I was chatting with a friend this morning who gave me some intel about an opportunity for a playwriting commission for which I could put myself on the inside track. I had to ask what the timetable was. She said “2017”, which was a huge relief. I mean, a commission means money, and money sooner is better than money later in my life right now, but the strange fact I am coming to realize is that my writing calendar is full for the near future.

On Friday I officially hit the halfway point on the manuscript for the new novel, right on schedule. That fact that it is on schedule astonishes me – the writer I was ten or maybe even five years ago could never have stuck to such a disciplined approach to something this big. But it is going to remain my top priority through November; and I have two Earbud Theater pieces I want to deliver in that same window, one which I’m well into post-production on, the other of which is drafted and cast and ready to record.

I also need to do a polish on one of my screenplays, which I anticipate I will fit in next week during a break from the novel; and there’s some final review and research that needs to be done on the short story collection before I set the publishing wheels in motion there. Those are all massive, time-consuming projects, and while I would love to do something like finish up this short story I have 40% drafted, or a one-act play that’s about that far along, in terms of professional priorities I just can’t put time into them for a little while. That’s a new and strange mindset, to look at something which wouldn’t take all that long to finish but to say “eh, maybe I can get to you over Thanksgiving?”

A lot of that has to do with money, and even when it’s not directly money it’s because I believe the effort will put me in proximity of money. The fact that I get to work on so many large-scale projects is a great sign of payoff for my efforts to raise my profile and forge professional connections. If immediate worries about money were out of the picture, I know I would re-shuffle some things, but the fact that I wake up each day knowing I can’t make any excuses has its benefits.

Time waits for no muse
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