Introduction
I’ve been getting a LOT done lately, and it got me about how I get through various projects. These techniques aren’t specifically for creativity. Anything that requires self-discipline to get through can take advantage of these ideas. So I thought I’d devote some of the newsletter to that topic, as well as discuss a few of my personal pieces that I’ve wrapped up.
Thanks for stopping by today. If there’s someone you know who might like this kind of content, forward it on to them. Anyway, let’s dive in.
Drive & Discipline
The act of creating something from nothing tends to be daunting for people when they first set out on the path. Whether it’s a novel, a comic, a piece of art, or music, there’s the empty canvas staring at a person, and it cane be scary. What might even be worse is something started that gets to a certain point then becomes a hardship to continue.
A few chapters of a novel, a sketch nearly finished, or whatever.
There are a number of challenges to getting through a piece of work. Let’s break some of them down specifically.
One: The world is distracting. Far more than when I was a kid, there are a million things we could be doing besides dedicating ourselves to creation. Especially if there’s any self-doubt about the quality of what we’re working on. We could be watching any one of a billion movies or TV shows. Reading books. Going outside. Playing video games. Literally ANYTHING but engaging with the thing we wan to do.
Two: Obligations steal time. Whether it’s kids, a job, or chores, responsibilities can get in the way of finishing projects. Sometimes, we might even get those things inline only to be too exhausted to do much more than sit around and watch some TV. This means that the eight hours required to keep food on the table turns into fifteen hours of exhaustion followed sleep before doing it all again.
Three: Too many ideas. Sometimes, we have too many ideas to focus on any one, which means nothing is finished. This is a challenge for new creatives, where they can’t settle on what would fulfill them the most, or in the middle of a commitment, a new idea squirrels them into action. And it seems ideas mostly come when unbidden rather than when they’re needed, meaning we have more while we need them less.
I could break it down a lot more, but you get the picture. We are hit from multiple sides as creatives, cutting into our ability to get anything done. So what do we do to make it through such nonsense? How do we create when everything conspires against us? The key is prioritization, planning, and execution. And these things may not necessarily be pleasant.
Habits & Planning
John Grisham stated that he woke up early every morning to write before he had to get ready for court. That’s how he eventually got his first novel finished. He got up extra early to work on a book then did a full day of nine to five style work as well. This factors into the prioritization part of the process. He wanted to be a writer, and he made it happen even if it came with some hardship.
Some authors went at their work with a set number in mind. Roger Zelazny wrote two sentences every day. No matter what, he’d get his two sentences in. Some days, he’d get on a roll and do a bunch more, but at least he had progress, however small. That discipline works well with how Grisham went about the work. Every day, come hell or high water, a creator needs to carve out a moment to get SOMETHING accomplished.
Even if it’s study. We’ll talk about that more in a moment.
When I mention planning, I’m talking about thinking through the project from start to finish. You don’t have to treat that like the gospel. Things can change when you get to them, especially as new ideas form. But the key is to know where you’re going so you don’t get lost on the way. If you go at a project without a plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted a pagoda in my backyard. I found one I liked at 12’ by 13’. But I didn’t want to be on the grass. So I decided I’d dig the area out, level it with sand, then throw some bricks down. Done by dinner was the initial idea. I even priced out a few things. Bricks were cheap. All I had to do was dig out the area, prep it for the sand, then buy the bricks, right?
Uh. No.
Though I did dig the area out, I hadn’t done enough research to know HOW you level with sand. (Unrelated, I’m an idiot). When I found that you should use gravel and a tamper and a bunch of other nonsense, I really started to rethink the project. Plus, I had to get the bricks back there, which meant dragging them back from the front several times (there’s no easy way to get a car in the backyard).
Ultimately, I turned to professionals to put down a slab of concrete, which worked well. But the point is I went at this with only the vaguest idea of how it would work, and the whole thing fell apart in my lap. Could I have succeeded? Maybe. Was it worth trying? Not to me. I didn’t want to waste the time and resources only to find out it was an uneven mess and not worth having.
Creating is much the same as this. You want an outline, some concept of getting from A to Z. Couple this with an idea of what done looks like. Is it a long book? Short? Is elaborate or simple? These are some of the questions to ask when you start. How would the audience describe the book after they’ve read it? And what should they take away from it?
Planning like this can prevent you from falling in a rut. You’ll always have a guide to get out of a block, because you’ve done the hard work when you were inspired. Now, whether you’re excited or not, you know what’s next. You can proceed to those two sentences a day or whatever cadence you’ve decided on. When you have a plan, you can work around obligations. You can create despite being tired.
Inspiration doesn’t matter. Commitment is far more important.
