You know, when you've been knocking around in a profession like writing long enough (especially fiction writing), you start to realize those people who warned you it wouldn't be easy—well, they were right.

At this point, I've completed no less than four novels and, out of that four, one has been published. It's called Identity Crisis and it was released in 2005, by a publisher that doesn't matter anymore because, as far as I know, it no longer exists. Yes, less than a year after its release (about the time I should have been getting my first royalties), the book went out of print. Oh, well. That's how it goes. Onward and upward.

So I've kept at it, continuing to write fiction. In fact, I revised my first novel manuscript (the second was the one that got published) and wrote two more. Add in a handful of short stories, one of which has appeared in the anthology Chesapeake Crimes, and there you have it. The body of my published fiction so far. It's been frustrating in a field where it helps to have a ready answer to the question, "What have you done lately?"

But despite the setbacks, I'm happy to say I can lay claim to some recent small victories.

For one thing, I decided to take an online screenwriting course. I've had this idea for a movie, but I never seemed to have time to work on the script. The opportunity to take a class came along and I seized it.

And if there's one thing I've learned from this, it's that screenplays are a wholly different animal than novels. They have similarities in basic structure, but involve huge differences in writing process. Screenplays (especially for feature films, a bit less so for television) involve using visuals to tell story—more than dialogue. According to no less an authority than Alfred Hitchcock, you start with the images, then add the dialogue as needed. And that's just one difference between the two forms.

If I were to sum up in one word, the major difference between screenwriting and novel writing, it would probably be "precision." In a screenplay, each scene is precisely crafted to drive the story forward, with as little dialogue as you can get away with. And there's precision in the story structure that you mess around with at your peril. Let's face it—most of us are not Jim Jarmusch. It's like my second grade teacher used to say when I wrote a grammatically incorrect sentence—you gotta know the rules before you break them. (I used to think she was full of it, but she was right.)

So during the past nine weeks, I've learned about a whole new process of storytelling and have plenty more to learn I'm sure. Sitting down everyday and thinking about how to tell a story in strictly visual terms without using a character's thoughts has been tricky—and a very different way of approaching it. And the dialogue, ironically, reminds me less of writing novels than short stories—where every word counts. Weird, huh?

So one of my small victories has been to take on the challenge of writing a script—and actually completing my first draft within 12 weeks. (A goal I look likely to attain, if can I just stick with it.) Plus I think what I've learned will improve my overall storytelling ability. Another small plus.

Along with this, I continue to market and grow my freelance research and writing business. I was recently interviewed on a blog called The Freelance Survivor. (An apt name, I think.) So put another check in the plus column for me.

In addition, I've been doing my own blogging about the business of writing at Writing for Hire, and I post book reviews and news about books, publishing and authors at The Book Grrl. In addition, I've had a blog about various topics that interest me for several years now. The blog is called Random and Sundry Things (the name pretty much speaks for itself). At the time I started it, it was tough for me to pick a niche to blog about, but as later blogs reveal, I've found a few niches since then. And given my interest and our current focus on the environment, it seemed like someone should write about the issues surrounding what's really "green" and what's not and try to explore the best ways to achieve sustainability and a "green" lifestyle. I mean, it seems like a topic one could explore in some depth. So what did I do? I started another blog called Green Reality Check.

Further, over the last nine months or so, I've been taking the lead in organizing a fundraising ride for The Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. As I explain in the Web site for the ride —it turned out to be a success! We actually turned a profit, despite light turn-out, primarily due to bad weather. (Note to self: never plan an outdoor event in Maryland in early May.) We still have T-shirts from the event. For a small donation, you can have one and support a good cause. Just shoot me an email if you're interested.

Oh, yeah—and those other short stories I've written? One of them will be published in a new anthology, Chesapeake Crimes 4, to be released by Wildside Press in March 2010. So soon I'll have a ready answer to that question I mentioned before.

These may be small victories, but they feel pretty significant to me.