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Steve’s Book Roundup 12/29/2020

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I write a lot and have quite a few books.  So now and then I’m going to post a roundup of them for interested parties!

My sites:

Fiction

I’ve been returning to fiction with a techno-fantasy setting of several planets orbiting a star called Avenoth.  Take a typical fantasy world of magic and gods, and let it evolve into the space age and internet age . . .

  • A Bridge To The Quiet Planet – Two future teachers of Techno-Magical safety find trying to earn their credentials hunting odd artifacts backfires when you’re hired to put some back . . . on a planet where gods go to die!

The Way With Worlds Series

This is what I do a lot of – writing on worldbuilding!.  You can find all of my books at www.WayWithWorlds.com! 

The core books of the series will help you get going:

  • Way With Worlds Book 1 – Discusses my philosophy of worldbuilding and world creation essentials.
  • Way With Worlds Book 2 – Looks at common subjects of worldbuilding like conflicts in your setting, skills for being a good worldbuilder, and more!

When you need to focus on specifics of worldbuilding, I have an ever-growing series of deep dive minibooks.  Each provides fifty questions with additional exercises and ideas to help you focus on one subject important to you!

The current subjects are:

Creativity

I’m the kind of person that studies how creativity works, and I’ve distilled my findings and advice into some helpful books!

  • The Power Of Creative Paths – Explores my theories of the Five Types of Creativity, how you can find yours, and how to expand your creative skills to use more Types of Creativity.
  • Agile Creativity – I take the Agile Manifesto, a guide to adaptable project development, and show how it can help creatives improve their work – and stay organized without being overwhelmed.
  • The Art of The Brainstorm Book – A quick guide to using a simple notebook to improve brainstorming, reduce the stress around having new ideas, and prioritize your latest inspirations.
  • Chance’s Muse – I take everything I learned at Seventh Sanctum and my love of random tables and charts and detail how randomness can produce inspiration!

Careers

Being a “Professional Geek” is what I do – I turned my interests into a career and have been doing my best to turn that into advice.  The following books are my ways of helping out!

  • Fan To Pro – My “flagship” book on using hobbies and interests in your career – and not always in ways you’d think!
  • Skill Portability – A quick guide to how to move skills from one job to another, or even from hobbies into your job.  Try out my “DARE” system and asses your abilities!
  • Resume Plus – A guide to jazzing up a resume, sometimes to extreme measures.
  • Epic Resume Go! – Make a resume a creative act so it’s both better and more enjoyable to make!
  • Quest For Employment – Where I distill down my job search experiences and ways to take the search further.
  • Cosplay, Costuming, and Careers – An interview-driven book about ways to leverage cosplay interests to help your career!
  • Fanart, Fanartists, and Careers – My second interview-driven book about ways to leverage fanart to help your career!
  • Convention Career Connection – A system for coming up with good career panels for conventions!

Culture

  • Her Eternal Moonlight – My co-author Bonnie and I analyze the impact Sailor Moon had on women’s lives when it first came to North America.  Based on a series of interviews, there’s a lot to analyze here, and surprisingly consistent themes . . .

Use Your Art

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

In the end, if we want to use our creativity to promote freedom and such ideas, to connect to truth, we may find ourselves asking if our given art is useful.

We may write erotica, and wonder what that will do politically. We create videogames and think connecting blocks in patterns can’t do anything. How will our art make a difference?

First, don’t discount any value that your art provides. If you entertain if you inspire you do make a difference. I’m sure you can think of times you enjoyed something and it made your life better.

At the same time, don’t count out how a form of art can change the world. Erotica can challenge ideas about sex and gender used to manipulate others. The plots of video games can make us think. A seemingly silly story can conceal subtle truths that are otherwise painful poison.

Also don’t discount the other benefits. Money, fame, influence. Well-made art gives you other tools to influence the world. You may change the world not via your art, but via what your art brings you.

Besides, every piece of art you make means you get better at it, and may lead you to other projects more prone to your political goals.

But you may find, now or with practice you can use your art to do directly political things.

Can you write? Editorial columns and social media may be your thing.

Video editing can create documentaries and confound tyrants on social media.

Graphic design can craft websites to get out messages.

And, of course, we all know the power a good performance can bring.

So don’t feel your art is useless. It may bring comfort and joy. It may bring riches and fame you can use. FInally, it may be easy to repurpose to do other things.

You just have to find which way to use it. But you’re a creative – never stop until you dream up the way to turn that power to change the world.

Steven Savage