Lisa Temple Actress Your Senator, Doctor, Teacher, Mom

Life is full of challenges. I’m blessed that my challenges are mostly on the creative side, versus personal challenges. But still, we all seek fulfillment and joy, don’t we? I know I do. But these things can sometimes seem fleeting or elusive. To aid my search, we’ve been doing the “Hope In Uncertain Times” 21-Day Meditation Series by Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey. They have many different topics in these series. This is our second time through this Hope series, and it’s been wonderful. 

So grateful to have these tools handy for when we need inspiration and spiritual support. Because of meditation, I’ve kept writing when I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. My motivation has come from the moments during meditation when I’ve seen all the bright possibilities for my series, knowing that I have the right to express myself, no matter what anyone may think or say. It’s my voice and I want to share it. 

My challenge has been realizing that for a web series, I have to make huge cuts and do some serious rewriting of what I’ve written. Since I’ve been working on this for almost a year, this has been a hard pill to swallow. But the fact remains, people in the know say what I’ve written just won’t do. The thing must be in a comedy style format with twists, turns and cliffhangers, instead of the ten-minute more conversational style I’ve written. It has to be juicier, making it binge worthy. Guess it’s clear I’ve never taken a writing class for TV.

I’m left with a big decision: Where do I see this project headed? Here are FOUR OPTIONS.

Option One – Do I want this to be a web series on YouTube, with each episode being only 5 min? That would be a must. If so, the purpose would be to introduce the concept to the public, making it more of a showcase for the five actresses, as well as for the directors, etc. Hopefully we’d garner subscriptions and end up moving onto bigger projects, or this one being picked up. My original plan was to have all five ladies in each episode, so that’s the way I’ve written it. But I’m told it’s too much “telling” and not enough “showing.” That’s a writing style I’m struggling with. It means the first episode should be focused on just two-three characters, then the 2^ndepisode on two others, and so on. In each episode, supporting characters would be introduced briefly via “flashbacks” and “cuts to”, like a teaser for both the characters and the ongoing story.

Option Two – Forget YouTube and shoot the longer sitcom pilot, and create a “pitch pack” so I could pitch it to networks. Obviously, this would also involve adding lots more juicy bits to the episode.

Option Three – For me personally, it could also be a feature film, since it’s already close to 90 pgs. It would still need rewrites, but perhaps I could use more of what’s already written, and there wouldn’t be such a need for the cliffhanger format.

Option Four – Also for me personally, the 4th option would be to put this on hold until I can figure all this out. Maybe I’m moving too quickly and trying to produce this too soon. It’s indeed possible I need to take writing class and/or have private coaching on my script. 

I chose Option One. You may have noticed it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a blog, and I think the challenge I’ve been facing explains why. I’ve been choosing stinkin’ thinkin’. But this week, I was inspired by a short video from Ira Glass, called “The Gap”. This seems like a clear explanation of the steps necessary to learn and grow as a creative artist. You can watch it here:  https://vimeo.com/frohlocke/thegap

I watched this video and realized I’m in the artistic gap. I’m learning and growing as a writer, and that takes time. And that’s why I have to keep rewriting. I also realized my instincts have been good, because I’ve been setting deadlines over the last year, and have been meeting them successfully.

These last few weeks when I learned my writing style doesn’t work for a web series, I’ve been slowly but surely rewriting the first five episodes. It feels like I’ve been trudging through mud, but I’ve met my goal and am now ready for another reading this Sunday with my cast. We’ll also have a potential director sitting in with us, so I’ll have another person to see my series. 

So I continue to practice patience, faith in the process, and self-belief as an artist. Stay tuned for next week, when I hope to share a photo of the cast and director, and am able to report good news about my series!