creativity

Making Some Changes, Learning From The Year

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

You haven’t seen me post as much lately as things have been continuously insane for the last few weeks, and as you know, the last few months weren’t a picnic.  I try to learn from experience, and that’s applying to my projects for next year.

This last year I was constantly interrupted since August.  As you all know, I was also analyzing my new creative direction.  On top of that, the world continues to be insane.  So these are one of those moments to take a hard look at yourself.

I want to catch up.  Gotta clear the field!

MyfFirst goal is to catch up end of the year/into the next.  That means trying to blog again, get the feedback on that Agile book, launch the new Sanctum, and try to finish Way With Worlds’ next book (which might be interrupted as my Editor is busy).

Scale back to stay focused.  Don’t loose momentum, but slow down a bit so I don’t burn out.

I plan to do about 3 Way With Worlds books, but nothing else is solid book-wise for 2023.  Those are fun, aren’t onerous because I’ve got a system and they’re fascinating, and they’re what I do!  I figure it keeps my writing momentum without overdoing it (I overdid it bad in 2021-2022).  I can slow down more if needed, but I don’t want to just stop.

I want to get back to blogging regularly.  I’m going to start with once a week period, and might expand it.  But right now I just want regularity (seems to be a focus, doesn’t it?).

I will of course keep up the newsletter.  I like the personal touch I’ve cultivated here!

Try some side stuff to inspire me and leave myself space.  This will help me find inspiration and pace myself.

I’ve got various side things I do that don’t always end up here, like computer art, etc.  I’m going to be doing some experimental and outright strange stuff and see how it inspires me.  Who knows what will come of it?  Some of what I’m doing will be “prototypes” for later things you might just see . . .

This also means I’m going to play more.  I think I lost my sense of play the last year, and heck the whole covid mess didn’t help.  I wanted to stay active and focused, and managed to overdo both.  You have to take time for play.

Have a list of side projects but do “whatever.”  Make progress, but don’t pressure myself.

This ties into my experimenting.  I’ve got things like that unedited books of column, moving over Way With Worlds to new covers, etc.  I want to do these, but will more keep it “whenever” for now.  Of course with the way my mind works, one of them may end up in my plans, but I won’t force it.

Self-cultivation.  I want to take more time for exercise, self-improvement, vacations, etc.

I want to keep up and expand my self-improvement and self-care.  Take a few more vacations.  Continue to use the best techniques of mental and physical health.  Read more and diversely and expose myself to more media.  A mix of maintenance and self improvement.

Share what I learn.

I hope this inspires you as well.  Sit down after . . . well, everything . . . ask what you want to do and post about it in your blogs, Tumblr, etc.  Let’s share what we’re trying, we can learn from each other.

Steven Savage

Down The Audience Hole

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

As my regular readers are aware, I’ve been finding myself dissatisfied with a lot of media today.  There’s something unsatisfying about too much of it, at least to my mental palate.  It seems samey, it seems to lack depth, it seems so manufactured.

It’s not necessarily bad, I just feel there’s so much that’s machining and adjustment something is lost, that weirdness and wildness that’s so vital for a work to catch on your soul.  I enjoy weird challenge shows, but they seem to be everywhere and at times oddly specific.  I am glad to see great adaptions out there, but I’d like some more original and new stuff.  I enjoy many a youtube program, but there’s a lot of shouty angry people cluttering my recommendations.

I’ve wanted to understand how creativity can get so channeled into sameness without much of an edge.  Originally I wrote it off as large media conglomerates and feedback loops.  Recently, I encountered something that made see what I’d missed.

I listen to a podcast on conspiracy theories today, the snarky-but-heartfelt QAnonAnonymous.  They’ve started covering weird Influencers that focus on men, and one caught my attention.  In fact, I’m not mentioning the person by name as their story is dismal.

The podcasters and guest charted this Influencer’s gradual evolution from fitness guru to bizarre sexist religious extremist.  The hosts’ usual humor was tempered with pity as they played videos from different eras of the man’s career.  His current – perhaps – final form is a man so obviously unhappy with himself  the hosts felt sad for him despite his radicalization.

One thing the podcasters explored was the idea of Audience Capture.  One tells the audience what they want to hear and they get rewarded.  If audiences have any extreme demands, the Influencer may feed them – and become captured by them.  Charting the degeneration of their subject, it was clear that he’d been an Influencer most of his life, and thus very vulnerable.

I’m thinking Audience Capture is part of my dissatisfaction.  Now I wonder how many repetitive Isekai, samey crime shows, angry Influencers, and good-but-too-manufactured movies and books are due to Audience Capture.  Hell, maybe some failed media is books or shows or whatever that tried to appeal to an audience that moved on.

I’m guessing Audience Capture is something the captured don’t notice.

Now that I have a new tool to understand my experiences and disatisfication, I’m curious as to what I’ll learn.  In fact, ask yourself how many Influencers or authors or films you know that went off the rails went because of Audience Capture.

I’d love to hear your experiences, even if it might depress both of us.

Steven Savage

Art, Content, Dissatisfaction

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve’s Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

Someone I follow on Twitter was commenting on corporate multiverses and the endless reuse and processing of content.  This reminded me of my previous thoughts, but this person put it better than I – my favorite part bolded:

“Corporations will absolutely unashamedly shit on everything every artist has ever made, chew them up and spit them out and offer nothing. No art, just endless content.“

Now I’ve commented on quality in some corporate multiverses, and even praised them, but I also have gotten tired and uninspired by a lot of media lately. Few things seem to connect to me outside of some anime/animated properties, and I find myself exploring more esoteric corners and non-fiction.

No art, just endless content.  Their words stick with me.

Art is something that connects with us and also knocks us into somewhere else mentally.  I’ve had that moment of deep, meaningful experience in everything from anime to samurai movies to audio-visual collages.  They don’t even have to be “good” per se, but they’re visions that mean something.

Content is when you just fill things in, check the boxes, and call it a day.  It may be enjoyable, and there may be art in there (and often is), but it’s not deep or meaningful and doesn’t stick with you.  It’s not necessarily bad (Indeed, I can think of a cooking show or two that fits this), but it’s not something that feeds the soul and leaves you someone else.

Of course, content is easy.  It doesn’t rock the boat (or does just enough to get attention).  It can be boiled down to a formula and yield some success.  It can be made regularly.  It’s nice and predictable, even when it presents to be unpredictable.  Modern technology makes it even easier!

Art is wild, unpredictable, and disruptive (even when intended not to be).  It’s when you get out there and make something not to check the boxes but to do your vision, do your thing.  Sure you may make money, and you might need SOME checkboxes, but it’s about something deeper.

Many a good artist knew how to get asked for content and deliver art.  Some HK action movies fit that vein.  I’d count the He-Man CGI as the same.  The unexpected success of the Early-00’s My Little Pony remake is an example.  But that quest for Content overshadows the future of each property that takes the money for content and makes art.

I suppose the point of this rant is now I understand some of my dissatisfaction.  There’s so much content, but I want art, and I want to share it.  This doesn’t exactly solve anything, but now I have better language.

That’s a start towards me understanding what I want to find – and what I want to produce with my writing.

Steven Savage