I finished the NaNoWriMo 50k word challenge in November this morning at 6:38 am right before the start of Christmas Through Lowell. This was my third time participating. I can’t say that the novel writing challenge gets any easier with more experience or with more books published. However, I better understand my inner workings as a writer and an author. I know what is my most productive time, and how many words I need to log in per day, (2, 675) and how to push through a writing block.
Each year, I learn something new. This year, it was the buddy system and that it actually works.
When I saw the daily word log ins by buddies and fellow authors Andrew Smith, Diana Plopa, Marianne Wieland, Brenda Hasse and Jean Davis, I just had to keep up with them.
Near the summit, more insights other than metrics came in, and I will be posting quotes.
. Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs LLC. All rights reserved.
With the National Novel Writing Month better known as NaNoWriMo just around the corner, expert NaNo authors Jean Davis, Sara Shanning and Kristine Brickey offer tips on how to win the 50k word challenge in November.
Whether you hit a writer’s block, crossroads in the plot or the midway slump, just keep on rolling.
“Just keep on writing,” Davis said.
Not only do you keep on writing no matter what, you will also need writing and accountability buddies to keep you on track.
The average word quota per day to win the challenge is 1,667 words a day. However, because unpredictable things happen, you should bank words when they are flowing.
“I try to work ahead,” said Colleen Nye, an author, and co-producer of “For the Love of Books Podcast.”
All authors have multiple years of NaNo experience with books published based on their participation in the challenge.
Listen in also on major podcasting apps, because you too can become a published author.
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Visit the new delightful bookstore in downtown Lowell during the Girls Night Out this evening from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and at any time you can. It’s located on Main Street next to Station Salon.
Bettie’s Pages opened during the pandemic and survived the lockdown. Owner Nicole Lintemuth is one of the “Unsung Heroes” that fits this year’s GNO theme.
I asked Lintemuth if business was back to normal.
“I don’t know what normal is,” Lintemuth said. “We didn’t have Girls Night Out last year. We were closed during the pandemic.”
You will find all genres here plus charming gifts. My books are here in both, the fiction and non -fiction sections. My new “Greenwich Meridian Memoir” and the Shifting Sands Short Stories series are among the store’s inventory.
“I am so happy that we finally have a bookstore in our town. It’s just as bad as not having a coffee shop,” I said.
Frankfort, MI – What better way to meet your next favorite read than on the shores of Lake Michigan at a local art festival.
After a succesful Lakeshore Art Festival (LAF) in downtown Muskegon, where even a tornado watch couldn’t stop Michigan Authors from selling their books, we have somewhat dispersed. But if you check the previous post about the Michigan Authors Comeback in 2021, and go to the authors websites, you will be able to catch up with them.
Lakeshore Art Festival in downtown Muskegon.
I will be in Frankfort on July 4th at the Art in the Park craft show at 517 Main Street from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Stop by to pick up a book or two; I will have Shift Sands Short Stories series, book 1 and book 2 and my newest release “Greenwich Meridian Memoir.” I will also have posters of the cover of “Secrets.”
I will be around Lowell during the Riverwalk next weekend.
July 31- Grand Ledge, Island Fest
Aug. 7- Holland, Art in the Park
Aug. 28- Lowell, Hometown Reception on the Showboat
I also have a virtual booth at the Detroit Book Fest. Check it out at:
Muskegon- They are back and stronger than before; strengthened by the quiet months of the COVID-19 quarantine, these authors used their time to create, write and to launch books in the finnicky technical world.
Michigan authors will be grouped at the Authors Alley at the Lakeshore Art Festival (LAF) in downtown Muskegon on June 26 and June 27. Close to 20 authors will be ready to present to you your next favorite read; from fantasies, short stories, young adult fiction, childrens books to thrillers and mysteries.
You will find Authors Alley along 4th Street on the left hand side of the road in front of the Lakeshore Museum Center and extending into the intersection at Clay Street. The hours are: Saturday, June 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Following is a list of participating authors: Ingar Rudholm, Joan Young, Melinda Clark, Sara Shanning, Lon Hieftje, Andrew Smith, Jean Davis, Norma Lewis, Melanie Hooyenga, Michael D. Jones, Lori Hudson, Emma Palova, Bonnie Votkis, Judy Burke, Marianne Wieland, Randy Pearson, Mike Carrier, Gary Buettner and Gregory Scott.
