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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

NaNoWriMo

nanowrimo books

What Is This NaNoWriMo Thing All About?

I blame MSN Messenger. Well, maybe it was my friend who used the messenger as the conduit for her crazy idea.  Okay, so it wasn't exactly her crazy idea, but she did tell me about it. Millions of people writing fifty-thousand words in thirty days.  During the month of November.  Yep, November--you Continue Reading

2020 nanowrimo parody

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

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 Continue Reading

All the Preparation in the World Won't Write It for You

All the Preparation in the World Won’t Write It for You

Anne Shirley once said, "I am so glad that I live in a world where there are Octobers." Well, I happen to agree with her. Here in America, though, October isn't just a month full of harvests and pumpkins, crisp autumn nights and vibrant trees.  October is that month.  You know the one... The Continue Reading

When Your Novel Is Awful, Shovel A Little Death into It

When Your Novel Is Awful, Shovel a Little Death into It

I made this video the other night.  It says it all.  I’ll wait while you have a laugh at my expense. … … … Yeah.  So after I finished with that, I did just what I said.  I went for the classic NaNoWriMo scene generation ploy… The Traveling Shovel of Death.  This little bit of NaNo Continue Reading

The Best Formula for Destroying Beloved Poetry in 3 Easy Steps

The Best Formula for Destroying Beloved Poetry in 3 Easy Steps

It happens every year. I get an idea, and I run with it--a parody to celebrate the coming of NaNoWriMo--the national novel writing month.  This is when crazies like me decide to write 50,000 words in 30 days--during the Thanksgiving holidays, no less. Now really, for me, that's not a lot of Continue Reading

NaNo's Raven

NaNo’s Raven Is Rapping:

It's become a habit of mine to write a parody of different poems or stories as a prelude to NaNoWriMo each year.  Some I posted on Facebook or private message boards, but you can find two of past years' parodies HERE and HERE.  This year, I played with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven."  It's not a good Continue Reading

Conquering NaNoWriMo

Conquering NaNoWriMo: How I “Win” Every Year

Just days before November 1, 2006, a friend asked, "Have you seen this NaNoWriMo thing?" My response?  Totally predictable.  "NaNo-what, what?" But, of course, when I heard it was about writing--you know, that "wri" part?--I went to look it up. And signed up.  Needed a book idea.  I went Continue Reading

Night Before Nano

Night Before NaNo: A parody

It's that time!  Time for this year's NaNoWriMo poem! 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 Continue Reading

Just One More…

I promise I won't turn this into a "woe is me" blog. There was a question on the NaNoWriMo forums tonight.  I often don't get involved in discussions there, but this one tugged at me.  The question that prompted the discussion was a simple one.  "Anyone else just not... feeling it?" I thought Continue Reading

Camp NaNoWriMo!

Tomorrow I climb on the cyber bus to Camp NaNoWriMo.  Well... for me it is almost today.  I'll be starting at 12:00:01. Here, I'll join my other campers around the campfire and swat at the mosquitoes that try to suck the life from our stories.  I'm sure there'll be a few letters written "home" (i.e. Continue Reading

What If…

The glass is just a glass?  What if it isn't half anything?  I mean, it was a nice little object lesson once upon a time.  Now it's just annoying.  I hate it when people ask me if I see life with a half full or half empty glass. Wanna know the truth?  I don't see it either way.  It's life, not a Continue Reading

When Mom makes pepper jack bread and you butter an When Mom makes pepper jack bread and you butter and fry it. Yum.
With 45,000 words "on the page," it’s time to cele With 45,000 words "on the page," it’s time to celebrate with Box #3! 🎁☕

I am officially halfway through writing my upcoming historical Christmas novel, Dear Uncle Nick! Writing this story—which centers around a cozy, small-town advice column in a 1934 farming community—has been such an encouragement even to me!
To keep my momentum going so this book is ready for you by Black Friday, I’m treating myself to a little joy: opening a beautiful @ArcherandOlive Advent Box "gift" every time I complete 5,000 words. 45K means Box 3 is officially MINE! But now how to use this amazing journal? HELP!
Because this book releases on Black Friday without a preorder, I’d love for you to follow along here so you don’t miss the release day announcement. Your prayers and encouragement mean so much to me (and to Eddie Morten--I'm sure of it!)
#DearUncleNick #HistoricalFiction #ChristianFiction #ChristmasNovels #InspirationalFiction #AmWriting #CozyReads #BlackFridayRelease #HistoricalChristmas #AuthorLife #ArcherAndOlive
Dear Uncle Nick, Our town has a lot of people in n Dear Uncle Nick,
Our town has a lot of people in need—no mistake about that.
We can’t meet them all, but we can do what we can to help.
Everyone loves a good box social, but that can be expensive, especially this time of year.
I propose a “dessert social.” We apply the same premise, but the boxes only hold enough dessert for two. Penny bids can be augmented by work or other goods. Folks can even buy the “augments.”
What do you think?
Hungry for cinnamon rolls!

