You are currently viewing A Month in a Writer’s Life – August

A Month in a Writer’s Life – August

August turned out a very weird month, riddled with both expected and unexpected distractions. As if life had figured out that since I had finally started to settle after the move and get back to my routines, it was time to spice things up a bit. Or maybe a lot.

Writing

I was bound to finish at least some of my projects and get some head way on the others. But life’s distractions kept pulling me away from writing, and I remained unfocused. Yet, as the month was getting close to an end, I was determined to at least reach my monthly goal even if it meant writing intensively for a week. I knew I could do it. But in the end, I didn’t.

8 months of writing every day.

In the last week of August our water heater broke, and because of the poor communication with the management office we were left without hot water for a week. So, instead of writing, I ended up on the phone way more than I liked it. I was still determined to make the words happen and pushed for it. But when a random power outage cut off the whole neighborhood, I took it for a sign. I slowed down, and wasn’t even too upset by another power outage, this one likely the result of a heavy storms over the area.

In the end, I was left with little over 22,000 words which added another 9,000 to my already huge gap. Needless to say, I don’t think I’m going to “win” this year’s 365 Writing Club’s challenge. On the other hand, regardless of the obstacles, I managed to write daily and haven’t missed a day since the beginning of the year. That, in itself, is a huge win already.

Art

For the last months, I’ve been working on several pieces. Some of them weren’t quire ready to be shown while others had to “rest”. I wasn’t quite happy of how they were turning out, so I was changing colors and designs itself.

But, as tumultuous as it was, August turned out very creative.

I made a piece inspired by @JRBee’s typo, “We’re all goo.” It was quick and easy, but so much fun to make.

I also finally got back to my Overthinking design. It took me three attempts, each from scratch and an entirely different approach to the idea, to finally get something that I both loved, and was readable for someone who didn’t know what it was supposed to say.

Both designs are already available on various items in my Society6, Redbubble, and Zazzle stores.

Life

With all the distractions, paperwork to be done, and malfunctions, I couldn’t complain about the month being quiet, but otherwise there wasn’t much happening.

But, of course, there are still pansies that bravely survive the heat and the torrential rains. And finally, among all the yellow and white ones, I got a pure purple one! I definitely feel fulfilled as a gardener.

 

Wyświetl ten post na Instagramie.

 

Post udostępniony przez Joanna Maciejewska (@melfkathewriter)

How about you? How did your August go? Any achievements? Any positive news?

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 14 Comments

  1. J.R.Bee

    Writing every day is one hell of an achievement, and pansies to boot! Sounds like a good month 🙂

    1. Melfka

      Thank you, Bee! You have your part in my achievements. 🙂

      1. J.R.Bee

        Maybe some of them, you did all the legwork though 🙂

        1. Melfka

          I wouldn’t have done the legwork if someone wasn’t pushing me… 😉

          1. J.R.Bee

            More of a leg up than an actual push 😀

  2. sjhigbee

    Pansies in August?? That’s madness… Though huge respect for your sheer stickability – writing every day is a difficult goal to attain. Though you have had your trials, haven’t you? No hot water – urg! I love the WE ARE ALL GOO:)). I hope that September is less annoying as a month – I take it that it’s been hot where you are… So I suppose it’s now getting cooler so I hope you are finding it more comfortable.

    1. Melfka

      I think they were still blooming, because I sowed them waaay too late, so they only had first buds back in July.
      I’m glad you like WE ARE ALL GOO – it’s fun when art comes out from small things and then resonates with others as well. Any creation that puts a smile on other people’s faces is a win for me.
      September was a bit crazy (post coming soon), and it’s still hot over here. Evenings are getting cooler, but during the day we still hit 30C/85F… It supposedly is going to change soon, but we will see. The weather has been a bit crazy so far.

      1. sjhigbee

        Yes! I was away last week (first week in October) deep in the wilds of Somerset and had to have my door open to my room onto the garden in the afternoon because it was too hot! And this is ME – who generally is far more overdressed in layers than ANYONE I know!

        1. Melfka

          Wow! I seem to have a very small range of “acceptable” temperatures, 20-25C, with 15-30C beaing “bearable”. Anything beyond, and I’m either too cold or too hot. 😉

          1. sjhigbee

            Oh I’m with you on that! My trouble is that the temperatures here are all too frequently below 15C…

          2. Melfka

            Oh, I do remember! (And we’re in the cold season now as well, so I’m really happy I work from home!)

          3. sjhigbee

            How cold is it at present for you? We are having amazingly mild temperatures at present – in the mid-50s during the day!

  3. saraletourneau

    I also love WE ARE ALL GOO. That one gave me a good chuckle. 🙂

    Sorry to hear about all the issues you had to deal with home-wise last month. Having no hot water and no power for an extended period can really throw you off. A few years ago we had a freak snowstorm around Halloween (it’s rare for southern Massachusetts to see 6+ inches of snow that early in the fall), and I had no electricity and no hot water for a couple days. This was in addition to having 4 to 5 days of neither about 2 months earlier, after a hurricane had come through. :S So I know the feeling… and I hope you didn’t lose too much of the food in your fridge, either.

    But I’m glad you still managed to write every day despite everything that was going on. That in itself is a feat. And look at that gorgeous dark shade of purple on that pansy! You must be thrilled that your flowers have done so well.

    1. Melfka

      I’m glad you like the picture – as I wrote to Sarah above, any art that puts a smile on someone’s face is a win.
      No electricity and hot water during the snow? OMG… That’s bad. At least we lost it during the hot weather.
      And yes, I was very happy with my pansies. Even though they grew somewhat wild and didn’t resemble the pretty ones from the store, they were all mine, so I love them. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Melfka Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.