My Creativity: Recent Episodes
Gravity Undone
My Creativity is a podcast about how I set and achieve my goals and about how to stimulate more productivity and creativity. I cover my projects and their progress and I interview other creatives about their process, projects and progress.
last week's goals
- fixing book 1
- recording marketing audio / video
Future of money in books
Next Week's goals
- Hansen and Greeta
- Update how to write
- space brains video
last week's goals
- Finding a place to write
- Investigate writing meetup at library
- photo shoot and video for space brains
Future of money in books
Next Week's goals
- fixing book 1
- recording marketing audio / video
last week's goals
- Finding a place to write
- Investigate writing meetup at library
- photo shoot and video for space brains
Horror
Next Week's goals
- Home reno
- Update (fix) book 1
- Back to writing
last week's goals
- cycle, fix hips
- short story
- fix book 1 of exit plan
How to Critque
Next Week's goals
- Finding a place to write
- Investigate writing meetup at library
- photo shoot and video for space brains
last week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story - improve web site - micro audio drama - audio book instead
All in a Day's Work short story.
Next Week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story - fix book 1 of exit plan
last week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story
Next Week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story - improve web site - micro audio drama
last week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story
It’s something we, as writers, are constantly being told. We have to show the reader our world, show them our characters and let them experience the story. I’ve thought a lot about the old adage and have come up with a way I find useful to weed out my telling and replace it with showing.
What is Telling?
What do I mean when I say “telling”? The easiest way I find is to read my work out loud. If it sounds like I am recounting something that happened, like I’m chatting with friends, then it’s probably telling. Here is an example:
Ratchetman flew over the Perth skyline. He stopped and looked at the beautiful river dotted with boats.
If you read the above out loud you’ll hopefully see what I mean about it sounding like you are just recounting events while chatting. That’s how I think of it.
What is Showing?
Showing is when you write about the experience of doing the action. It is a form of writing that would sound funny if you spoke like it in casual conversation. If you read it out loud and it sounds just like you are reading a story out loud, then it is probably showing. Here is the same example rewritten:
Wind whipped Ratchetman’s cape about as the Perth skyline slipped underneath him. The boat-dotted river caught his attention, rendering him speechless with its beauty.
If you read the above out loud, it would sound funny in ’round the water cooler’ conversation. You can feel the cape flapping in the wind and see the city as Ratchetman flies over it. That’s what showing is all about. Most of your novel should be showing, but every now and then you’ll need to tell.
When to Tell, When to Show
After reading all about showing and not telling, except when you should tell and not show, I have been left wondering, like you, when you do which. I’ve read a lot of books. I’ve read science fiction, fantasy, biography, literary fiction and books about guns (I’m a boy after all). In all the story driven stuff (so everything except for the guns) I would say about 90-95% is showing and the remainder is telling. OK, maybe biographies have more telling, but not all. As a rule I show, but when I need to skip ahead or pass over some necessary, yet uninteresting, detail, I tell. For example:
Wind whipped Ratchetman’s cape about as the Perth skyline slipped underneath him. The boat-dotted river caught his attention, rendering him speechless with its beauty. It was midnight. Time to fly home.
Poor example, but I wanted to show you the ratio of showing vs telling and do it quickly without writing a whole chapter. The first two sentences are showing because I want you to feel the flight and experience the river. The second two sentences I’m telling because, while it is important you know it is midnight and he has to get home, it isn’t important that you feel that. I could have written something like:
The moon’s bright glow lit the low-lying clouds with a ghostly radiance. Ratchetman raised his arm and glanced at his watch. He squinted to make out the dial. Midnight. He banked into a sharp turn, the skyline slewing sideways and dropping away behind him. blah blah blah…
You could say that you tell when you need to move quickly without getting bogged down. Sort of like the set up for a joke: “Three men walk into a bar…” The joke only really starts after the men get to the bar and start talking to the bar tender. So you tell the audience the entry and then start showing them the joke.
Next Week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story
last week's goals - run 7km , 7km, 12km - short story
How to start, just start.
Next Week's goals - cycle, fix hips - short story
last week's goals - run 7km, 7km, 12km - short story
Productivity What is it?
