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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I received this message from a writer who has been reading my THE WRITE LIFE FOR YOU article series at APOOO Books:

Many thanks to you for all you do to help those of us aspiring to higher aspirations! I was ready to rename my manuscript “SO MUCH FOR TRYING”, lol, and put it on the shelf until I found the APOOO site through Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Facebook page and the Black Writers Conference. I like how easy your flow is to follow and understand, as well as how you break everything down into “Bacon Bit” sized pieces. Again thank you, Shonell. My dream is not put on hold.

Sometimes, all you need is ONE PERSON to tell you that what you say, what you think matters to them.

I am blessed.

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I just submitted my screenplay The Problem with Being Happy to two competitions:  the 2009 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and the BlueCat Screenwriting Competition.  This type of news wouldn’t necessarily warrant an update; however, this is pretty big for me.

TPwBH is the first feature-length screenplay I have written. (the oh-so-horrible scripts from my teenage years do not count.)  In 2007, I wrote a six-part miniseries adapted from a novel I wrote; the pilot was a quarterfinalist in the PAGE Awards.  In 2008, I began writing short scripts and my very first short – a one-pager – was a finalist in a competition.

2009 is the year of TPwBH and my short screenplays.

There are several more contests for TPwBH and goals to submit it to production companies, agents, etc.

Tomorrow, I start working on a new screenplay, Saying No to the Big O in April’s Script Frenzy.

I realize that no one is going to just give me anything, so I need to get up, put up the money and time and energy and dedication, and REACH MY GOALS.

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