creativity

The Challenge of Supporting Your Fellow Creatives

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

We’d like to support our fellow creatives because we care, because they’re our friends, and because we know what we’re going through. It’s often challenging for us to do for many reasons.

  • We may have limited time and resources to help.
  • We may know creatives who aren’t good at accepting help.
  • We may know creatives who are busy.
  • We may, simply not know how to help or be able to.
  • We may have too many ways to help people and not know where to start.
  • We’re bad at helping. Some of us just lack the subtlety or knowledge.

It’s not easy, is it? I’m sure you’re nodding mentally if not physically. I’ve experienced all of these, and can’t say I’ve handled all of them well.

The challenge of helping our fellow creatives is even more complicated in that some forms of help don’t “help.” Sure you want to help that artist exercise, but buying them a gift membership to a gym may create social pressure they don’t need. You might offer to cook for a writer who’s a bit occupied, and then promptly make food they don’t like. Help that doesn’t help just becomes another problem.

To assist you – and myself – I brainstormed some ideas. How can we help our fellow creatives?

Ask: Ask what someone needs. Guess what they may be fine and you’re worrying too much.

Buy Their Stuff: I mean that goes without saying.

Check In: Look, just say hi now and then. You may find it annoys the person or they need space, but at least you know.

Connect Them: If they’re open to it, introduce them to fellow creatives, customers, and resources.

Do A Task: Someone is busy with that art project? Then pick up food for them or give them a ride.

Get Resources: Outright give that creative a new pen kit or website subscription. Holidays and birthdays are great times to do this for people who don’t like to accept help.

Gift: That creative you want to support? Buy their books, comics, etc. and use them as gifts for people. Spread the word.

Helpful Resources: This doesn’t always work, but there’s lots of great advice books, web services, software, etc. This can help – but can also burden people with something they “have” to use. Be careful.

Involve Them: I’ve taken to seeing if my fellow creatives want to do panels and events. I don’t push it, but it’s a way to get them connected and involved and having fun.

Learn: When listening and doing all of these things, learn about them and yourself.

Listen: Sometimes folks just want to talk about their project and so on. They want someone to listen – not necessarily critique.

Pre-Read/Beta Read/Critique: Sort of goes without saying.

Provide Guidance WHEN ASKED: Sometimes people are bad at asking for help, but if someone asks how you do X, show them. Be careful of providing advice unasked, that can become another burden.

Provide Resources: That creative may need your editing skill, or to borrow your sewing kit or whatever. Be open to it – or offer.

Publicize: Tell people about that cosplayer, author, artist, etc. This promotes them, connects them, and may result in them getting money which is always good.

Take a Request: That person may need a ride, a trip, some help. If they ask, keep that in mind. I mean you know, be open to it.

I hope that was helpful. It certainly go me thinking about what I do – and shouldn’t do, and can do better.

Steven Savage

Inspiration from Other Sources: RPGs

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

A few times I and my friend Serdar have discussed how we take inspiration for our writing from sources other than writing. Serdar often takes inspiration from music, I get inspiration from management processes, and so on. Lately I had a strange and interesting inspiration I wanted to share.

Role-playing games – but probably not in the way you suspect.

I began studying RPGs in depth lately for two reasons – first, to study them for my related works, and as I’d taken an interest in trying some game design. Pleasantly, I found inspiration for my fiction writing efforts as well, and I wanted to share my insights.

RPGs are sort of storytelling games – I say sort of because some games or groups have different preferences, such as having more of a tactical military game. But, overall, RPGs tell stories and many game systems in the last two decades or so have been storytelling focused, such as FATE, Cortex, or Forged In The Dark.

You have to turn writing into rules, make rules support story. Just a few examples from my latest studies and past experiences:

  • FATE literally makes character traits part of the game. You define Aspects, vital character traits, that could be everything from “Magical Powers” to “Really awful manners.” That made me think of how many times we don’t think about “what stands out with a character.”
  • The Forged In The Dark games constantly emphasize cause and effect and results and impacts. It’s meant to construct stories (and surprise players and GMs) and keep up a pace, and is a good example of interesting engagement with the story.
  • Among the FitD game, Scum and Villainy, their “Firefly-but-not” game system has various well-realized space western/space rouge archetypes that help me see how you can view archetypes. Probably my favorite is the Scoundrel (aka Not Han Solo But Is) who’s abilities include things like being able to do dangerous things and get special “gambits” to allow them to take more foolish risks. It’s a great example of turning concept into rules – and thinking about concepts.
  • The punishing CRPG Darkest Dungeon added intense psychology and madness rules, which meant generic characters quickly evolved personalities. Sure they were mechanics, but they added the feel of a story and a drama, a reminder of how such things should have impact in a tale.

Of course, as I write this I can see great lessons from older games:

  • Champions, that famous formative Superhero RPG made disadvantages and backstories part of the game. It made you think about characters, and almost forced characterization even if you tried to avoid it (hard to avoid your tendency to go berserk around blood).
  • Villains and Vigilantes, another venerable game, had the concept of points you used to invent things or solve problems – basically you had Brilliant Ideas you could spend. A good reminder of how characters have inspirations, suddenly turn the plot around, etc. – as a rule.
  • The venerable and abused Character Class idea is a good reminder about making characters distinct. From early D&D to the wild classes of Apocalypse World are reminders of how different is interesting.

I could probably make enormous lists of these – and I may if I can find a non-boring way to do it. Either way, that’s one of my latest inspirations – RPGs. If you’re looking for some new ideas or to think over your writing, maybe a break to play a game or at least examine one might unlock some ideas.

I’d love to hear your insights.

Steven Savage

You’re Responsible To Share Creative Power

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

Creativity is a tool for freedom and a tool for a functional society. It enriches and empowers. It provides new ideas and lets us see old ones in new lights. It topples tyrants and leaves potential tyrants in fear. If you’re a creative person, you’re morally obligated to empower others to use their creative abilities to ensure freedom and a functioning society.

To help people be creative means that they can think outside of the cages built around their heads. It means they’re harder to rule and control, and more able to be responsible citizens. Creativity is freedom – but also it’s a chance to take responsibility in new ways.

Helping people to be creative also gives them options that go beyond thinking. It may help them find a new job, freeing them of financial chains. Creativity gives them abilities to find solutions to problems, allowing them to fix things as opposed to following snake-oil charlatans.

Showing people the power of their creativity and how to use it finally means happier people. Creative people don’t just have the chance to be freer, more responsible, more powerful – they can experience joy more. When you can dream and imagine, you can find what you enjoy kand new ways to enjoy – and happy people can be hard to control.

How you help people be more creative, however, is a trickier bit. Each of us has our own creative tools, methods, and inclinations – these may not fit those we want to help. Each person we wish to aid has their sown situations and challenges and desires. To share creative power means asking what you can share and how to share it – it’s a journey, not a destination.

An excellent place to start is to ask how you got inspired, who helped you be more creative, what helped you see what you could do with creativity. This may be only relevant to you (and probably is), but analyzing the experience will help you find lessons to apply to others. If a supportive parent helped you, then you have a place to start – be supportive as they were.

Finally, keep in mind that this call to action is not one of superiority or a chance to lord your creativity over others. We’re all links in the chain; others aided your creativity before, and in turn, you pass it on. Each person you help is not “beneath” you – sharing and supporting is a mutual learning experience, because you will learn from everyone you want to nurture. Be humble in helping because then you’ll learn (possibly about your flaws).

So let us inspire others, share power, encourage creativity. We’ll empower and guide, help people be more, and build a stronger society. It’s a responsibility, but such a glorious one.

Steven Savage