Going for broke

I haven't been keeping it a strict secret, but I haven't been saying a lot about it yet either: I am unemployed now.

Friday was my last day of work. I was told I was being laid off about two weeks ago, and have just been dealing with it since then. There are feelings of rejection of course, but there was no chicanery like with some of my other former employers; I have some severance and am eligible for unemployment benefits.

That puts me in a unique position. I have written a lot when I have been unemployed other times, but I was also stressed out about job hunting and bills and not getting any calls back on the many applications. The job market should be a bit better now than it was in late 2008/2009, but it's still not exactly fun.

I have also written quite a bit while working, but it's hard finding the time when there is always everything else. Trying to fit writing in with a full time job, family, and church is hard. I got called to a new committee shortly before this happened, and it's temporary, but I have some extra things on my plate going into May.

I have pay coming in through May 6th. Everything is currently caught up. I'm taking March for writing.

I won't say that it's not scary. If nothing sells, and then I have a hard time finding a regular job in April, I know I am going to be kicking myself, and my sisters may be kicking me too. However, if I don't take this chance, I know I will regret it for the rest of my life.

I am working on a television pilot. I need to finish it. Once I finished that there was one screenplay that I had in mind to write, but now another old idea that I didn't think I would do anything with is starting to feel feasible. That's a lot of writing to do. (Probably around 220 pages, give or take.)

I had been thinking about trying some agent queries again around now anyway. The last time I did that was also the last time I was unemployed. Unfortunately not only had the economy just crashed but a screenwriter's strike was pending, and no one had any interest in a new untested writer then. At the time, I believe I had just written my fourth screenplay. Now I have seven features, one pilot, and five books, plus two more features and another pilot on the way.

I had also planned on submitting a comic book pitch to Dark Horse in March. I may bump that a month. I'm sure my first comics pitch will fail, so it may be lower priority than things that could work.

If nothing happens in March, that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop writing. It will be back to having a day job and writing on the side. There are still more books to write. I still have stories to tell.

All it means is that I have this time where I can focus on what I want, and try and make it a reality. That doesn't always happen. Given the chance, I have to go for it.

It does feel like life is coming at me fast.