Next Week's goals - run 7km , 7km, 12km - short story
last week's goals - 7km during the week, 7km, 12km - short story
Next Week's goals - run 7km, 7km, 12km - short story
last week's goals - 7km during the week, 7km, 12km - short story
Next Week's goals - 7km during the week, 7km 12km - short story - twitter
last week's goals - 7km during the week. 7km 12km - short story - how to write a novel revision
Hansel and Gretel
Next Week's goals - 7km during the week, 7km, 12km - short story
March Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - How to write a novel - short story
last week's goals - short story - run 5km, 10km - how to write novel revision
short story ideas
Next Week's goals - 7km during the week. 7km 12km - short story - how to write a novel revision
March Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - How to write a novel - short story
last week's goals - release next blog - social media - how to write a novel revision - start outlining short story
Ego is the enemy, What you will learn
Next Week's goals - short story - run 5km, 10km - how to write novel revision
last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - update blurbs - how to write a novel draft
Blurbs This is My Exit Plan first effort A man faces a deadly confrontation with unknown forces. He collects his journals and publishes them online in an effort to tell his unbelievable story of magic and monsters. When he rescues Jennifer McCormac from certain death he feels like a saint but it soon crumbles as his ego and newfound powers lead him down a destructive path on which he awakens to his foolishness too late.
- opening line, dramatic question, introduce character
- set the scene
- set the stakes
- what to expect
This is my exit plan revised blurb. An unnamed man posts his journals online announcing that he is leaving to face an encounter from which he may not return; an encounter with mysterious forces left unsaid. As his unbelievable story unfolds, we meet his friends, colleagues and the harsh reality of a world where magic may be real. When he rescues a young girl from certain death, he feels like a saint, but that feeling soon crumbles. If he can't come to terms with his new reality, it won't just be his life that is forfeit, not just the life of his best friend that is taken, but everyone he has come to care for and possibly more. This is My Exit Plan mixes magic, monsters and the real world in a contemporary fantasy story about a man whose arrogance and foolish love of new-found power pits him against monsters and his own flawed view of a world where corruption and magic go hand in hand.
Next Week's goals - release next blog - social media - how to write a novel revision - start outlining short story
March Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - How to write a novel - short story
last week's goals - blog post - social media support - run 5km, 10km - update blurbs
Next Week's goals - run 5km, 10km - update blurbs - how to write a novel draft
March Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - How to write a novel - short story
last week's goals - 5km, 10km - how to write a novel - Send out exit plan to my voice actors.
Next Week's goals - blog post - social media support - run 5km, 10km - update blurbs
last week's goals - social media support - how to write a novel - Final edit of book 3 proof - send exit plan books out to voice actors
Next Week's goals - 5km, 10km - how to write a novel - Send out exit plan to my voice actors.
February Goals: - Post Blogs - social media support - How to write a novel
last week's goals - new blog post - how to write a novel - run 5km, 10km
The difference between story and plot plus a simple plotting tool.
Next Week's goals - social media support - how to write a novel - Final edit of book 3 proof - send exit plan books out to voice actors
January Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel
last week's goals - social media support for blog - how to write a novel - cycle 10km, 26km
Social media support for blog
Next Week's goals - new blog post - how to write a novel - run 5km, 10km
January Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel
last week's goals - social media support for blog - how to write a novel - cycle 10km, 26km
Idea generation - retelling
Next Week's goals - social media support for blog - how to write a novel - cycle 16km, 26km
January Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel
last week's goals - first blog post - schedule twitter and fb - how to write a novel - run 5km, 5km
Blog strategy - how writing a novel is different from writing a short story
Next Week's goals - social media support for blog - how to write a novel - cycle 10km, 26km
January Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel
last week's goals - Format and post first blog - Schedule twitter and FB posts - How to write a novel - run 5km, 5km
Next Week's goals - first blog post - schedule twitter and fb - how to write a novel - run 5km, 5km
January Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel
last week's goals - Enjoy christmas with family
Planning a business - what your values are - what you will sell/do - how to deliver product - how to invoice / pay people - registrations (abn/tfn) Was the sistene chapel planned? - meticulously planned. - first plan discarded as not ambitious and cool enough - sketched out on canvas then transferred to the ceiling
Why planning rather than pantsing? - no dead ends - less to rewrite - spot an inconsistency? work it through in outline before expending many hours or days - peer review of story / plot interaction
Next Week's goals - Format and post first blog - Schedule twitter and FB posts - How to write a novel - run 5km, 5km
A conversation with Personalized host Vincent King. We talk about what has been and what is to come.