Working Through the Distraction
Yes, being creative might give you a rush when you’re in a state of inspiration. But the ultimate goal is to finish something. Not necessarily fulfill a desire. Yes, it’s great if you can do both (and often, you will when you’re done). But planning makes it so you don’t have to feel pumped up every time you sit down to push your work. The goal becomes the driving force as opposed to the inspiration.
Newer creators often find themselves uninspired and they don’t go back to their work. They’ll start unintentionally looking for anything to do BUT the work they’ve decided on. To that sort of mindset, I turn people to Steven Pressfield’s War of Art book. That’s an essential read for anyone, but especially people suffering from what I’m talking about here.
It’s a life saver for anyone trying to find some self-discipline.
I mentioned study above, and how it can be a good substitute for creation. It can also be a distraction. Research as well. We can find ourselves going down a path where we say things like ‘but I’m not ready yet, I’m still planning’. The question is…are you? Could you start if you focused on a few key points then moved on? Creating is always better than not creating regardless of the excuse.
So if you have to do research, get it over with. Sometimes, that can be dry and cause you to not want to work on your project as well. It’s imperative you create some guidelines before you research/study so you don’t get caught up in it. Pretty much anything can be a distraction, so be mindful of what you’re doing. It might have turned into an excuse rather than something beneficial.
Anyway, I don’t want to go on about this too much more as this is already VERY long, but I’ve got plenty of other thoughts and ideas about this subject. I’ll add additional sections like this as I continue along the path to making movies. For right now, I think this is enough to get us started. Thanks for reading this far! Let’s talk about some project stuff now.
YouTube Friday Ramble
I have a YouTube series on Friday now where I talk about random topics. I always pick three, and I just yammer about them for more than 20 minutes. They’re generally pretty fun, so if you’re interested in hearing me talk about stuff the way I write about them here, check it out.
Malevolence
I’ve finished the latest comic and it’s available on Patreon. At this point, I’m near to 900 pages of Malevolence. When I finish this season, I will easily push it past the 1000 page mark. Pretty exciting given that I didn’t entirely know what I was going to do with it when I first began back in 2020. Since then, I’ve written series of novels, produced two audio dramas, and create a role playing game setting.
It’s branched out a LOT in the last five years.
The two newest novels of mine, Haunted Souls and Everything in Between are on the verge of coming out soon. One if a retelling of the first season of the comic. The other is a stand alone story that brings divinity into the Malevolence world. They were both a lot of fun to do. I’m also on the verge of finishing the first ‘Season’ of Carter’s Grove (that’ll be 21 novellas basically).
Lots going on in that world with much more to come.
Movie Making
I finished a short film called Life Partner. I’d never done anything quite like it before, and I’m very fond of it. The idea was to write a screenplay that challenged my technical ability to craft a film. After I finished, I started work on the next idea that would be my second class in filmmaking. To that end, I bought a proper boom microphone to capture dialogue.
I have only released Life Partner to the Patreon at this point, but when I release it more universally, I intend to do a commentary video where I discuss what I learned and why I did what I did. Mostly as an exercise in driving home my lessons, but if helps anyone else, that’ll be great too. I -loved- the process of making a movie. It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
Much more entertaining than music videos.
Music
I’ve got a new CD on the verge of coming out and I’m entertaining the idea of forming a band to perform live. As soon as I can answer a couple personal questions, I’ll make a choice about that. Otherwise, the CD will be available in the next couple months. I’ll announce more later.
David E. Kelly
I started watching Boston Legal a while back. Reels got me. I found out James Spader’s character came from The Practice. The last season specifically. So I went and watched that. Which I ended up liking more than Boston Legal, to be honest. It was all around pretty good.
I was out walking, chatting about those shows, when I said ‘they’re fun, but they aren’t as good as things like The Lincoln Lawyer and Goliath’. Later that night, I found out David E. Kelly did those as well. I guess he got better, because those shows are some of my favorites.
As an aside, Kelly’s also responsible for the first Lake Placid.
I think the writing on The Practice and Boston Legal suffers from considerable character immaturity. Many events wouldn’t happen to real adults. But they need drama. I don’t recall as much of that being a problem with Goliath. That said, much as I might tease those shows from not being the best when it comes to the writing, I still poured through them in short order.
I’d recommend them with a caveat that Boston Legal can get -BEYOND- silly. The Practice is generally more serious. I haven’t tried the previous seasons yet, but I intend to. They’re on Amazon Prime right now. If you have some time, I’d recommend giving them a look. They’re worth it.
Conclusion
Anyway, that’s it for this time. Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate you being here. Please do be sure to forward this to anyone who would enjoy it. I look forward to next time.
Bye now!