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Camp NaNoWriMo Pep Talk: The Importance of Taking Breaks

Avery Hemlock

Camp NaNoWriMo is the more laid back version of NaNoWriMo. Not everyone tries to push out a novel during Camp, but many people do. Whether it’s your first time or your tenth time there’s a rush and an urgency to the month.

An epic challenge has been laid out before you. It’s a duel you can’t turn away from. The month starts in a mad rush of words flung across the page. We move just as quickly as the heroes of our books jumping into their own new adventure.

As the month goes on we discover we don’t have the stamnia of our heroes. We’re not magical unicorns who never need to sleep! Burnout does happen. I lov the buzzy atmosphere of Camp NaNo, but in my expereince a break will help you write more in the long run. Feeling burnt out today? Take the day off. Tomorrow you’ll wake up refreshed and likely itching to get back to work on your book.

At the end of the day novel writing is like everything else in life: Best in moderation and balance.

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Camp NanoWrimo Recap Day 12: TJIF (Thank Juda It’s Friday!)

Avery Hemlock

Today was about as great as yesterday. I’m just dragging along, but I’m still on track to finish 50k words by the end of the month. I’m looking forward to two days off this weekend to recharge my batteries and squeeze in some reading time. (I need to work on my books for O.W.L.s Magical Readathon). Blake’s story (Yep. I still need a title. lol) is moving along fine, but thank Juda it’s Friday!

****For those of you who haven’t read The Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga, Juda Hemlock is one of the two founders of the Hemlock Wolf Pack bloodline.****

What I accomplished today:

Despite being really tired today I did write through the ending of chapter 15. I have some fleshing out to do come Monday, but that’s Monday Maggie’s problem. lol

Snags Along the Way:

I had a major case of the Fridays. I’m ready for a weekend of not dancing and sparring with my keyboard.

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 22,224

Total Words Written: 1,988

Ending Word Count: 24,212

After thoughts:

TJIF! Seriously! I’ll be happy to get back to work on Monday, but for now I’m off to enjoy the weekend!

Happy writing and reading! Have a great weekend!

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 11: The Day of Blah!

Avery Hemlock

Some writing days are just better than others. I woke up pretty exhausted this morning despite sleeping in an hour later than usual. I’ve recently cut my nicotine gum down by a 1/4 and I think that’s taking its toll on me. It’s about 5 PM at the time I’m writing this and I’m ready for bed. I’m going to try to stay up a few more hours before crashing.

I’m trying not to get caught up in the fact that quitting smoking is slowing me down in every other area of my life. It’s a good thing to do, but that little ‘nicotine addict monster’ likes to claim I could write so much more if I just smoked. I don’t want to smoke. At this point it’d likely make me sick. I just don’t want to be tired anymore. Oh, tomorrow is another day. I’m so ready for this weekend!

What I accomplished today:

Today I wrote chapter 11 and 12.

Snags Along the Way:

Mostly just being tired. I think I need to write out another plot soon too, but I’m too tired to do that today.

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 20,074

Total Words Written: 2,150

Ending Word Count: 22,224

After thoughts:

I’m going to have to remember slow and steady wins the race. No matter whether I finish this book this month or next – I tried despite being in the process of quitting nicotine.

Goals for Tomorrow:

Tomorrow I just want to meet my word count goals and start my weekend early!

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 10 Recap: Am I pantsing this book??

Avery Hemlock

This morning I woke up feeling great! Which was a good thing since we’re a third of the way through camp! Though, as I was writing today an odd thought occurred to me. I’ve trashed two plots so far for this novel! The beginning is still coherent and it’s still moving towards the same ending. I knew the ending since before I started writing the book, but the middle has evolved more than any book I’ve written before. For most of my life, I’ve been a hardcore plotter. Knowing what I was going to write the next day and the day after was what kept me going. Now, I know what I’m writing tomorrow. I know what happens in the next few chapters. (Inside my head at least) but I don’t have a plot outlined. Please don’t take my plotter’s membership card away! Lol

In some ways, this has been more fun than usual. I’m not saying I’m converted to pantsing forever, but this book I might be half-pantsing. I feel like I’ve written more in a shorter amount of time since taking the stress of an outline out of the picture. Maybe it changed when I quit smoking. I’m just 3 days shy of 3 months quit now. Maybe it’s unfolding this way, because I didn’t decide for certain I was participating in camp until the last minute (so to speak.)

Whatever’s happening, I’m enjoying it.

What I accomplished today:

Today I fleshed out chapters 7-9 and wrote chapter 10. It’s an exciting part of the story that I can’t wait for you guys to read.

Snags Along the Way:

I really didn’t hit any snags today. It was a nice normal boring (around the house not in my book) writing day. Which, of course, are my favorite sort of writing days!

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 17,329

Total Words Written: 2,745

Ending Word Count: 20,074

After thoughts:

I’m almost 4k ahead of schedule! Which is freaking awesome! But I’ve reworked my schedule to take weekends off. I’m bad at taking vacations from work. They usually last two or three days and I’m back to work. Maybe, I can start taking off days for the sake of taking them off instead of just for errands or sick days.

I’m really excited to write chapter 11 tomorrow. It’s a very unique chapter the likes of which haven’t been seen in one of my books yet. Y’all can’t see my devil horns, but they’re there. I swear! Lol

Goals for Tomorrow:

I’m just aiming for about 1.2k words tomorrow and I hope to finish chapter 11 tomorrow. I spent this afternoon cross checking characters to make sure I had all my details ready for tomorrow.

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 9: The Day of Changes

Avery 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

Avery 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

Avery 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

Avery 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.)

639754

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

Avery 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)

Avery 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?