I’m so excited for today’s guest, Emilie Hendryx! If you don’t already know Emilie from Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/createexploreread/) now is the time to get to know her.

Back in the summer, when I heard Emilie was planning to blog a book in a month with her friend, Christen, I thought, “That’s crazy. And awesome. I need to have her on Go Teen Writers.” Definitely check out all her links after you learn from her!

4 Things I Learned While Blogging a Book in a Month

By Emilie Hendryx

Sometimes the best type of friends are the ones that push you to do something you’re not quite sure you can actually do. My friend Christen is that kind of friend. Like last year when she came to me in late June and said she had an idea. She suggested we each write a book on our blogs in the month of August—for fun—and I said yes.

From the moment we both agreed to go for it I jumped in head first, no reservations. I told my blog readers and my followers on Instagram what we were going to be doing. I made graphics—including a place-holder cover design (because I’m a cover designer and why shouldn’t I make my own cover as pretty as I want, right?)—and then I began the process of planning.

And this brings me to the first thing I learned from this experience: 

1. Planning can be very helpful (no matter your approach to writing).

Whether you’re a plotter, pantser, or plantser, (or anywhere in between) I’m sure you can agree with me on the fact that, if I was going to be writing a book in a month (31 days to be exact) then I needed a plan.

I figured out what my inciting incident would be (what’s really going to make this story start?) and then I moved on to what would pull my readers into Act 2 (my doorway of no return) then I set out to uncover what my midpoint would be (my big reveal) so that I’d know how to get there. Once that was established, I worked my way toward the end.

Come August 1^st, I had a shiny outline, a lot of support from writer and reader friends, and what felt like an endless amount of excitement. But then reality hit. I had to publish the first chapter for all to see. Everyone was going to be reading my first-pass pages!

*cue freak out*

2. You can do more than you think you can, so take a chance.

I’m a perfectionist so the thought of sharing mostly unedited pages with the world was…terrifying. I almost didn’t hit publish August 1^st because the thought was so debilitating, but then I started to think of the why.

Why do I write?

The answer was simple: I (Emilie) write because I want people to get enjoyment out of my stories.

How were readers supposed to enjoy my stories if they couldn’t read them? With that thought in mind, I pressed publish day 1 all the way through day 31, and you know what? People liked my story! They loved my characters and were drawn in by the plot and that pushed me to keep writing and to challenge myself.

3. Let your plans change.

Then what happened? I realized that some of my pre-plotted scenes were boring. Uh oh! Instead of trying to make them work or sticking to my original plan, I went with the flow and let my plans change.

This was a huge part of the learning process for me. I realized that I wanted every chapter to create a pull for the reader to the chapter. Not exactly cliffhangers, but something that would make them come back next day and the next. And this is a practice I’m taking with me—have a hook at the end of each chapter (even each scene) that makes your reader want to keep going.

4. Have a follow-up plan!

By the time August 31^st hit, I realized something drastic. The story was not finished. Not by a long shot. I started out to write a novella (maybe 30,000 words)—something I could share with newsletter followers—but it turned into a full-fledged book (with thoughts of making it a trilogy). I hit 50,000 words by the 31^st day and had to find a way to leave the ending somewhat “ended” but with the reality things weren’t done.

What really happened when I was done? I got distracted by work and my book sat there for about two months before I got back to it because I didn’t have a plan in place. I know I’m pushing “planning” a lot, but it’s more about having a loose framework for what your goals are and how you’re going to accomplish them.

Otherwise, life gets in the way. Maybe it’s another story idea, an opportunity outside of writing, or maybe it’s as simple as the amount of homework you have to do, but those things start to seem bigger than your dream of finishing your novel. And while I know there are things you can’t avoid (here’s looking at you school) there are ways to make time for the things you love.

My plans have shifted for this book. I’m now 86,000 words in and 8 chapters away from writing the end. I’ll finish it, edit it, have it critiqued, and then work on a proposal to send to my agent which will then go out to publishers.

And all of that came from a crazy idea of writing a book on my blog in a month.

My challenge to you: Take stock of the time you have. I know there are a lot of demands on your time (I work with Jr. High and Sr. High students and know you guys are busy people) but there is always some space to fit in things that you love.

Find those slots of time, make a plan you can follow, expect for things to change, and then have a follow-up plan for what you’ll do once you accomplish those first set of goals.

I’m rooting for you and can’t wait to see what you do!

If you want to read the first chapter of Suspended in the Stars you can find it on my blog or on Wattpad.

What do you think, writers? Would you ever attempt to write a book in a month on your blog?

Emilie Hendryx is a self-employed freelance writer, photographer, graphic designer, and part-time youth director living in Northern California with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. She writes Young Adult science fiction and fantasy and spends more time on Instagram than she probably should. She has built a thriving community around her Instagram platform and brand CreateExploreRead, with a focus on bookish merchandise sold on Etsy and Society6.

Website: www.eahcreative.com

Instagram & TikTok: @createexploreread