I'm very nearly halfway done with Camp NaNoWriMo, and it's been tough going.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), that crazy challenge of writing 50,000 words/ 200 pages in 30 days, typically occurs in November. However, there are also more casual "camps" that happen every April and July. My goal for Camp NaNoWriMo this April is to write 6 chapters in The Originals, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel, The Changelings. Although my word count is up to snuff (21,000), I've only finished one chapter, with another chapter only half written at best. What I have written, I find useful, and ideas are pouring out. Whether or not my goal is achieved, I'm slowly but surely making progress. 

When I get stuck or tired, I find that taking walks is a good way to stretch and get the creative juices flowing. Nothing like looking at nature to gather inspiration. Below is a short video I made of me walking the dogs and appreciating the little things around me.

April is National Poetry Writing Month, or NaPoWriMo for short. Now, I'm not a natural poet, but I do tinker with poems every now and then. Poetry helps hone my description and teaches rhythm and sound. It's a chance to play with language. The challenge of the above website is to write a poem a day, with a prompt and a poem to provide inspiration. Despite also doing Camp NaNoWriMo (which is a whole different can of worms), I've been keeping up with my poems. I even decided to do make some haiku riddle poems just for fun. Please enjoy.

Click below to read the answers.

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Title: Magpie Murders
Author: Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Mystery
 
Summary
 
Editor Susan Ryeland sets about reading the draft of her client Alan Conway’s latest mystery novel: Magpie Murders. In it, detective Atticus Pund sets about solving the gruesome murder of Magnus Pye and unlocking the sleepy village’s secrets along the way. When the draft ends right before the murderer is revealed, Susan is annoyed. When she learns Alan Conway is dead, she is shocked. When she suspects murder, she goes about playing detective, for justice—and to finally read the end of his book.
 
Review
 
What drew my attention about this book, when I spotted it in the library, was that it contained two mysteries in one. The first is the story of Atticus Pund, an obvious rip-off of Hercule Poirot, in an Agatha Christie type mystery. The second is Susan Ryeland’s search for the lost manuscript. Presumably, you need to read the first mystery to solve the second one. It was ambitious, and I was interested to see if it worked.