Melody Writes

Project: Short Story Exploration   Last year, I read 70 books, most of which were novels, so for 2024, I’m going to focus on short fiction. I’ll still be reading and reviewing novels, but I want to take a deep dive into short stories. I’ve been accumulating quite the backlog of anthologies, magazines, and bookmarked stories to read. I will be working my way through them and journaling about each short piece as I go, recording date, story, author, thoughts, what I learned, etc. I’m not setting a specific goal, but I am estimating reading somewhere around 250 stories of varying lengths this year. Then towards the end of each month, I’ll be posting my thoughts so far, recommendations, etc. Why am I doing this? I want to get to know the short form better and, in turn, grow my own short fiction writing. I also want to develop a journaling habit, but have no interest in writing about my day-to-day life*. Years ago, I turned up my nose slightly at short stories. I didn’t hate them, but I ...

Hello and welcome to the end of 2023. I, for one, am happy to see it go. It's been a complicated year in both my personal and professional lives. The biggest change for me is that I have left my second job (by choice), and while I'll still be working full time, I won't be quite as overwhelmed as I was. It's a bit of a financial hit, but one I can (thankfully) afford. It'll be a big step for my mental health and will let me focus more on my writing. Speaking of which, I am making my resolutions and plans for 2024 and it's looking like it's going to be a bigger year, writing-wise for me. Ready for a sneak peek? Indie Ink Awards Judging: Trying something new First up: I have been accepted as a Judge for the Indie Ink Awards ! I have never judged a writing contest before and the Indie Ink Awards seem like a good one. They are supportive of diversity and a better future. Also, as a growing indie writer myself, I am happy to support these awards and get to read so...

This is the third year in a row where I’m writing a top ten list for 2023. This year I read/listened to 70 books (full list available on my Goodreads challenge page ). This year, I couldn't limit myself to only 10. Each of these books kept demanding to be included, so I relented. Looking over the list, it strikes me what a variety they are, spanning philosophy, memoir, horror, mystery, sci-fi. A few themes carried through for me this year, grief, loss, strife, and hope. It's been a long, complex year for me in my personal and professional life, and I think that is reflected in this list. As usual, I have not listed them in a countdown format, but have chosen to list them in chronological order based on when I read them this year. Melody's Top Thirteen Books of 2023: Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee As a martial artist, I’m almost forced to admire Bruce Lee to some extent. However, despite being only a few steps removed from training with him, I haven’t really...