Struggling with Story - Grateful for Recovery and School

I've been writing a story for my classes this semester, which is "genie in a box" style, and have a good start with 25 pages for the screenplay, and nearly 38 pages for the manuscript. However, the point of view is skewed. I thought my "heroine" was a certain person, but she's so weak, so meek and so stupid, I just can't go there. The other woman in the story is also not the heroine, since she's pure evil. I've decided to write the story from the chauffeur's point of view. He's a relatively present character, and I think I can turn his character arc into something that works.

What a tangle! I'm still converting the screenplay into a manuscript. When it's done, I'll go back and do the POV to pull the story together. It's a "whodunit" as well as "genie in the box" so it can be an entertaining read - if I ever figure out the thief! Yep, even I don't know whodunit...

At least not yet. I have suspicions, but it will all come to light at the end one way or the other. Considering this is the first full story I've written in a long time, it's kind of fun to see how it all develops.

I'm a much better writer for these classes this semester. I'm thankful I took them, even though they don't really count toward anything in my degree. I've learned something from every class I ever took - even the ones I didn't need for the degree I was pursuing. I think education is valuable for it's own sake. The more you learn, the better you can relate to your world - even if the class doesn't seem to relate - you will learn something.

For instance, I've learned a lot about myself and my history during this semester. Stuff started "gelling" about my history and I found words to describe things that I experienced that had no words before. I realize what happened and why I got embroiled in them. As a result, I've found forgiveness for my foibles, strength of character, and respect for myself that I didn't have before. That just can't be a bad thing!

I also found more forgiveness for those around me.

I guess this is all a part of maturing toward 60, but somehow, with my history, I don't think I'll ever feel 60. It's amazing I made it past 13!

Meanwhile, my home group continues to struggle with Tradition 2 - and what the oldtimers mean and how things should be run. It's a grueling and scary process for us. The tolerance levels are higher since the group conscience, but I find myself more pissed off than ever. I write about it nearly every day. I got myself on the "committee" for change and evaluation. All of us want a good strong home group, all of us respect the traditions and expect change - even when it's scary. All of us have over 20 years. I think I might have the least sobriety (at 20+ years) on the committee, and I've been in the group the least amount of time. The other members, Jim, Cindy, Mike and Doug, are all folks I respect a lot. Jim, Mike and I are the most widely traveled, and Jim beats us all by thousands of miles!

So, knowing that life changes, that my character arc is building into something that makes sense, and coming to the end of another semester, it's all playing out in my life.

Summer classes are two web-based classes - one a psychology, the other history. The psych is the last of the writing for a while, and the history is the last of the core requirements for Tennessee. Starting August, the Women's Studies courses begin, and I have decisions to make - whether to pursue the Appalachian side of things, literature, or history. I'm so drawn to history, but the literature is also important. I think you have to have both to truly understand what's happened to women in history. To put together the story of women.

I want to teach this stuff, so a blending would be really nice.