Josh Barkey, Worker Ant

Writers (and screenwriters, especially) have to do this thing called "stacking projects," because unless you're a blockbuster superstar, you can't ever afford to write just one thing and then sit around drinking Margaritas whilst everyone hands you money and tells you you're awesome. The fact that I'm not yet getting paid much to write means that I've got a lot of balls I'm currently trying to juggle.

I just added them up. They are:

• This blog.
• Two finished short films playing in a number of film festivals (LOCKER 212 & TWO FOR TEA).
• One short film in post-production: GNOMES.
• Four short films in various stages of pre-production with four different directors: UNRELEASED, AT EASE, THE BUTTON, & ABDUCTED (and a fifth, APOLLO XII, that I've not yet written, but which already has a director and a budget).
• Two feature films with directors attached, in the infancy of pre-production: PINK, & GINSENG.
• Five contests I've got scripts entered into that I've yet to hear back from.
• My short story collection: IMMORTALITY (and other short stories).
• A novel I'm almost ready to self-publish: FOUNDER.
• A second novel I'm just starting to re-write: POUNDERS.

Each of these projects demands a considerable amount of time and energy, beyond the initial writing. The short films, for example, require a lot of additional writing for things like fundraising and promotional materials, and then there's always the difficult decision of which festivals to attend once they are complete. The novel I'm about to put out will require a LOT of marketing - starting with figuring out how to cajole my film-friends into making me a world-class book trailer.

All of this while attempting to keep up with my daily writing, and I end up sometimes feeling a little bit like the leaf-cutter ant I captured in this little video-clip on my last trip to Peru.

Still, better an overworked ant than the motionless larvae I used to be.
Here's to a sense of purpose in everyday life.

L'chaim!

- - -

Whazzat? You really enjoyed this post? Well, perhaps if you share it on your social internets, then someone you know will enjoy it, too.

Or maybe support my writing habit with one of the options at the top of the sidebar to the right. 

Like, by grabbing a copy of my short story collection. Or picking an option and paying for a custom blog post. -->