August has been slower in the actual act of writing, but just as busy and fast-paced as the rest of the summer everywhere else. I’m working to start voice acting (specifically audiobook narration) as a side hustle. I have another project with a friend that I’m aiming to launch in September, which I’ll talk more about when I no longer feel like I’ll jinx it.
And on the 12th, I went to an event hosted by Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Stories on the Point, to celebrate their inaugural writing contest and upcoming anthology. My poem wasn’t chosen for the anthology, but they still invited me to read at the event, and I had a blast! They also had swag bags for all the writers who came and read, which bizarrely feels like some kind of milestone for my writing career.
And, as of today, the kids are officially back in school. The summer was wonderful, but I’ve been looking forward to this day for two months. There are just some things I can’t do so well when the kids are home.
News
My workshops with the local Adult Ed are live! The online course catalogue so far won’t let me share links to specific classes, but you can filter by instructor name. I love how my grid of classes looks.
Blog
Earlier this month, I wrote about getting to constantly learn about my own writing quirks, habits, and processes, and how that came out in my most recent revision of the novella.
I currently plan for that to be my last post that also gets blasted out via email, since I want to avoid spamming you, I try to sum up everything in these newsletters, and WordPress does not seem to allow you to customize which posts you get or how frequently you get them. If you have strong feelings one way or another, please feel free to share them with me!
Stats
No new subs sent this month. I did receive a short story rejection! The big thing of this month was applying to the Narrator Mentorship Program with Penguin Random House Audio. So glad I jumped right on it as soon as the application released, because five hours later, they had already reached their quota and closed.
Somehow this month, I still met my goal of time spend on writing or writing-related work. Just barely, but I did it! With the school year starting, I’m changing my goal from 8 hours to 12.
Putting this out to the universe now: I want to ramp up to 16 hours a week of writing work AND finish the rough draft of my current novel before Christmas! I have not always been a glacially slow writer, so I want to reclaim some speed this fall.
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Currently reading: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. I adore other stories I’ve read by her, and this one feels like it won’t disappoint, but I’m struggling with the entitlement and obliviousness so far (I just started and I know it’s there for a reason). Loving the worldbuilding and I’m fascinated to see where it goes.
Just read: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I figured it’s time to see what all the hype is about, and I definitely stayed up far too late promising myself “just one more chapter” then not even noticing the chapter breaks…
*Bookshop.org affiliate links.
Melissa Burkart 
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