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A Month in a Writer’s Life – August 2019

I could swear yesterday was the end of May, but instead September got a jump on me before I could even wonder where did August go. This year feels like I’m constantly playing catch-up, and I still stay behind with everything, and the last month was no different… or was it?

Writing

After two freelance-work-intense months, I was hoping for a quieter August, but its beginning proved as busy as its predecessors. Then, it all died down, and as much as I hoped to shift into intense writing, I needed a break. I still wrote every day, but I kept to a minimum word count, so my total for the month was the lowest in the year so far. I didn’t even get to 10,000 words written, but my brain thanked me for it.

I also stumbled across a wonderful review of my short story, Scourges, Spells, and Serenades that was first published in StoryHack magazine, and is now available as a part of a free short story collection available on my website.


You can read the review of the whole issue on Broadswords & Blaster’s website.

Art

I didn’t do much art last month, but I’m still working on something I’m hoping to be able to share in the future. The trouble with more complex drawings and digital art is that it takes a lot of time to complete, and I only manage a few art sessions in a month. I also jump between several projects depending on my mood and inspiration, so finishing anything takes a long time.

I did take a moment to upload the cover design for my short story collection, so if you liked the symbol an its background, you can find it on Society6 and Redbubble.

And, of course, there are always dragonflies. They depend on inspiration as well (since I don’t want them to be repetitive) and my other workloads, but I managed to draw 4 in August. I hope you like them.

Writer’s Life

In the beginning of the month, we went once more to Washington DC to collect my passport (a few exceptions aside, they do need to be picked up in person). We were hoping to do some more sigh-seeing, but a 1.5-hour traffic jam outside of the rush hour, and then over 1-hour wait in the consulate made us desperate to get out and go home… Especially that the next day was a working day which meant an early rise.

And since I needed a break, I spent some time this month gaming with Inq and reading. I’m still behind with my Goodreads challenge, but that’s also because I don’t add books I abandon early (10-15{fd816789381be2b25dc0c4c24e83c7c5d878f14214e162ad1afaed77eed2e013} in), and there’s been a lot of them lately.

We also took time trying out new and delicious food, all of it homemade. A new recipe for udon, homemade soft pretzels, deep-fried chicken… August certainly has been a yummy one!

Now that the temperatures are dropping, I’m hoping to get back in focus, and maybe catch up with “all the things”… or at least some of them.

How about you? How was your summer? Do you have any plans for September?

Joanna Maciejewska

Joanna Maciejewska is a fantasy and science fiction author who enjoys all things SFF: books, movies, and video games. Her short stories appeared in magazines and anthologies in Polish and in English. Her epic fantasy adventure series, starting with By the Pact, is available in ebook and paperback at all major retailers.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. J.R.Bee

    Plans? What plans? My plans involved it still being June, but I blinked and missed it

    1. Melfka

      Yeah, I could use some 2-3 months more in 2019…

  2. sjhigbee

    And… here I am, like a bad penny… Way too late! I hope things are still moving forward and you are able to write and draw, though clearly you are a tad busy right now. Where has the year gone?? I thought I’d touch base and apologise for not having caught up before. Take care, Joanna:)

    1. Melfka

      If you are “way too late”, then what am I? 😉 I think I owe you a year’s worth of posts now, if not more.
      Perhaps I should skip to the beginning so I don’t build the bigger backlog, and catch up in between, or I might end up permanently behind. (But I do want to read those posts!)
      Either way, no need to apology! I’m glad that you pop over whenever you have time! 🙂

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