Soul Tabs
This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly newsletter 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 finishing an entire first draft of the pitch deck for my feature film. And...I did not make it. I failed. Fire the cannon which releases only dark confetti and a sad trombone sound. I got a lot done. I designed the main cover, the logo, wrote a ton of promo text, and sketched multiple monsters while watching the Super Bowl. But, still, this is the first time I've missed a goal I set in the blog!
In all honesty, I'm not berating myself about it. I'm still calibrating what's realistic. This week, I simply bit off more than I had time to chew. You know those restaurants that give you a giant ice cream sundae and then sing at you if you finish it? We could all win the song if we could just take the ice cream home, work on it, and bring the dish back. Time! It's all about time!
ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK--
I had the blessing and the curse of having multiple projects on my plate this week--trying to book a live comedy show, casting and prepping a short film shoot, prepping for another film's premiere in Los Angeles, recording multiple podcasts including one on the movie Casino Royale which required rewatching Casino Royale and learning to make a Vesper cocktail. Yes, required.
I think we're all used to having weeks and days like this. The multi-tasking, gig economy CHOKEPOINT lifestyle where your tasks become three old-school comedians trying to walk through the same narrow doorway at the same time.
For me, this week was strangely made even more stressful by the fact that I was THRILLED with every task. I wanted to spend quality time with each of those comedians. Instead, I became more and more stressed as they hit one another with their bowler hats.
Since this blog is about a lack of focus, I'm going to careen wildly to another metaphor--I felt like I had too many tabs open on the internet browser of my soul. So when I sat down to work, instead of just focusing on one thing--one tab--I flitted back and forth, checking tabs. I knew I needed to just focus on the most time-sensitive thing. Or stick to the project I had already scheduled myself to work on. But I couldn't stop myself from checking in on all of them. So I end up in a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm worried about running out of time to work on my projects which makes it difficult to focus which means I run out of time to work on my projects.
I even tried to have some tea to calm myself and the tea bag lectured me that I wasn't calm enough. Damn you, tea, damn you.
Objectively, I did get a lot done. And there are some interruptions one can't control. (Hello, large rumbling earthquake and thank you for the break in the afternoon.)
And, most importantly, I had a great happy ending to my creative week. Next week, I'm shooting a five-minute horror film. And I went to my friend's place to scope out the location. I did some test shots with my phone. And every jangling nerve shut up. One comedian walked through the doorway. The other tabs were silent. I was able to focus because I had one project in front of me and that was the ONLY one I could focus on.
But even more than that, I was having FUN. Lost in the possibility. Embracing the tea bag's precious unknown.
I think the creative process is often learning and re-learning lessons. This week was a good refresher course on a big one for me. The best antidote to stress about a creative project is a massive injection of FUN. A thrilling reminder of why you do this in the first place. Thinking of an idea and then just making it happen. It's play. It's exciting. It's asking yourself "What if?" and then answering your own question. It's jumping off a cliff and figuring out how you're going to land on the way down. We berate ourselves a lot about the landing part. Sometimes, we need to focus on all the freedom and joy of the jumping.
MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
Okay, last week was too much and I have a (wonderfully) packed week so I'm going to go lighter. I need to focus on that pitch deck. But I need to break it into smaller tasks. This week's goal will be to finish the text of the pitch deck. Then next week, I can focus on the graphic design. One comedian through the door at a time!
YOUR GOAL FOR WEEK--
What's your goal? Hopefully, Buttondown will add a comments section soon, but until then feel free to reach out to me on social media and let me know what projects you’re working on this week. Or you can respond directly to the email version of this blog, if you'd like!
LIGHT PLUGS--
Films! I have films to plug! Our short horror film, THE NIGHTMARE ADORABLE is making its Los Angeles premiere! Sunday, Feb 25th at 2 pm. Myself and the cast will be in attendance. So if you're in LA, come enjoy the horror and say hello. Tickets are here. Once you hit "buy tickets" scroll down to Horror Program C-25!
THE NARRATOR! On Tuesday, Feb 20th, all members of my Patreon will have exclusive months-early access to my experimental comedy film, THE NARRATOR starring the great Phil LaMarr. If you're interested, you can check out the Patreon here!
You can also check out Strange Path t-shirts and wall art on Threadless. And my comedy albums and cosmic horror tale on Bandcamp. Thank you for the kind support!
A LITTLE SKETCH--
A sketch inspired by my week. A Vesper martini checks its phone for updates. The martini does not have hands. Let's keep this somewhat realistic. My best to you on your adventures in concentration! Will I make my reasonable? Will you make yours? Let's find out together in the FUTURE LAND known as next Tuesday!
