goal. Some of the lessons I’ve learned from NaNoWriMo can be applied to each day or month of the year.

 

Find Support & Accountability

We all have lofty goals that seem almost unattainable. Sometimes we may call them dreams and feel as if they are things we can only wish for. Although there are some things that are within our control if we apply ourselves and find the support to keep us accountable. Even if we are only accountable to ourselves. 

• Goals are met through babysteps. I don’t sit down on November 1^st thinking that I'll write 50,000 words. If I did, I’d probably be completely overwhelmed and quit before I got started. Instead, I plan to write at least 1,667 words each day. That’s an attainable goal for me. Even if I break it into 2 writing periods during the day to get there with smaller steps. Those little steps add up. 

• Announce your goal to others, or find someone who will be your cheerleader to keep you accountable. Even if it’s making your own chart and watching the numbers grow. Your goals and dreams are most important to you, so nurture them.

These tips can be applied to new habits, or working toward any dream. One day at a time. To reference one of my favorite quotes, 

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” – John Quincy Adams

Practice Productivity 

There are many distractions in life, and especially on the internet, that can make a task take much longer than necessary. Find your focus and set a time to work on a task, and a goal of when to finish. You might discover that you can complete it much quicker than you realized. 

Some people practice specific techniques to increase productivity, but only you can determine what works for you. I've used these productivity techniques throughout the year.

• Pomodoro Technique – Setting a time for a specific time frame (usually 25 minutes) and working with five minute breaks between sets.

• Sprints- are particularly popular for NaNoWriMo and effective for me. Choose a time frame and race against the clock to get as much done as possible. Whether it’s writing words, completing chores, or other tasks. 

• Find your Magic – for me I know that I have to organize my desk and clear out most of my emails to be able to focus and be more productive. Otherwise, I’m distracted. Determine what helps you focus. It may be a certain space in your home, a certain time of day, or creating a relaxing atmosphere.

My NaNoWri Novel

I won NaNoWri again this year. That doesn’t mean I have a complete book ready to go. It means it’s in an ugly draft form, and it needs many more words, and a whole lot of editing to be complete. But I have 50,000 words to a brand new story that I didn’t have a month ago. 

Plus, I know that several of these ugly drafts have later been released to the world as my book babies. I still have 3 NaNoWri winners in draft, but here are a few of my former NaNoWri winners now available in print.

Chance Taken -2014 Winner renamed as Not a Chance

For The Love of Grandma -2013 Winner renamed Grandma Must Die 

See No Evil- 2012 Winner renamed Evil Speaks Softly 

Do You Have Any Productivity Tips to Share?

A Few Chances to Win a Gift for Yourself This Holiday

It seems that when I start holiday shopping, that’s when I find things I want for myself, but I feel guilty because I should be buying for others. Here are a few contests that you can enter to try to win a guilt-free prize for yourself.

 

Hurry- this contest wraps up Today- December 5^th

 Your chance to win a Kindle Fire 7 Tablet- $25 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 5 total books) - $20 Amazon gift card- $15 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 3 total books)- $10 Amazon gift card Check it out Right Here

Make Your Month More Merry 

Enter for your Chance to win a kindle fire or echo dot Right Here

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazonand/or signing up for her newsletter

HERE BE NEWS for November 12, 2018

All the latest 

from the authors at 

Here Be Magic

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In Case You Missed It:

Monday, November 5 - 
"HERE BE NEWS" - All the latest from the authors at Here Be Magic.

Tuesday, November 6 - 
"WHAT DO YOU FIND SCARY IN A STORY?" - According to author Maureen Bonatch, the difference between thrill or fear may depend on the reader.

Thursday, November 8 - 
"JOY" - It's National Novel Writing Month again! Author Nicole Luiken pauses to ponder why her project for this year's NANOWRIMO is different.

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Joy

I’m participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, and I’m delighted by how well it’s going. I'm on track and over 10K. My characters are coming alive, my plot in bundling along nicely, and the words are flowing. Yay!

There have been other years when this so wasn’t the case. Years where the words didn’t flow, where I’d check my word count after an hour of effort and despair to see that I’d only added 150 words. Years when I ran into a road block, was stumped for days trying to get around it, ended up way behind schedule and gave up.

This was especially painful for me because I’ve always preferred drafting to the drudgery of rewriting. That’s where most of my joy was and to have that turn into a slog, too, really sucked.

So since things are going well, I want to stop for a moment and analyze why. Why is this novel dancing along when the previous two didn’t? I think it’s important for writers to know their process, to know what works and what doesn’t.

