Month: April 2019

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 9: The Day of Changes

Maggie Hemlock
Today I was dragging ass to the keyboard. I’m in the middle of cutting down my nicotine gum dosage and it’s kicking my butt. Somehow, I still made it to the keyboard. Though, I confess somewhat reluctantly. In my early twenties I took Aikido classes with my then roommate. Before each class I dreaded it. I came home after working in a small parts factory exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was drag my lazy behind to a class. When I arrived and things got started I usually enjoyed myself. My daily writing usually feels much the same way. So, today I dragged my ass to the keyboard and got to work.

What I accomplished today:

Today I deleted my plot and went rouge. I finished chapters 8 and 9. Today, I found my groove. I’ve also resigned myself to the fact this book is likely to be as long as Healer’s Oath. I don’t mind writing longer books. I just feel sometimes they take longer to publish and I make you guys (my readers) wait longer for the next part of the story.

I’m still only aiming to write 50k words this month. It’s a decent writing goal to accomplish. Without taking into account any surprises coming up later this month this is when the Camp NanoWrimo site predicts I’ll finish up the first 50k of the book.

Of course, I’ll be trying to beat this. I’m very competitive with myself.

Snags Along the Way:

Today the biggest snag was being tired, but the most problematic for me was tossing out my plot. I spent a lot of time tweaking it the other day, but I wanted more action in this book. Jonah (the Alpha) is a man of action. He’s been cooped up in the so called civilized world for too long and he’s ready to break loose. I wanted to give him a chance to show off his mad protector skills. So, that meant deleting about 500 words of what I wrote yesterday. Don’t worry I made them up today and my word count reflects my up to date word count for the story. Soon, I’ll need to start thinking of a title. With my first 3 books I didn’t change the titles at all. I knew what they’d be called from the moment I sat down to write. With Ardan’s Oath and Healer’s Oath I went through a handful of titles before I settled on one. This time I’m clueless. Soon, I’ll think of something. But for now it’s still just Blake’s book.

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 14,260

Total Words Written: 3,069

Ending Word Count: 17,329

After thoughts:

As a reader I love the moment at the end of the book where all the pieces of the books add up. As a writer those pieces have to come together a lot sooner for me than the end of my book. I have to know pretty early on how they come together. (Okay, pantser do this differently, but I’m not a pantser. lol) Today, I feel like I’ve found the flow of the story and of both of my main characters. With this discovery I know what’s next for the Hemlock Wolf Pack as a whole. This is building up to some very exciting books for the future! I can’t wait to wake up and write tomorrow.

Tomorrow is another day and another fight scene. Jonah is ready to kick some ass! I hope the world is ready for him! I love Blake and Jonah together! ❤ I can’t wait to share their story with all of you!

Goals for Tomorrow:

Tomorrow I want to break the 20k barrier! I also hope to finish the next plot scene and start working on getting Blake pregnant! Yep! It’s time for me to play matchmaker and fertility goddess. Though, Hemlocks usually ask Juda for help with fertility. Oh well, since I’m his creator Maggie will have to do instead.

After thoughts:

Happy writing fellow campers!

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3 Weird Things I’ve Done to Research My Novel

Maggie Hemlock

It’s no secret that all writers are on numerous watch lists because of our search histories. Okay, maybe we’re not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we were. For older works I’ve searched such things as how long does it take a human eyeball to decompose and how long would it take someone to die if you buried them alive.

If you’re saying that happened no where in my Hemlock Mpreg Universe books – you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t searched weird things or done other weird forms of research for my Hemlock Wolf Pack Series. Even before writing the series someone looking through my search history might have assumed I was a zoologist student, but now if I type ‘W’ into the search Wolf/Wolves/Wolf Packs are just a few of the thing searches suggested to me. That’s not even the weird parts yet.

Without further ado here are 3 weird things I’ve done to research for my novels.

1.Watched Old Boy Band Music Videos/Concerts

Yes, even something as small as Zoey’s favorite boy band took some research to put together. The Grim Howlers play small, but important roles in Omega Magic and Healer’s Oath. And I have it on good accord that we haven’t seen the last of them either. The boy band will make an in person appearance in book 5. To prepare for this I started watching old boy band concerts. Of course, I fell into the rabbit hole and ended up on some popular/favorites from my younger days. I turn 30 in May. I’ll bake you a virtual cookie if you can guess who I was watching.

2.Nagged Relatives for Childhood Stories

My earliest funny childhood memory is morbid to my now adult self, but it was hilarious to the 8 year old Maggie. My brother (then 3) would freak out whenever someone said they got ‘fired.’ The poor brat thought they meant they were set on fire. Til this day we don’t know where he came up with the idea. -No. That isn’t my sly way of saying I told him. I thought it was funny that he was clueless, but I didn’t come up with it.-

As someone who writes M/M Mpreg Romance I’m obsessed with the parent/child bond and the unique experiences each person has. I’ve explored this theme and the theme of siblings throughout my series. No, I haven’t borrowed any story from relatives, but hearing stories I wasn’t a part of does get my creative juices pumping.