Ever heard of a box social? 📦✨ In 1934, during the height of the Great Depression, communities had to get creative to help neighbors in need.
This "unprinted letter" from the archives of my upcoming historical Christmas novel, Dear Uncle Nick, shows the exact heartbeat of a small farming town trying to survive winter with a little sweetness and a lot of grit.
✍️ The Question: If you were bidding on a dessert box for two tonight... what dessert would you hope is inside? Let me know in the comments!
#HistoricalFiction #AuthorLife #DearUncleNick #FountainPen #1930s #ChristmasNovel #ChristFic #HistoricalRomance #BookReels
Awesome movie. Don't remember a single foul word, Awesome movie. Don't remember a single foul word,  despite rough subjects and scenes. Well done.
#jimmymovie
Writing with white gel ink on kraft paper just hit Writing with white gel ink on kraft paper just hits different. 🖊️🤎
I’m currently sitting at 42k+ words for Dear Uncle Nick, plotting a storyline that is giving me all the feels.
Meet our Banker dude. He can handle the town's finances under the pressure of the Great Depression, but put him in a social setting and he completely freezes up. He is incredibly shy. But winter is coming, and he's being pressured into a marriage of convenience to save his late friend's daughter from the freezing 1934 streets. ❄️💍
Despite his quiet, protective pining and our main couple's semi-secret admirer flirting through the newspaper columns, this book is more than just romance. It's a huge found family of cast that I'm loving.
Only a few thousand words left until the 45k milestone and Box #3! Let’s go! ⌨️✨
#archerandolive #writinggoals #historicalromance #blackfridayrelease #writingprocess #cozyvibes #stationery
From the unpublished archives of "Ask Uncle Nick". From the unpublished archives of "Ask Uncle Nick"...
Dear Uncle Nick,
Do you remember last year when the water main burst and flooded the picnic grounds near the town square? Everyone had so much fun skating on it once it froze over.
Why can't we do that again, but deliberately this time?
I enjoyed watching the little ones learning to skate and knowing there was something wholesome for the young folks to do on their "dates."
How can we make this happen again, (without costly pipe repairs)?

Be sure to leave your answers for "Hopeful" and stay tuned. I got to open another box today!
A Hopeful Citizen
#DearUncleNick
#ChristFic
#HistoricalFiction #ChristianFiction #ChristmasBooks #Bookstagram #WritingCommunity #BookLaunch #CozyReads #ItsAWonderfulLife
FREE through November 3, (and it takes place mostl FREE through November 3, (and it takes place mostly in autumn!)

October 1939. They fled Vienna looking for sanctuary.
They found a trap.
Following the Anschluss, Austria is no longer recognizable.
For its Jewish citizens, survival means listening to the whispers—whispers of a
hidden chalet where a courageous woman keeps hunted children safe, fed, and far
from Nazi hands. Driven by desperation, parents face an agonizing choice: part
with their children forever, or risk their lives by keeping them close.
Hans Hartmann arrives at Chalet Versteck with a hardened
heart and a terrified little girl in tow. He found young Grete abandoned at a
train station and couldn't leave her behind. But the chalet is far from the
haven they were promised.
The air here is thick with secrets. Children vanish in the
dead of night. And before Hans can uncover the truth, a high-ranking Nazi
officer is murdered right inside their sanctuary.
With the Gestapo closing in, the chalet becomes a pressure
cooker of suspicion. To save Grete and escape with his own life, Hans must
untangle a web of deadly lies. In a place where trust is a liability, Hans will
have to find a glimmer of faith to guide them out of the darkness—before the
killer strikes again.
https://link.amazon/B04ONq0y4 #AffiliateLink#ChristFic
#HistoricalMystery
#FairytaleRetelling
#HanselAndGretel
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