It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve been over here.

And school is the time-sucking culprit!

I’ve been busy with school and reading and research…and now am about to get into the part of the semester where papers have to be written, so it will get even more crazy.

HOWEVER, I do plan to work on a NaNoWriMo project for November. I’ve participated for the last four years and have “won” each year, and it felt wrong to at least not try to write something this month.

This is a challenge for me on several fronts:

1. Usually, I outline my NaNoWriMo projects. I’m going into this completely cold with a title, a character name, and fuzzy thoughts on what the story is about.
2. I’m in school, and school is like a full-time job plus double-overtime. It’s going to be rough.
3. I haven’t written anything creatively in nearly three months. A record for me, so I’m very rusty.

Because of this, my goal is to do a NaNo-Lite. No, this doesn’t actually exist. As we all know, NaNo has people attempting to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I’m going for 30,000 words in 30 days. Still a lot of words for a woman with barely enough time to do everything else in her life, but I think I really do need this so that I can feel – at least mentally – that I’m still creative.

I’ll be posting throughout the month, giving you guys updates on my writing challenges, of which I’m sure there will be at least ONE.

For now, I’ll leave you with my title: Educating Sophia.

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And thought I would remind you of that, LOL

I’m in the crazy process of moving from Louisiana to Texas to begin Ph.D. studies, so I haven’t been as creative as I would like to be, but once I get settled in Texas, things will change.

Have news and other things to showcase in the upcoming months – a novel being released next June, more screenplay ideas, more podcasts, more a lot of great things coming my way, and I want to share them all with you guys…SOON.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already, definitely check out the podcast site to my company CLG Entertainment:  CLG-E Podcasts.  Every first of the month, I do a The Write Life for You podcast that features advice on writing, and every 15th of the month, I do the Once Upon a Time… podcast that features poetry, essays, short stories, novel excerpts, and more.  Six episodes are already live, so listen in and leave comments.

If you’re a writer looking for even more advice, look to the right in the My Columns box where you will find links to places where I write articles.  Anything and everything from memoir writing to screenwriting, from developing scenes to capitalization can be found!

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In the midst of all the tragedies (RIP Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson) and the stumbles and falls that befell me today, I did receive a bright spot.

I learned my screenplay, The Problem with Being Happy, made it through the first round of the PAGE International Screenwriting Competition.

In ‘07, the pilot of a miniseries I wrote, Running from Miss Right, made it through the quarterfinals of this same contest.

I’m hoping to make it this time with HAPPY, but if not, this news is another whisper to my writing spirit that I’m on the right track, and my success is just around the corner.

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This morning, I was on the bus, on my way to school, and I noticed I was frowning.  I mean I could literally feel the furrow in my brow, my cheeks sag, the corners of my mouth nearly touch my chin.

And I was listening to my morning praise music at that!  And I was happily feeling it inside, but you wouldn’t notice it from my expression.

It was as if my outward appearance forgot what it was like to smile, to feel happy, to walk in light, to see brightness in the world beyond just one footstep.

It saddened me – a lot.

Was getting off the bus to transfer onto another one, and someone touched me.  Looked down and there was a man who I talked with a few days ago on the bus.  At the time, he was really proud at the fact that
I taught at the university level.  In his words, “We need more of us teaching our youth.”

He smiled, asked me how I was doing, and I was feeling (on the inside) good, so I said, “Great, and you?”

As I got onto the next bus, I saw this elderly man who rides the bus every morning with his radio in hand and heads to Mickey D’s for his coffee and morning chat with people.

I smiled at him, touched him, and said, “So how are you doing this morning, sir?”

And he just smiled and said, “Good, baby.  How are you?”

And we had a short “how are you” conversation, and I sat.

We got off on the same stop, and we both headed to Mickey D’s together, and I held the door open for him and he touched my elbow and allowed me to move in front of him in line.

While I waited my turn, I realized that a big part of getting that outward happiness is the connections, the “touches” we make with others.

It doesn’t mean I have to make friends with everyone, but it does mean that I need to open my eyes and truly see what’s around me.  There are others, like me, searching for their place in the world, and every once
in a while, it’s a blessing to have one of those people touch you just to say, “Hey, I’m here.  I’m in the same boat.  Take a ride with me for a spell.”

It’s part of the call from God for us to do this.

And it’s something I realized I needed to work on more.  I give to others because it’s something God instilled in me.  I feel, almost too real, for others because it’s something God instilled in me.  But I want to learn, need to learn, hunger to learn to open my eyes and truly see God’s people so that I can connect with them and help others to find God.

And the thought of that actually just made me smile.

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