Part of it may be because I’ve been wanting to write this novel for a long time. The basic character conflict came to me over five years ago, a premise that I love. I even wrote a synopsis, but until now I never sat down to write it. I had reasons: I wasn’t happy with that version of the plot, it felt clichéd and vague. It's book two in a series, and I was still revising book one. (The series is PNR and my wheelhouse is YA fantasy so there was a steep learning curve when I switched genres.)

Mostly though, I think this year’s novel is going well because of my outline. I’ve always been an outliner. Pantsing for me is a nightmare of staring at the screen not knowing where to steer the story. However, over the years my detailed chapter-by-chapter outline had fallen by the wayside and been replaced by a simple list of chronological events with gaps in between. At a certain point in the planning stage, I would become overcome with enthusiasm and plunge in, trusting to momentum to push me through the blank spots in my outline. Sometimes it worked. More often, it didn’t.

With this book, I was ready to start writing by October 26th, but had to hold off until November 1st to participate in Nanowrimo without breaking the rules. Since it was only a few days, I waited and spent those extra days adding detail to my outline and plumping out character arcs. And it’s making such a difference! I can start each scene with a clear sense of what needs to happen.

Again, the purpose of this post is not to convince you to outline, but rather if you’re struggling to  take some time and think about your process. You know what works for you and what doesn’t. Are you doing all the things that you know work, or like me, have you been cutting corners and paying for it with poor writing days?

Best of luck! I have to go--I hear my novel calling.

When Holidays Collide—How To Make Time For Yourself

By Maureen Bonatch

I turned off the light after the last trick-or-treater and extinguished the pumpkins lining our porch. Thoughts of immersing myself in a paranormal or scary movie to continue to enjoy the Halloween vibe filled my mind. As I passed the living room I paused. A Christmas commercial caught my eye. It wasn’t the first one I’d seen, and I was sure it wouldn’t be even close to the last.

As soon as summer begins to wind down and the air starts to chill, the crush of Hallo-thanks-mas advertising and promotions settles on our shoulders along with a To-do list heavier than the boxes of holiday decorations. It seems like every month of the year we get busier, yet we still try to fit in all the extra tasks that accompany the holidays. Something’s got to give, and it’s usually the time we devote to ourselves.

Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That

There are many people who look forward to the holiday season with the same joy they felt as a child. But there seem to be more who become filled with dread for various reasons but often due to the lack of time to create the holiday scenes portrayed on the commercials. We rush to complete the marathon of madness until collapsing with exhaustion after the New Year rings in.

Many writers, including myself, voluntarily choose to raise the bar and pile more on their To-do list by participating in NaNoWri Month (National Novel Writing Month). 

So how do we enjoy the holidays without giving up the things we enjoy most? Often we run out of time to do things like writing, reading and other entertaining activities because we are overwhelmed with obligation.

Don’t Turn Back Time

If you participated in Daylight Savings Time on November 5^th and turned back the clock an hour, don’t change your morning alarm clock. Continue to get up at the same time you were=an hour earlier. Your body should be fairly accustomed to getting up at that time so continue to do so. Devote that hour to doing something you enjoy. Consider this your—me time.

Record That Television Show

The fall and winter seasons bring back tons of our favorite shows to tempt us. With the availability of DVR, Netflix, On-Demand and countless methods to watch our coveted television shows after the fact, it’s easy to eliminate commercials and watch our favorite shows quicker, or at a time that it’s more convenient—or so you can get to bed a little earlier and get extra rest and not get over stressed.

•     Tip—save time by multi-tasking. Exercise while you watch your shows, or wrap gifts, write yourholiday cards or complete other tedious tasks.

Put yourself at the top of the list

The pressure of the holidays has us trying to find that perfect gift for all the special people on the list. We usually forget one person—us. If we put ourselves on that list we can enjoy the holiday season a little more.

 You don’t have to buy yourself a gift (but you could when you’re shopping all those spectacular sales) but schedule in the time to relax, turn your thoughts away from any overwhelming thoughts and enjoy a little self-care or pampering.

•   Read a book or listen to music while relaxing in a bath
• Take a few minutes before bed to enjoy a scented lotion or candle

Consider The True Joys of The Season

Most won’t remember what gift you got them, or the time-consuming special dish you prepared for the holiday meal—they’ll remember the memories created. Be sure to slow down and make your own memories so when January rolls around you don’t look back to the last three months as a blur of stress and obligation. Make the season magical—for you. That’s the true gift that keeps on giving.

