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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Winking, Blinking, Nod(ing): A 2020 NaNoWriMo Parody

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Every year on the last day of October, I write a new parody for NaNoWriMo--The Raven, Trees, and even a song made it. Here's a 2020 NaNoWriMo Parody! via @chautonahavig

It happens every year… the annual NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) parody. I’ve done a few of these, of course!

  • The Night before Nano (A “T‘was the Night Before Christmas” parody)
  • The Raven (as in Poe’s, of course)
  • Tease (as in Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees”)
  • Till November (A “My Grandfather’s Clock” parody)
  • Goin’ on a Book Hunt (Going on a Bear Hunt parody)

With everything that went on last year, I didn’t even remember if I did a parody.  Guess what?  A bit of searching proved I did.  YAY. Still, this is one of the things I love most about October 31st.  While much of America dons costumes and goes in search of chocolate treasure, I order Chinese food and write parodies!  WOOT!

This year’s isn’t the greatest, but then none of them are really all that great, right?  It was fun, though, and I enjoyed it.  That’s what matters most to me.

2020 nanowrimo parody

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Winking, Blinking, Nod (ing): A 2020 NaNoWriMo Parody

Winking, Blinking, and Nod (ing)

Winking, blinking, she nods, one night
Awaiting the coming chime.
But then at midnight, the clock hands strike.
So slow the word count climbs.
“What are you writing? What tale will you tell?”
The left brain asked of the right.
“Of storms and destruction from sea swells
“And how they’ll inspire a fight.
“Bits of romance and faith will I write!”
Said the winking, blinking nod(er).

The left brain laughed and shook the head
As the right brain typed with great speed.
The story emerging through the night long
Kept her emotions keyed.
The seeds of romance rose up on waves
And crashed when the arguments flared.
“What’ll happen next? Will love be saved?
“Have they even a prayer?”
Asked the right of the left, despite the glare,
(of the) Winking, blinking nod(er).

All night long the words she wrote
Of islands with their warring hearts.
But at dawn, there came a sandman afloat
Tearing scribe and tale apart.
Although words still spun and swirled within—
A flight of fancy borne—
Weaving an age-old tale to resume again
Despite the writer’s scorn.
Left brain will war with right from dark until morn
(says the )Winking, blinking nod (er).

Winking and blinking are proofs of fatigue.
Nod (ing) makes writing so hard.
While the right and left brains remain in league
To turn the scribe into a bard (it’s hard).
So fingers fly while brain halves sing
Of wonderful stories to be,
And on the page, such beautiful things
Of sand, surf, and the stormy sea,
Form within the jumbled mind so sleepy:
And winking, blinking, nod (ing).

What am I writing this year?

Flipping HeartsWell, I’m excited to say that I have… get this.  A TITLE.  Flipping Hearts!  This is the third book in the Independence Islands Series and takes place on Hooper (Hopper to the locals) Island after a hurricane did some serious damage (not too bad but enough!  A TV show weasels their way into a contract to film there and Abel Crawforth’s son is in hot water–as is the girl he THINKS hoodwinked him into this. OOPS!

I hope you’re as eager to meet Brooks and the whole film crew headed to Hopper Island in July! Meanwhile, my next book in the series, Bookers on the Rocks, releases on January 26th!

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Filed Under: Short Stories Tagged With: NaNoWriMo

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 512: A Chat with Tim Bishop
byChautona Havig

I had the best time chatting with Tim Bishop about his book, The Road Unveiled. If you want to learn about the phobia that I never knew I had, listen in. I mean, there’s a great story you won’t want to miss learning about as well.

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

I loved Tim’s heart for people, cycling, and the Lord as we chatted about his books, his later-in-life marriage, and their own long cycling trips!

And I’m really glad my husband likes to cycle alone! Far away from tunnels.

The Road Unveiled by Tim Bishop

Two wounded hearts. Long, winding roads. And second chances neither saw coming. Lauren Baumgartner pedals toward Yellowstone National Park, anticipating a grand celebration when she reaches the Atlantic Ocean. But when her wedding plans collapse, old wounds resurface—and a haunting secret still holds her heart hostage. Traveling alone with bear spray and a one-woman tent, she shares the highway with motorcyclists bound for a massive rally, including gang members who eye her as theirs for the taking. Doug Zimmer, another lone cyclist, is grappling with loss and wondering if anyone will be alongside him when he figures out what’s next. He isn’t the only one drawn to Lauren’s vitality and spirit. But Lauren may already be in too deep. What she faces on the Golden Prairie Indian Reservation tests her courage—and her faith—more than anything she encountered as a missionary in Uganda. A woman with a secret and a man healing from loss pedal the rugged roads of the American West on a quest for love and purpose that leads to unexpected horizons.

Visit Tim’s online store HERE and put in code: FRIEND for 25% off your order!

Learn more about Tim on his WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 512: A Chat with Tim Bishop
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