3.Walked Around the Baby Section of Stores Despite Not Having A Baby

I will do just about anything to get inspired to write. While writing Omega Magic I was stuck and needed to do something to get into the groove of things. I found myself at Walmart and walked past the baby aisle. Two seconds later, I was exploring the world of baby clothes, diapers, car seats, snacks, and everything in between. I was wondering/deciding which items Logan and Jessie would choose for their baby and if it would hold up to a baby dragon shifter. The answer of course was a resounding no. Nonetheless by the time I left the store I couldn’t wait to get home and write!

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 8 Recap: The Day I Wrote All the Words

Maggie Hemlock

This morning I felt amazing! (Well, once I had my coffee!) After two days away from my novel I was ready to jump back in head first. Okay, fingers first on the keyboard. Last night I dreamed that Blake took my dog for a walk and came back with a parrot. I swear, he’s not that strange in the book, but my dreams have a way of turning the most sane people into total weirdos. The parrot kept chatting about Hogwarts and the O.W.L.s. I think I could do a whole series on ‘weird dreams I had during Camp NaNoWriMo,’ but I’m too busy writing a novel!

What I accomplished today:

Today was my best day of the month thus far. Not only with word count, but now that the first third of my plot is set in stone I was free just to write what I plotted without stopping to considered what would happen next. I went back through a few earlier chapters and fleshed them out and added tidbits to build on throughout the book.

I finished chapters 6 and 7 and started on chapter 8.

Snags Along the Way:

Today didn’t have any snags. I woke up early while the world was still quiet and wrote my heart out. I wish every day would go as smoothly as today did. lol

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 11,186

Total Words Written: 3,064

Ending Word Count: 14,260

After thoughts:

Today I got the first fight scene out of the way. The first fight scene and first sex scene of any book are the most difficult to write. Not to worry, that sex scene is coming up soon! Today is my best word count day of camp so far. With a little luck tomorrow I’ll beat that record!

Happy writing fellow campers!

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Not as much as I thought: Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

Maggie Hemlock

Nope! I didn’t read for 24 hours. I read for all of about 5ish over the course of 2.5 books. I had a few very happy interruptions, but also I’m horrible at sitting still all day. My brain was on my steps and other things. But with that said I did enjoy spending a huge part of my day reading.

So what did I read?

In all of 63 minutes I read:

176473 The Boy Nexty Door was a nostalgicread for me. It wasn’t as wonderful as I remembered R.L. Stine books being as a kid, but it was still a nice and short stroll down memory lane. The Boy Next Door also fulfills my History of Magic Requirement for my O.W.L.s Magical Readathon. (More on that after the month wraps up.)

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In just over 2 hours I read Downsiders which was the highlight of my day! It was an imaginative YA book that really brought the city under NYC to life! It had colorful characters and a plot that held strong until the end. It’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

20681123 I nearly finished this book with the rest of my reader time. It’s a really interesting book of short stories all told from the point of view of a different animal. I’m just past the story of a turtle and I only skipped one. I won’t say which one, but I just couldn’t get into one of the stories no matter how hard I tried. I’m looking forward to finishing this one up next week. (It fulfills one of my O.W.L.s requirements too.)

So what happened? I was so amped up about Dewey’s this month! But…. I also had an air conditioner arrive early and it’s Camp NanoWrimo. My mind was definitely plotting my own book while I was trying to read. I love reading. It’s one of the reasons I became a writer. I think in the future I’m not going to overlap 24 hour readathons with Nanowrimo months.

How was your readathon?

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CampNaNoWriMo Pep Talk: How to Make Your Writing Time Sacred

Maggie Hemlock

It’s Day 7 of Camp NaNoWrimo. The excitement of the first week has worn off and you may be feeling the time crunch. Committing to writing a novel in a month isn’t an easy feat! Just attempting it is a courageous act of creation!

As a full time writer my friends always ask me how I keep going. I promise I’m not a mythical creature with extraordinary endurance for pounding my fingertips against the keyboard. I have my good, bad, and ugly days. I’ve just made my writing time sacred. I don’t have another job in the mix, but I do balance family,friends, free time, and hobbies with work. There’s no one formula that works for everyone, but here are 4 tips to be a magical unicorn with a daily writing schedule.

1.Be Realistic

When I first started writing I had outrageous daily word counts. I could easily pump out 5-7k of words 5 days a week. No problem. I can still do that in sprints, but as a lifestyle it’s not maintainable or realistic to me.

Like forming any other good habit you have to really consider where it fits into your schedule. Did you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier and squeeze in some writing before the kids wake up? Do you need to write on your lunch break? Can you clear Sunday evenings?

