My Life: Writing and Working

It's been awhile since I've posted here. All of my energy has been eaten up by working on my novel, looking for a job, and looking for an apartment.

My YA novel (working title Comfort Zone) is almost finished! I'm very excited but at the same time it feels a little anti-climatic. It has been such a part of my life for almost nine months that I don't know what to do with myself after it's finished. I know I'll move on to other projects and eventually return to it for revisions, but I'm still sad to see it end.

I've been sending out poetry and flash fiction again. I have some picture books that I want to send out too. And I'm writing all the time. Not just on my novel, but on random other things too. My passion for writing has never been higher.

My second year with AmeriCorps will come to and end next week, and I've been desperately looking for a "real job." I've applied for teaching positions, secretary positions, pretty much anything I could find that I'm half interested in, and all I've received are rejection e-mails (or no responses at all). I did, however, land a gig teaching one writing for children class at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts this winter, which is really, really exciting. And next week I have an interview for an internship with a literary agency, which I'm hoping leads to bigger things, but neither one of those positions is going to pay the rent.

In short, I'm at a crossroads in my life. I've been working desperately for months to figure out what to do with myself after AmeriCorps ends, and now that time is here, and I still don't know. I hope I can get a break soon. I've applied for an alternative teacher certification program that would start in June, so I have nine months of uncertainty ahead of me. Long enough to finish another novel, but not long enough to really get started at a decent job.

I know it's a tough world out there right now for job seakers, so I'm pursuing everything I can and hoping one of the opportunities works out.