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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Night Before NaNo: A parody

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

It’s that time!  Time for this year’s NaNoWriMo poem!

Night before NaNo

T’was the Night before NaNo

T’was the eve before NaNo
And all through the house
We were frantically cleaning–
Even my spouse.

The blue bowl was filled
With candy to spare
In hopes that costumed darlings
Soon would be there.

The family went rushing
The festival so fair
With visions of funness
And friends to meet there.

My son brought me Chinese
So I with my plate,
Just sat down to eat
And write ’til it’s late.

When out on the porch
There rose such a clamor
I sprang to the door
To give loot and see glamor (bear with me, it’s not easy).

Then back to my recliner
And laptop I came
Opened my Scrivener
And typed in my name.

The bright virgin “page”
On the screen looked so fresh.
It taunted and beckoned
Put restraint to the test.

When what to my wandering
Thoughts should appear.
But a new plot idea
the best of the year!

And a lively new hero
So handsome and fun.
I knew in a moment
He must be the one.

Get Cracking! Start Writing!
Not yet it’s not midnight!
Oh c’mon, Just do it!
No! No cheating tonight!

To the first chapter line
To the end of them all.
Just write away
NaNo friends.
Write away all!

And dull plots that bore
Just delete e’re they come.
When meeting an obstacle,
Don’t ever be glum.

The first plot twist appears
The notes they do fly
On the wings of my fingers
While time marches by.

But soon in a twinkling
I’ll hear on my clock
The ticking of the seconds
And the minutes will tock.

I’ll stare at the screen
And start counting down
For the coming of midnight
And with it some nouns.

All dressed in adjectives
From their heads to their feet.
The verbs full of actions
Both evil and sweet

A few prepositions
An article or two
Mix with capitals
And punctuation to boot.

The sentences lengthen!
The paragraphs vary!
The chapters come quickly.
The jokes make me merry!

Descriptions are added
With care not to bore.
Don’t want to make reading
It to be a chore.

The ink in my pen
Soon dries on the page
How long has it been now?
It feels like an age.

It’s only eleven.
Hey, what’s on the telly?
To keep me distracted
From Machiavelli.

Give me funny or sad
A jolly good tale,
‘Else I scream from frustration.
And drown me in ale.

A book on structure
And another on plot
Will help me bide time
And is not all for naught.

I won’t waste a word!
I’ll go straight to my work
And fill all my pages.
I won’t be a jerk.

And I’ll keep my finger
Away from my nose.
I’ll work at dialogue
And perfect all my prose.

I’ll work all the night.
I won’t waste a second.
And write all the words.
I planned in reflection

The town heard me exclaim
‘Ere clock struck midnight.
“Happy NaNo to all!
And to all, a GOOD WRITE!”

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Filed Under: Short Stories, Writing 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 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
byChautona Havig

Dystopian in the desert? Sign me up! Seriously, listen in while Lauren Smyth and I chat all things “glowy” in the desert!

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

Not a lot of people write books about the boring Mojave Desert. When they do, I take note. Especially when it’s a super-cool dystopian delight! EEEP!

All That Glows by Lauren Smyth

The apocalypse didn’t take everyone. It just took us. Ever since the rain turned green, Kyrie’s world has been bathed in glowing dust. She packs it into old mascara tubes and sells it as makeup alongside dried cacti, threadbare blankets, and long-expired canned food. There’s not much else to do when everyone outside Kyrie’s small town in the Mojave Desert died from the plague-bearing rain ten years ago. Everyone—except the man in the rubber mask. He’s on the dangerous side of the fence, huffing infected air like it’s nothing, babbling to Kyrie about college and umbrellas and yogurt and everything else that disappeared the day it rained. He doesn’t seem to know that the world ended, and he has no explanation for how he survived the apocalypse. But Kyrie doesn’t believe in ghosts. She can’t trust him, but he’s right about one thing: Towns without secrets aren’t surrounded by chain-link fences. And chain-link fences won’t keep out the plague forever.

Learn more on Lauren’s WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub.

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Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
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One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic th When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic throne for Bible college and a cigarillo girl, Gary Prinz assumes all threats against him are hyperbole rather than serious. But when shots ring out and people start dropping at his final movie premiere, things look dire--especially when that cigarillo girl is arrested for the murders.
Set in 1926 Hollywood, this Cinderella-esque mystery is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and audiobook (available on all platforms), or listen FREE on YouTube @ChristaDelSorbo.
https://amzn.to/4xvQRCQ #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#HistoricalChristianMystery
One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic th When Hollywood's prince abdicates his cinematic throne for Bible college and a cigarillo girl, Gary Prinz assumes all threats against him are hyperbole rather than serious. But when shots ring out and people start dropping at his final movie premiere, things look dire--especially when that cigarillo girl is arrested for the murders.
Set in 1926 Hollywood, this Cinderella-esque mystery is available in print, on Kindle (and Kindle Unlimited), and audiobook (available on all platforms), or listen FREE on YouTube @ChristaDelSorbo.
https://amzn.to/4xvQRCQ #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianMystery
#HistoricalChristianMystery
One foolish night sparks an accusation that threat One foolish night sparks an accusation that threatens to ruin multiple lives. Savannah never meant to let things go so far, and she certainly never meant to say anything so heinous. When she disappears the whole town knows it has to be HIS fault, that Mac.
Quite possibly my favorite book of all I've written.
Available in print and on Kindle Unlimited. https://amzn.to/4gONyQa #affiliatelink
#ChristFic
#ChristianRomance
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