What the marathon looks like
plus details about the next Hollyweird Hang
Here’s a little peek at what’s been happening for me this week.
Over the weekend I was working to try to turn my episode in on time for the series I’m currently staffed on. So I wrote six pages Saturday, six pages Sunday. Monday I was in the room half a day, and wrote another six pages (it was also Emma and my anniversary, thank you 1hrmarriage.com! Your work has really paid dividends!). Tuesday the trailer for In the Blink of an Eye dropped, I wrote another six pages and started to revise the draft.
Wednesday I went through the entire episode and revised it, before turning it in. Thursday started the day with an 8:30AM meeting, back to normal full days in the writers room since my episode is out the door, notes call on the animated feature I turned in a little while ago in order to get me started on the second draft.
Today I fly to Nashville, TN for one more (hopefully the final?) shoot for Emma’s doc, Father Figures. Saturday and Sunday we’ll be shooting and then Sunday night I fly back to go back to work on the series.
Throughout all of this Emma and our editor Kat are hard at work trying to get us through our next pass of the edit, which means I’ve been getting on the phone over my lunch breaks to check in on how they’re doing. I’m also gearing up for the official premiere of Blink (Feb 27 on Hulu), meaning there are press obligations and promotional work to do, and I’m still making my daily little videos about Hollyweird and writing this newsletter.
Oh and I’m working on my directorial debut.
Since Sundance I’ve been on the verge of losing my voice — literally. It’s been hard to speak much louder than a gentle hushed tone. I’m drinking tea with honey and trying to get a lot of steam, but it’s proving insufficient in combating what I’m guessing is simply a sign of running on fumes.
I was talking recently about this feeling that I’m constantly sprinting from one thing to the next. I’ve somehow created a work/life balance in which it is all work. And I love my work, don’t get me wrong. But running around all day to keep all these spinning plates from falling and then waking up to do it all again tomorrow simply isn’t sustainable.
There’s an expression meditation people use that goes “if you feel like you don’t have time to meditate for five minutes, meditate for ten.” Which is… annoying. Meditation people are annoying. But I also do get it. When you feel like you can’t catch your breath is when you most need to do it.
I keep saying to myself “I just need to make it though to April.” Once it’s April I will be through the show, through the next draft of the feature, through the release, through the edit, and then simply... taking some time with family and... oh right. Prepping to go direct a movie.
It’s interesting that the directing a movie part actually feels like it might be the relaxing respite. Having been on plenty of sets, it’s definitely not that. But after nearly a year of juggling many many things at once, the idea of being focused on one project exclusively... sounds pretty darn meditative.
It’s also, if I’m being honest, where I’ve wanted to be this whole time. When I first met my manager in 2016 I told him the goal was to follow the career paths of some of my favorite writers turned directors, to write some movies (check), maybe work in TV (check), establish myself within the industry (check?), learn on the job from other great directors (check), and then transition into writer/director myself (working on it).
This first conversation of ours was almost exactly ten years ago to the day as I write this.
It’s taken me longer than I would have liked, and yet, it’s been a really remarkable decade. I’ve gotten a lot done in a business where everything takes on average 5-7 years, and I’m aware that I’ve got a career I would have killed for 15-20 years ago, one that only a few thousand people in the world end up getting to have at all. But it’s also just the beginning of the career I said I wanted. And this whole time I’ve been hustling and hustling and hustling to get where I want to be next. It is both everything I’d hoped for and not quite enough. The plight of being ambitious.
Maybe this is annoying to hear. In the same way those meditation people are annoying. “I’ve had a lot of successes and it’s also not enough.” But it’s not! If there’s anything the meditation people are right about, it’s that desire is the root of all suffering. And what are we artists if not creatures of desire? We exist to desire.
I hope this newsletter can be a source of… comfort? To know that this striving for more is simply how we all feel. That all our careers feel like a marathon. And I also hope it’s a source of some practical wisdom. To know how many pages I try to write in a day (5 usually, 6 for the episode because I’ve been sprinting, see above). To know how I outline. To know basically everything I do all year as a professional writer, since 2021. To know what I’m up to next, and how I think about setting goals for myself.
Our media ecosystem is looking quite bleak, and social media seems to be particularly vulnerable to the whims of maniac billionaires. And so it has been nice, to me, to put some time and energy into building this deeper, more genuine connection with all of you out there reading. It’s nice hearing from you, and it’s nice getting to answer your writing and craft questions here in the newsletter every week.
I keep turning down people asking me if I’d be open to mentoring them or consulting for them or reading their scripts because I don’t have time, and it’s not what I want to be doing with my limited bandwidth. I have to save the rest of my energy for the next leg of the marathon — the feature debut.
But if you are interested in mentorship / more, I want to remind you all of something: Paid subscribers to the newsletter are a) very much appreciated and b) invited to the monthly Hollyweird Hang on zoom.
Previously this has been a chance to do just that, hang, but I’m craving a little more structure for these.
Based on the number of DMs I get asking me questions, I’m going to transition these into monthly Q&A’s.
Log on, ask questions and get answers! These can be about craft, the writing process, reading recommendations, the business… Whatever you’re interested in learning about and want to know, if I know it, I’ll answer it.
So... if this is appealing to you and you aren’t a paid Hollyweird subscriber, I’d recommend joining now.
The next Hollyweird Hang will be this coming Friday February 13th at 1:30pm PT / 4:30PM ET. For paid subscribers only.
If you are already a paid subscriber, god bless you, I’ll send out the link the day of.
Gotta go, I’ve got a lot to do.
writing to let you know i hear you. on the long road but more importantly - this is what success looks like? i found myself worrying about you and i don't know you. that's a shit load of work you're shouldering. i hope you find a way to breathe...good luck w it all