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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 534: A Chat with Joanna Davidson Politano
byChautona Havig

Lovers of Joanna Davidson Politano won’t want to miss this episode! Listen in while we talk about the first book in a new SERIES and eeep! It’s split time!

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

Cornwall? Lost memory? Hasty marriage? A portrait that shouldn’t exist in a house on a cliff?

Sign me up!

The Life She Forgot by Joanna Davidson Politano

He promised to help her reclaim the memories she lost—no matter what they found.

Until she remembered another man.

Cornwall, 1913

For three years, Merryn has lived without a past—no family, no history, no home that’s truly hers.

When the threat of being locked away for her own “protection” looms, she takes a desperate chance on AJ Winthrop—a warmhearted, whimsical stranger who offers a hasty marriage of convenience and a promise: he will take her back to Cornwall and help her uncover the truth about who she once was.

But along the wild Cornish coast, the memories that begin to surface are not the ones she expects.

Another man.

Another wedding.

A life that may already be hers.

When a hidden painting reveals Merryn’s own face staring back from another life, the fragile life she’s begun to build with AJ begins to unravel. Because the truth waiting in her past could destroy the love she’s only just found.

Cornwall, 1947

Haunted by the war and estranged from the wife he still loves, William Crawford is determined to save their family home for her—even if it means selling the mysterious portrait of Merryn Dunn tucked away in his cottage. But the secrets hidden within the painting threaten to overturn everything he believes…or lead him toward a redemption he never expected.

Decades apart, two lives are bound by a single portrait—and the truth it refuses to keep hidden. This sweeping dual-timeline historical mystery weaves together lost memories, buried truths, and a love story that refuses to fade.

Perfect for fans of Mimi Matthews, Susanna Kearsley, and Kate Morton.

Learn more on Joanna’s WEBSITE and don’t forget to check out her Reader Group on Facebook.

Also… GoodReads and BookBub are good places to follow authors.

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

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Episode 534: A Chat with Joanna Davidson Politano
Episode 534: A Chat with Joanna Davidson Politano
April 20, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 533: A Chat with Chawna Schroeder
April 18, 2026
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Episode 532: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn
April 13, 2026
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Episode 531: A Chat with Heidi Gray McGill
April 11, 2026
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Episode 530: A Chat with Erica Colahan
April 6, 2026
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Episode 529: A Chat with Debut Author, Deena Adams
April 4, 2026
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Episode 528: A Chat with Debut Novelist, Chuck Shelton
March 30, 2026
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Episode 527: A Chat with Amanda Cabot
March 28, 2026
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Episode 526: A Chat with Laurie Christine
March 23, 2026
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Episode 525: A Chat with Heather Greer
March 21, 2026
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