My head is spinning because I have been super busy in the Second Quarter of the Year: April through June.
When I sat down to write what I had done in the First Quarter, I thought that was crazy. But now I realize that the first three months of the year just greased the runway.
To Recap:
http://creativityinrealtime.blogspot.com/2014/03/first-quarter-report-much-gratitude-and.html
April was a month of work. I did head to Portland State University to work with the students there and to do a playwriting workshop. That was an invigorating experience and I got a lot from working with these students who had a great attitude. I had screenwriters, playwrights and TV writers who I was working with. It was a beautiful time.
Then my former boss had contacted me about coming to do some consulting. And I did that, which was lucrative. But it meant that April was much less about working and more about making money, which I knew would be important for me in getting through the rest of the year financially. As April went on, it became clear that all of my deadlines would be pushed to May.
The House of Cards spec did not happen in April, as I hoped it would. So there went the CBS deadline.
Then I found out that Sundance was doing a TV writers lab, which meant another deadline.
I had three deadlines in May. I knew I had to get out of town to get any real work done.
So I started looking at doing some sort of DIY writers retreat. My friend Susan had done a cruise in Ensenada and it worked out for her. But my plans to do that fell through. So I reached out to friends for suggestions and my friend Molly suggested I join her in Monterey for a week, which I did. I went into it in great detail on my blog for May.
Then my friend Tim offered his office to me for three weeks. More opportunities to get work done. The Universe was definitely pointing me in the right direction.
So in May I rewrote my pilot and turned it in to Sundance.
I had my play reading and did my rewrite in four days.
Then I tackled my House of Cards spec.
On May 18, I thought I was in a good position to get something done by the end of the month. But I was tired and my brain was fried. So instead of writing a spec in 12 days, I wrote it in 28 days. And I had to give up the Warner Bros deadline and the NBC deadline. But I made the ABC deadline.
I had to change my definition of what my goal was. My goal was to write three brilliant scripts that would make any agent, producer or exec flip their lids. But I realized something very practical. Taste is subjective. So a better, more concrete goal for me was to get three scripts done in quick succession without giving up quality. I knew that I hadn't been procrastinating. So it wasn't like I was cramming for the final the night before. So even though I couldn't do that spec in 12 days, doing it in 28 was still an amazing feat.
And my new goal was to be productive and prolific because if I want to be on staff or if I want to have any sort of productive career, strict deadlines will be a part of that. So my goal was to be productive, prolific and to keep my deadlines. Even though I missed the first three deadlines for the spec, I knew that I would only be finishing to finish. Not for it to be a script that made sense. I wanted to grow as a writer as well and I knew that I would be a better writer for it if I pushed myself to write a script that felt a little outside my comfort zone. That would be where the growth would happen in terms of my creative process. So I committed myself to that.
I finished the spec on June 13th and sent it in, proudly. Three scripts in six weeks!!!!!
No small feat. I was very proud of that.
Then my body shut down and I went out of town to recover and relax and spend time with my wonderful boyfriend.
The other great things that happened in the Second Quarter was that I reconnected with two writers I really admire. These are guys who model the kind of writer I believe myself to be. And it encouraged me to cultivate those relationships. So I've been doing a bit of that as well.
And right now, I am refilling the tank.
I am reading books.
I am watching TV.
I am watching documentaries and other movies.
I am having conversations with friends.
And I am meeting with directors and other collaborators.
I am planning my next play.
My Playwrights Union collaborator are also talking about doing a retreat in the Fall and also another challenge to write a new pilot. More (welcome) deadlines!
I am grateful for an incredibly productive six weeks.
I am grateful for the paychecks that have come in.
I am grateful that my pilot tells a story I want to tell.
I am grateful that my play comes from a deep place.
I am grateful that my spec is dark and takes real chances.
I am grateful to be a better writer today than I was at the beginning of the year.
I am grateful for my new office.
I am grateful to have dedicated time for my work.
I am grateful that dedicated time led to dedicated space.
I am grateful for the actions that follow my intention and put real power behind them.
Now looking at the Third Quarter of the year. What do I want to get done?
I have an office!!!!!
So if the First Quarter was productive as I ventured into libraries and korean spas…
and the Second Quarter was productive as I did DIY writers retreats…
then what kind of productivity will the Third Quarter bring in my office?
July will start with a reboot and a return to Portland to see my brother and his family. But I would like to continue to treat my time there as another DIY retreat. Getting my health back in order and losing the weight I gained while I was writing is a priority, however.
I do have another deadline at the end of July to turn in an original pilot into a program through the National Hispanic Media Coalition. So doing another rewrite of the pilot will be happening in July.
In addition, I will continue to do research on this new play.
August and September are up in the air right now. It would be nice to take those two months to work on the new play. And there was talk about doing another workshop of an earlier play this summer.
But work is definitely on the agenda because there are opportunities coming up in the Fall that I've applied for that I would like to be able to afford to do if they come up.
I am setting up my new website. So that will bring in clients and other work.
I'm looking forward to doing more and having more time with family and loved ones. The first six months have been productive. And I would love to finally get a regular meditation schedule going.
Cleansing my body and my mind of the things I don't need…
I am grateful for meditation.
I am grateful for stillness.
I am grateful for music.
I am grateful for health.
I am grateful for more dedicated time and space.
I am grateful for good cheer.
I am grateful for my niece and two nephews.
I am grateful to plan more time with my man.
I am grateful to more of the happiness that I am responsible for allowing into my life.
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