Figure out how much time you can realistically devote to writing. Sure, there are times where I’ve sacrificed other things to write. The muse is a demanding asshat some days. He’s there and he’s ready and screw the book I started reading last night and the errands I really intended to run. But if you intend to stick with writing and make your writing time sacred you need to set the time aside daily or weekly and stick to it.

2.Don’t Wait for Inspiration or Motivation

This advice is everywhere, but it’s worth repeating. Writers are writers because they write! If I sat around waiting for inspiration to slap me upside the head and invite me to the keyboard I’d never finish a book. Inspiration and motivation are fickle bedfellows and should be treated as such. Some days they’re randy and ready to go. Other days they go out and play with their other friends. Learn to work without them.

3.Close the Door and Hang Your Do Not Disturb Sign

It’s never easy telling our friends and family we need time to spend on something without them, but sometimes you have to. We’ve all encountered those in our lives who don’t take our passion or work seriously. They’re the hardest ones to get the point across to. Be firm and do your thing. If it’s your writing time. Turn off your phone and don’t answer the door. Remember, this is your sacred time to dedicate to your craft.

4.Aim for Scenes Not Words

This may go against the Camp NaNoWriMo spirit, but it’s in the best interest of finishing your project. Sit down with an intention of writing your characters from point A to point B. Don’t worry about how many words it takes to get there. Words make up your books, but it’s the scenes that make your story worth reading.

How do you make your writing time sacred?

Readathons, Uncategorized

Readathon Update! (Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon)

Maggie Hemlock

I can’t believe it’s already almost 4 o’clock here on the east coast and I’ve only read a little over 3 hours. I did have the unexpected delivery of an AC (which I installed today too) and some other little things pop up.

I’ve just finished reading my second book and it was fantastic! I can’t wait to tell you guys about it in my recap!

How is everyone else doing today? What’s the best book you’ve read so far today?

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Quick Readathon Update: Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

Maggie Hemlock

I finished my first book of the day and was settling into the second when the Fedex man show up. He brought my new AC! Thought I was gonna kill myself getting it into my bedroom, but I survived! lol

Now to cool down (I needed the AC!) and then get back to reading. I’ll probably have lunch first, though. It’s almost time! This was a welcomed interuption!

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Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon Supplies

Maggie Hemlock

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There’s half an hour until I dive in nose first to a book! I’ve gathered most of my supplies. I’ve left most of my snacks in the kitchen – fruit and prepreped meals. I didn’t want to let this fun reading party knock me off my healthy eating stride! It’s about the books not the food! But… If I run out later I’ll likely grab some chips! lol I’m only human yet to evolve into a unicorn who can read all day without chips!

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Books: I’ve added more since I made my TBR list. Also, my kindle is charging and the Christopher Rice series I listed on my TBR post are e-books! I’m not sure how many I’ll get through today, but I will post updates as the day goes on and a recap when the readathon ends.

Treats for the Pup: Treats and a raw hide for the pup today! He won’t be missing out on his morning walk (already done!) but he’ll likely lose out on some playtime. Hopefully, the raw hide will keep him busy (he likes to toss it in the air and chase it around when it falls.) and make him forget I technically ignoring him to play with a dead tree with symbols on it.

Pepsi and Tea: I promised myself today I wouldn’t go hog wild on the soda! So, I have extra tea instead! One’s even caffiene free! Don’t worry, this isn’t much more than I normally cosume in a day.

Nicotine Gum and Hard Candy: My normal quit smoking supplies within arm’s reach! I’m 82 days quit. Yeah, I’m still working on cutting down on the gum, but that’s a topic for another day!

My Go-to Slytherin Mug: I bought this mug as a gift for myself after publishing Omega Magic. It’s been my go-to ever since!

Notebook and Pen: I’m a writer! I never know when an idea will smack me upside the head! It’s also useful for tracking the time I actually read too. lol

Little Sticky Page Markers: Just in case I misplace a bookmark!

Well, just 20 minutes to go now! Are you ready to read? If not put your pajamas back on and grab a book!

 

 

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Getting Ready for Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon

Maggie Hemlock

Good morning! It’s about 5:30AM at the time of writing this. So, just a little less than 3 hours until the readathon starts. I won’t be trying for the full 24 hours this year. Camp Nano is in full swing and I don’t want to beat up my sleeping schedule too much. I figure I’ll go to bed at my normal time and if I wake up early enough tomorrow I’ll squeeze in some more before the end.

I’m up watching Golden Girl’s reruns and wondering if I’m turning in Sophia before my time.

sophia-cookie

That and ensuring I can read uninterrupted for the most part. Though, if tracking is right Fedex will be delivering my new air conditioner today. Which is quicker than I expected since I only ordered it yesterday! Though, if it arrives I’ll take the interuption and beat the heat and help my allergies all at once!

Due to starting the O.W.L.’s Magical Readathon I’ve switched up plans a little bit, but I’ll give a full recap of my reading experience after Deweys ends.

Who’s reading with me today? What’s your first book this morning?