A Song of Failure and Donuts
This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly blog/newsletter/blogletter about the creative process. I'm sharing adventures in art and life as well as setting CLIFFHANGER goals for myself, so--
--DID I MAKE MY GOAL?
Last week, I committed to assembling a rough cut of the 6 minute sizzle reel for the feature film I’m trying to make.
And I’m happy to say I did not make it. I’ve got the first two minutes edited, everything is going well, and I’m pulling myself away from the edit to get the blog out.
I say I’m happy about it because every once in a while it’s nice to get a social call from my old friend, Reality. I want this blogletter to be honest. Everyone’s going to have some wins and some losses, always, no more how motivated or focused you are.
There were no major failings on my part. My eyes were simply bigger than my calendar. I think goals are great to help you focus on your most important task for the week, but this week I had at least three most important tasks and I had to watch them all wrestle on top of a flying zeppelin trying to hurl the others into the cloudy abyss of second-tier attention.
I’m anxious to get the sizzle reel done because I’ve got a mixture of time-sensitive creative and producing work to do on the feature film. The editing is creative work. It’s precise and complicated and becomes confusing and easy to lose your place the longer you step away. For me, it’s pull the curtains shut and disappear into your own little world for 4 hours at a time work. Producing work is throw open every window in the house and shout emails at the entire world type of work. Very different mind-sets, but I need to find a way to balance both.
ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK--
I filmed the sizzle reel in Minneapolis last week then flew back to LA on late Tuesday, had a long podcast recording session on Wednesday, a budget meeting on Thursday, a livestream on Friday, and several sudden unplanned naps in-between.
By Saturday, one of those goals tussling for dominance on top of the zeppelin was just TAKE A BREATH.
On Saturday morning, whenever possible, my wife and I watch some classic Doctor Who. It had been almost six weeks since we were able to travel in time and space.
Afterwards, we realized neither of us had to be anywhere that day. I had planned to get back to work in the afternoon and start editing away. But I was exhausted and I decided to accept that sometimes recharging one’s emotional batteries is valid creative work.
So the most vital creative work I did this week was a montage of relaxation. We went for a nice walk that ended at our local neighborhood used book and record store. They were having a 30% off everything sale for Independent Bookstore Day. My deeply discounted haul was an eclectic mix of horror novels, a Gore Vidal play, a creepy bear record, and a Starlog magazine from 1980 wondering—WILL HAN SOLO RETURN? Clickbait in print! Simpler times!
The bookstore was also giving out free donuts. They were just sitting there, right next to the bin of newly added vinyl. When we were checking out, I asked the employee if those donuts were really just free for customers. To me, they shimmered like a mirage of water in a parched desert. She said, “Yes! But no one’s taking them. Please, take some before I eat them all.”
So I did. I ate a free donut in a bookstore as an ACT OF KINDNESS AND HEROISM. In the big picture, this is not that amazing or world-changing of a moment. But it felt that way because I made the choice to let relaxing and connecting with community be my priority for the day. And this was my reward: a maple donut that had been sitting out for four hours in a used bookstore. I’ve often found context is one of the most important ingredients in cooking which made this among the best donuts I’ve ever consumed.
After we got home, we made some tea, put on some records, pulled out our calendars and had a looooong talk about all the schedule challenges before us. I understand calendar talk might not be most people’s number one choice for relaxing, but the last month we’ve had to shove it into late nights and early mornings, so calmly and leisurely talking over tea and jazz was a luxury.
Later, we repotted a plant, had a martini, and watched the French thriller show, Lupin.
I felt a bit guilty for not “getting back to work” but the guilt was drowned out by thinking about how much I was looking forward to writing about that donut in the blog. Rest can be work.
MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
Okay. Let’s try this again. But with some balance. This week, I need to do both creative work and producer work. So I have a list of ten producer emails to send and I need to get that rough assembly edit done for the teaser. I believe in me.
YOUR GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you're working on this week in the comments below. What's your goal? Is it creative? What are the challenges? What are the joys? Did you relax this weekend? How can I help you finish your monsters?
LIGHT PLUGS--
There are screenings of our film, The Nightmare Adorable, coming up! In particular it's playing in the Pacific Northwest as part of Crypticon Seattle on Saturday, May 4th at 9 pm and I will be in attendance! Full details are on my website here.
Here's the poster for the latest short film! Submissions to film festivals add up extremely quickly. They average is about $25 per festival and the more I submit to, the better odds at getting exposure for the film.
AND this Friday, May 3rd is Bandcamp Friday. So all proceeds go directly to the artist and I will immediately spend those Bandcamp proceeds on film submissions! If you want to check out any of my comedy albums this is a great time to do it. Thank you for the kind support!
A LITTLE SKETCH--
This week's sketch is a celebration of relaxation. The plant we put in a bigger pot daydreaming about a donut. (I did not feed a plant a donut.) I hope everyone reading finds some time to be creative and some time to relax this week. See you in the future time of NEXT TUESDAY!