How Do You Make Time For Yourself Over the Hallo-Thanks-Mas Holidays?

My NaNoWri Baby from 2012

Despite the little bit of insanity involved with fitting in NaNoWri, I consider devoting time to my stories as a gift to myself. My recent release, Evil Speaks Softly, was born in NaNoWri 2012 as See No Evil.

Everyone has a story to tell. Even the dead.

They were never supposed to meet. Fame came easy for Liv by following in the footsteps of the female writers in her family. The cycle repeated for decades…until Liv changed the story. Her villain doesn’t like the revision—and he isn’t a fictional character. In his story, the bad guy always wins.

They were never supposed to find love. Liv never questioned her demanding nocturnal muse, or the strange incidents in her old, family home until she met Gage. His job was to watch her from afar, not reveal the truth about the curse and the stories of the dead. They’ve broken all the rules. Together they unravel secrets as they strive to stop the cycle. Liv’s ability to find love, and protect her loved ones, hangs on the fickle whims of the dead—and they’ve got nothing to lose.

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four

seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

Nanowrimo, we meet again!

It’s November again, and you all know what that means: Nanowrimo time is once more upon us!

Every year there’s always a slate of advice posts about how to deal with Nanowrimo; I’ve done a share of those myself. And given that I’m taking another Nano run myself this year, I’m going to do another one. This year, though, I want to take a slightly different slant: that is, to encourage you all to try not to stress out about it if you don’t actually hit the 50,000 words.

For me, this year has been creatively disastrous. I’ve had… not quite writer’s block, really, but more block on general passion for actually writing. I won’t get into discussing the causes for that here, but I will just note that my main goal for Nanowrimo this time is to just remind myself of what it feels like to write every day.

In other words, winning Nanowrimo is nice—but when my actual ultimate goal is to get my next book out the door, it’s more important to me to get my fingers back onto a keyboard on a daily basis. And as any writer who’s released a book knows, the work doesn’t stop at the end of November.

That said, given that this year has been creatively stressful for me, I wanted to share with you the ways I’m going to try to not let “oh shit I didn’t win Nanowrimo” get me down, since it’s actually pretty likely I won’t.

1. Remind myself regularly this month that producing any words is better than producing no words. That daily habit of fingers on keyboard is what I need to restore, here.

2. Remind myself also that I do have a day job. My day job is technically challenging, and my commute is long. So by the time I get home in the evenings, I usually have only a couple of hours tops in which I can get any writing done at all. There are writers who can plunk out 2,000 words in that short a time span. I am not usually one of them. This would be why, at least when I’m up to proper writing speed, my traditional daily word count is 500 words and nothing more, at least during the week.

3. Remember that when I’m creatively stressed, it does not help to get stressed out about that, and throw myself into a feedback loop. This is often easier said than done. Which is what makes it all the more important for me to keep it in mind!

4. Life doesn’t stop when Nanowrimo is happening. See previous commentary re: day job.

See also: Orycon, which I will be attending along with my wife, who will be a panelist there, while I’ll be working with fellow NIWA members to staff our book table in the dealers’ room.

See also: Thanksgiving. Which is a big deal at my house, and we will have guests, and I can’t exactly hide from a house full of a dozen people trying to write. Well… I could, but it would be rude. ;D

5. Remember that while there is a lot of mad appeal in the notion of staying up until stupid-o-clock in the morning trying to write, because several hundred thousand other people on the Internet are doing it and SOLIDARITY, BABY, I’m also not as young as I’d like to be, anymore. Aging is stupid. Particularly when it means that not getting enough sleep means I can’t coherently function at my aforementioned technically challenging day job, or have enough mental energy left over when I get home to write anything more constructive than ‘badger badger badger’.

All in all, my hope here is remind myself of what it feels like to write every day, and to focus less on the drive to hit an arbitrary word count. Since I’m working on Walk the Wards, my forthcoming collection of novellas which was already in progress, it’s also helpful that I’m dealing with several shorter stories rather than one big one. As long as I keep momentum going and hopefully finish this thing off before the end of the year, I’ll fret less about whether that happens specifically on November 30th!

How about the rest of you? Who else is doing Nanowrimo? What do you do to keep the experience sane for you? Commiserate with me in the comments!

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Angela (Highland or Korra'ti, depending on which of her books you're reading) is very glad she decided to do those novellas before she does Book 3 of The Free Court of Seattle, because trust her when she says there are things important to Book 3 that need to get laid down in this novella collection first. Come follow her Nanowrimo progress on angelahighland.com, Facebook, or Twitter!