Lowell, MI – Check out the first episode of “For the love of books” podcast with Indie author and advocate Diana Plopa. Plopa is a prolific author who has penned nine books in nine different genres; currently she’s working on four more genres. And she doesn’t get them mixed up.
She is a staunch supporter of other Indie authors, and her main goal as the founder of Pages Promotions, LLC is to connect readers with authors in a changed world following COVID-19.
Our next featured guest will be Canadian author Luba Lesychyn. Submit your questions for Luba via the comment section or the Facebook messenger.
If you would like to be on the podcast show as a featured guest contact me in the comment section or on the Facebook messenger. If you would like to be a sponsor of the podcast show, email Emma at emmapalova@yahoo.com.
You will support a brave group of pioneer authors who are navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of self-publishing with small marketing budgets for their books. They share a special camaraderie through their common venture of getting their word out.
Your business/organization will get exposure on all the podcasting platforms and on YouTube.
Here are the links to both the video and the podcast:
For the love of books podcast video.
The podcast.
About the featured photo: A masked moose in an Irish community in Cannonsburg, Michigan. BTW, the Honey Creek Inn served up an excellent Irish stew made from lamb on Tuesday.
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
“I want to dance always, to be good and not evil, and when it is all over not to have the feeling that I might have done better.”
-Ruth St. Denis
Dancing into the fourth week of the Winter Virtual Book Festival, I hear thawing snow drops falling from our gutters and making holes in the white cupola on the balcony. The sun flooded my Covid Sanctuary with golden rays. Most importantly I heard birds chirping in the pergola this morning.
Last night the festival participants marvelled at the readings of childrens’ book authors Carol Trembath, Jordan Scavone and MT Falgoust.
Children’s authors at the Winter Virtual Book Festival.
Leave behind your old misconceptions, that children’s books are for kids only. I’ve personally devoured the Indie authors presentations with illustrations like I would have a pepperoni pizza with tons of cheese.
Trembath and Scavone tackled serious subjects like Covid and grief. In her “Fairies and the Global Tree to the Rescue,” Trembath depicts scared fairies seeking help from the Global Tree. The fairies are told to wear a mask and wash their hands and “pixie wings” to stay safe from the “Fairy Flu.” The illustrations were so surreal, that the Global Tree even scared me.
In Scavone’s “Might-E Emilia”, Emilia searches for her inner superhero in the wake of her grandfather Abuelo’s death. Can she find the superhero?
MT Falgoust presented a tasty count down for young readers in “Ten little Crawfish” including a stop for a Mardi Gras parade.
In case you missed it, visit the festival PopUp Book Shop at pagespromotions.com and get your signed book.
I’ve learned so much in the festival workshops about social media marketing for authors presented earlier in the month. Last week, historical fiction authors JuliAnne Sisung and Xander Cross unraveled for us mysteries in histories such as: “Why does history repeat itself?” and that YouTube can be used for primary history research. Hm, who would have thought.
There’s still much more coming this final week as the snowbanks on our gravel road continue to melt. Tonight I will immerse myself with more historical fiction writers who are still undercover until they appear in the Zoom room. However, we will not know which book they are reading from; thus the festival theme “Blind Date with a Book.”
Last but definitely not the least of the festival workshops is “Building Suspense” by author Andrew Smith who will be giving away his “Slice of Fear” to workshop participants. Smith has also served as a backstage hand to the festival organizer Diana Plopa along with author Kate McNeal.
Don’t miss non-fiction readings on Thursday and science fiction this coming Saturday.
Stay tuned for the details on replays, the PopUp Book Shop and the Festival Wrap Up Party on Sunday.
Huzzah!
Copyright (c) 2021. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Join us this snowy Friday evening for some literary fun at the third Virtual Book Festival organized by Pages Promotions, LLC.
The evening will feature memoirists with the theme “Blind Date with a Book.” You can try to match up the reading with the right book for bragging rights.
So far, we’ve had so much fun while spinning the Wheel of Happiness for prizes galore.
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