Melody Writes

Posting for Accountability! This July, I will be participating in Camp Nanowrimo . I have been a semi-regular participant for years now. I don't always participate in April or July Nano, but this year I need the push. I have a couple of projects and upcoming submission calls that I need to get words on paper for. While my output has been decent this past year, I am going to try to up my game. Each Saturday throughout July, I will be doing an accountability post where I will discuss my progress, process, and any successes or pitfalls I'm facing. These last few days I have been prepping outlines and making plans. It's easier when my goal is to write a new novel or to edit an existing one. That gives me one project and a definitive word count. Since I'm using Nanowrimo to focus on a number of shorter projects, many of which I can only estimate how long they'll be, it's been tricky making this plan. I'm also struggling a bit with posting this. I usually prefer t...

Note upfront: Content warning for this book regarding domestic violence and violence against children.   This novel was a difficult read. A stream of consciousness laid out in a diary format. Each section has a date on it, but they are not in chronological order and the entries aren’t specific to those days. It’s an unorganized, brutal mess.    But it’s supposed to be that way.    The character grew up in an abusive home and is processing his trauma. This book is a window into a broken psyche and its attempt to grow and break free of its demons. The sheer depression and darkness of the story was difficult to stomach in long sessions, even for a dark fiction writer like me. I found I had to take breaks and read other, lighter books to break up the mood. For this, I dropped the book a star.    I appreciate the experimental style and what the book is doing. As a novel to enjoy, I struggle with it. As a work of artistic fiction to examine and be intrigued ...

I plan to start including posts about martial arts and thought I should share a brief outline of my training history. Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash I began my martial arts journey at university when I started my undergrad years ago. I hadn’t been interested in training before but I learned about the fencing team and thought that learning how to sword fight would be “cool”. Fencing was fun, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted. I trained for about a year, participated in a couple tournaments, but overall, felt that something wasn’t working for me. I also had trouble fitting in with the team. One day my friend suggested I join her for Taekwondo. Immediately, I fell in love with the martial art. There were always new moves and tricks to try. I didn’t have to spend as much money for equipment and the team was a better fit for me. I embraced Taekwondo wholeheartedly for many years. I eventually earned my red/black stripe belt, but left for graduate school before I could earn m...