I’ve not been blogging much because I’ve been busy wrapping up my job. It’s been a great three years working on Ocean Explorer but I’m ready to do something new. My last day at NOAA will be October 15.
While I love working on web sites, I have another passion – writing. I’ve written a couple of short films, won the Film DC Screenplay Competition a couple years ago, and, most recently, was the screenplay competition manager for the DC Shorts Film Festival (crazy fun). I’ve also written articles and short stories. It’s time for me to pursue that part of my life for a while. I’m going to take off about 3-4 months to write. I’ve been working on a novel for the past couple years and it’s something that I want to finish.
The novel that I’m working on is a dark comedy about DC, set during the summer before 9/11. I’m about halfway done with it and need large blocks of uninterrupted time during the middle of the day to finish it.
I’ll be busy with other projects, too. You may find me at a Caribou sipping cappuccino but I’ll be working, trust me. I plan on really learning WordPress and updating this blog. I’m going to look for other writing opportunities, perhaps on other blogs or in print. I’m also going to market my screenplays and short stories.
And I have another idea for a book, as well. It just occurred to me as I was telling people at work that I was leaving. NOAA was involved in the production of the new Ocean Hall exhibit at The Smithsonian. Many of the people I worked with were part of this project so I joked with them that my book would be a mystery called, “Murder in Ocean Hall.” This idea started as a laugh but, the more I thought about it, the better this idea sounded. It would be fun to write and my non-reading friends might even pick up a mystery set at the Smithsonian. So, I might be working on this instead of my serious, “literary” novel.
This “writing sabbatical” will be an exciting adventure for me. Yes, to me, spending several months in front of a computer will be an exciting adventure… what could be more fun than having time to create? Wish me luck!
I would definitely read a book about “Murder in Ocean Hall”…. great idea!