Books, Scripts, and Podcasts, oh my!
I am well documented for taking on a borderline-certifiable number of projects. Not that it is necessarily a matter of taking on too much. Admittedly, it does all cut into my sleep time, and I do have that long list of things I wanted to accomplish by the time I turn thirty. Sometimes, it is a case of embellishing and expanding upon an area I am already absorbed in. Sometimes, it is a case of something new an exciting that comes along that perfectly fits my interests or have always wanted to do all along. Often, it is a combination of both of those factors. Individually, they are all quite doable, some even trifles, but they tend to add up.
Take my avid interest in reading. Now, I have never had a problem finding a new book to pick up or finishing ones I already have. It’s always simply been a matter of time. My recent exposure to GoodReads, which I have previously blogged about, has been a bit like adding gasoline to this particular flame. Therefore, as a way to better make use of my time, I have set aside one hour every evening before I go to sleep in order to read. Simple enough, right? Not only does it give me that nice sense of accomplishment every evening, it is also incredibly relaxing. The catch? I have forced myself to stay up an extra hour many a night in order to accomplish this stellar feat (which is fine, I’m a night person), but it makes it that much more difficult to get up in the morning. Why not simple set my reading time an hour earlier? The obvious solution to be sure, but as I said, things add up.
Like the time I set aside to write. This time, by its very nature, needs to be much more plentiful to be successful and, as a result, is much more difficult to come by. I am currently well into my latest draft of Samuel Jinx, which has been going steadily. Then, like NaNoWriMo before it, Script Frenzy comes along and messes with that whole notion of dedicating my energies to one writing project at a time. Whereas the challenge of NaNoWriMo was to write a novel in a month, the point of Script Frenzy is to write a screenplay or stageplay in one month. Now, you would think I would just use that month to write the fabulous script I am already working on. However, that puts me in a bit of a moral conundrum. According to the honor system based rules for Script Frenzy, I am supposed to begin writing on June 1st and finish by June 30th. Using a script I have already been working on is not very sportsmanlike. Plus, if I took up the challenge to write a “new” script, this could be a fun opportunity to start one of many projects I’ve been mulling over for a while. (Perhaps that feature length version of Backspin?)
Then, there’s that podcast. Over the weekend, I did quite a bit of preliminary work and testing on this newfangled notion of podcasting, and I must say this is probably the most exciting new personal project I have taken up in a long time. Of course, like all new things, the learning curve is a huge factor. I decided to edit a 30 second sample intro together, which I had not anticipated would take upwards of four hours to do. I suppose this is what is referred to as R & D. Once we get one or two of these things out of the way, it will probably take considerably less time.
In other news, I am ecstatic to now be doing my small part to help out my good friend Veronique Ory and Athena Theatre as the new historian. It’s not much, but I’ll do what I can, and I’m happy to help. Athena is back in full gear and their new production of the play Pterodactyls opens in July.
Song of the Week:
“On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson