So, I've taken a REAL J.O.B. and the good news is that it is a management position so I have a lot of responsibilities, it's a regular paycheck and I'm not THE manager so I don't have to "take it home with me", I'm not on call and I'm not the one with my feet over the coals when all HELL breaks loose. The bad news; it's not enough money, I'm not in charge of my schedule and it's RETAIL so I have to deal with John and Jane (and Jose') Q. Public, stand on my feet for 7.5 hours a day and never feel like I've finished a project or receive recognition for a job well done (since Mr. and Ms. Public carry or drop merchandise all over the store and I spend most of my time picking up after them). IT'S RETAIL, do I need to say more? (Other than I'm dreading working through the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday's and spending my next BIG birthday in Georgia instead of going home to spend the holiday's with family.) But the REALLY bad news is that I've had little time to write.

But that's about to change (and quick). I've taken on being an ML (Municiple Liason) with an event called ScriptFrenzy! taking place in June. www.ScriptFrenzy.org! is sponsored by The Office of Letters and Light, which is the same organization that sponsors www.NaNoWriMo.org (National Novel Writing Month) in November. But ScriptFrenzy! is, you guessed it, writing a script in a month (20,000 words in 30 days). I'm thinking of starting over on my current script since I have to start from "FADE IN:" but I'm also considering another project. We'll see what happens. Anyone out there care to join me in this insane endeavor?

I've formed a group at Yahoo! for those ScriptFrenzy! participants in Atlanta (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atlantascreenwriters), a www.myspace.com/atlantascreenwriters page, an ad on www.craigslist.com, and I'm working on a www.geocities.com/atlanta.wordsmith webpage. I'm also thinking about www.blogspot.com. Next up, planning events for ScriptFrenzy! and thinking about future events with NaNoWriMo. Eventually, all this will be accessed at one site: www.wordsmithwritersguild.org when I can ever get the website straightened out.

Also out of the gate, The Artist's Way Workshop for Teens, which I plan to facilitate this summer. (Kind of a second job thing, so I can generate a little extra income and help teenages find their creative side.) And to top all of that, I plan to organize a Master Mind Writer's Group for writer's who want to set very specific goals and have a support system in place to help them achieve those goals. (Which will meet every other Sunday). There is also a weekend writing conference called the Harriette Austin Mystery Writer's Conference coming up that I wish to attend and I've been invited to a poetry conference in Vegas that I'm lusting after (since I couldn't go last year) but I'm thinking about how to make it possible for this year. They're offering free exhibit booths at the poetry conference and I envision generating a lot of interest and membership (read:  money) in the Guild. Got to start somewhere.

So not only am I busy with a new J.O.B. but I'm kicking it into high gear and getting something started on my own dreams. I've realized that it doesn't matter who've I've been in the past or what has happened, it is what I do with the rest of my life that counts. Who I choose to be is someone of significance in the writing industry and to do that I have to write and to help others who also choose to write. That is the purpose I choose for my life.

I have the next 24 hours or so to write and that's what I'm going to do (after a few hours of sleep). Sweet dreams.