Lisa Temple Actress Your Senator, Doctor, Teacher, Mom

This month I’ve been working on my web series full force, meaning I’m rewriting all ten episodes! It’s a whole new experience for me, and I’m trying to accept and embrace this challenge. To be honest, part of me would rather declare the thing finished and just produce it on my own, just as it is. But the other part knows very well that this is just “stinkin thinkin”. Collaboration is critical for an artist, just as it is in any business. That’s why I gave my whole series to a woman who’s an up and coming director, and thankfully she’s interested in directing some of my episodes. She read through every episode twice (over the holidays!) and has given me great notes on how to make my series as good as it can be. How fantastic is that?

Naturally, this is somewhat daunting and frustrating, since she wrote a lot of notes. The first thing that comes up is, “Really? That many notes? Ugh. I hate rewriting.” But then I remember that oh yes: writing is rewriting. It’s just part of the process. So if I want to produce my web series, then I must buckle down and keep going. I choose intentional action. And once I get to this point, I’m able to sit back down at the computer every day, and calmly work through each page of my screenplay. Happily, I find myself enjoying the process and saying, “Okay, this does need work, and I like this version of the dialogue much better.” Getting past resistance is a real challenge, but on the other side is joy and fulfillment.

Rewrites can be uncomfortable and my tendency is to doubt my changes; then my ‘perfectionist’ doubts the doubts I’m having. Sound familiar? Plus, the Australian Open is on now and I’m a huge tennis fan! (Go USA!!) To help me stay motivated, I’m having a second reading of my series so I can get more feedback.  (The first reading was so fun and encouraging, why wouldn’t I want to continue?) I scheduled it for the end of January. That gives me plenty of time to finish my rewrites, but not so much time that I will dawdle. In order to meet my deadline, I do indeed have to write every day. Truth is, I may never be completely done with rewrites. Ideas could come up while we’re shooting. But I won’t focus on that right now.

I was also introduced to a female tv producer by a friend, so I set up a call. Happy to report she thinks my series concept is great! She was very encouraging and gave me lots of pre-production information, as I learn how to put my production team together. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know women in the biz who are willing to help with a project that resonates with them. You may recall that at the Golden Globes, Regina King challenged everyone to include as many women as possible on their projects. I will do my part!

Other good news is, my husband told me about a “Short Short Story Competition” sponsored by Writers Digest, and I entered it! What? Not long ago I would’ve just laughed at the very idea of writing a short story, let alone submitting it for criticism. But now I wanted to take this on. I remembered that many years ago I took a writing class, and one of the exercises was to imagine yourself in a room, any room that comes to mind, then just start describing it. I’ve never forgotten that class. While I wrote that day, a very interesting idea had come to me. When the teacher read it she encouraged me and said, “That’s the writer in you expressing itself.” Well, of course that has stuck with me, right? But my resistance was too strong back then, and I just put it away. I knew I had that story in a notebook on my shelf, so I searched for it. And there it was. It wasn’t on my computer anymore, so I retyped it like I was writing it for the first time. 

Amazingly, fresh ideas came to me, so I just made the changes and moved on. By the time I was done I could see that I’d actually written two different stories, so I had to separate them. Clearly, I went off on a tangent. I restarted the first idea and with the help of my husband, I expanded my original story into what I hope is an intriguing idea that will capture the attention of the folks at Writers Digest. But no matter what happens, I had an instinct and I followed it, instead of scoffing at myself. And now I can find some magazines that might be interested in publishing my revamped story, and submit it to them. I am so grateful that I’ve embraced this new form of self-expression. Hooray!

Okay wow, it was so invigorating to write this blog. I’m all jazzed up right now. This is definitely the life for me. Is there a form of self-expression that brings joy and fulfillment to you? I hope so. And if there’s something you’re walking away from due to that nasty resistance monster, please find ways to become aware of it, recognize it every time it shows up, and put it aside as you continue with your goals. And away we go!