Regular programming resumes next week
December Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel - UF ally
last week's goals - Format and post first blog - Snip first blog into social media posts - finish uf support blogs - run 5km, 10km
Next Week's goals - Enjoy christmas with family
December Goals: - Post Blogs - update social media - snip blogs into social media posts - How to write a novel - UF ally
last week's goals - exit plan 13 - book 3 publish - run 5km, 5km - write blogs - december plan
The starving artist: - nobody wants to pay artist - belief that just doing your art will make money (somehow) - believing you are entitled to money because you are an artist - develop a busienss model and plan
Next Week's goals - Format and post first blog - Snip first blog into social media posts - finish uf support blogs - run 5km, 10km
November Goals: - Publish book 3 - enact strategy - update social media - write blogs - engage twiter - heal my legs
last week's goals - exit plan 12 - book 3 cover - run 5km,5km - write blogs
Short Story: Karma Bites
Next Week's goals - exit plan 13 - book 3 publish - run 5km, 5km - write blogs - december plan
November Goals: - Publish book 3 - enact strategy - update social media - write blogs - engage twiter - heal my legs
last week's goals - exit plan - finish book 3 - run 5km,5km - write blog strategy
Self improvement and personal development
Next Week's goals - exit plan 12 - book 3 cover - run 5km,5km - write 2 blogs
November Goals: - Publish book 3 - enact strategy - update social media - write blogs - engage twiter - heal my legs
last week's goals - outline my initial marketing strategy - test legs with 5km run - finish revising book 3. - exit plan 11
Do you want better?
Next Week's goals - exit plan - finish book 3 - run 5km,5km - write blog strategy
November Goals: - Publish book 3 - enact strategy - update social media - write blogs - engage twiter - heal my legs
last week's goals - heal legs - publish book 2 - exit plan
Wishy washy creative advice.
Next Week's goals - outline my initial marketing strategy - test legs with 5km run - finish revising book 3. - exit plan 11
October goals: - Publish book 3 - manifesto and strategy - EP 3 recorded and released - Run on sat and sun 5km, 10km
November Goals: - Publish book 3 - enact strategy - update social media - write blogs - engage twiter - heal my legs
last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release book 1 update - release book 2 initial - exit plan 11
How to start a story
Next Week's goals - heal legs - publish book 2 - exit plan
last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release book 1 update - release book 2 initial - exit plan 11 - judegement day
Working on how to write a novel rule of three, three part model of setting, action, reaction
Next Week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release books - exit plan 11 and 12 - judgement day - record space brains Anon
October goals: - Publish book 3 - manifesto and strategy - EP 3 recorded and released - Run on sat and sun 5km, 10km
last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release book 1 update - release book 2 initial - finish writing book 3 1st draft - exit plan 10 - judegement day - Brand manifesto
Next Week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release book 1 update - release book 2 initial - exit plan 11 - judegement day
last week's goals - run 5km, 10km - update book 1 - judgement day - exit plan 9
Researched from: https://www.business.gov.au/marketing/advertising/the-5-ps-of-marketing and https://www.dummies.com/business/marketing/the-five-ps-of-a-good-marketing-plan/
Product The product element refers to what you are offering as a whole - what exactly are you selling to your customers? This includes the value added features, branding and packaging as well as service and warranty terms. Product is easyily mistaken for just the feature set. IE: I'm selling a book with writing in it. But my novel This Is My Exit Plan so so much more than just that.
Price The price element refers to the way you set prices for your products or services. It generally includes all the parts that make up your overall cost, including the advertised price, any discounts, sales, credit terms or other payment arrangements or price matching services you offer.
Your pricing will also depend on your business's position in the market. For example, if you advertise your business as a budget car rental service, your pricing should reflect that choice. If you're looking to grow your business consider if your pricing reflects your business' positioning.
The price is also how taxing it is for your customer to obtain your product. This is why Amazon introduced 1 click purchase and why so much money and effort has gone into AI algorithms for search.
Promotion The promotion element refers to all the activities and methods you use to promote your business and products. This includes sales, public relations, direct marketing and advertising.
Place The place element refers to how you deliver your product or service to your customers. This might include the physical location (e.g. via a shopfront, online or a distributor), delivery methods as well as how you manage your stock levels. For example, you could choose to provide your product from a shopfront, over the internet or through a distributor.
How and where to people find your product? Online, at conventions, a shopfront? What sort of place is suitable for the customer and your product? Tesla is online sales only for example.
People The people element refers to yourself, your staff and your customers. This covers customer service levels, as well as effective communication and training for your staff. You'll need to consider both your staff and customers if you're thinking of growing your business.
For example, if you're thinking of expanding your business online, you'll need to think about how your customers use the internet, if they would feel comfortable purchasing your goods online and if they would be willing to pay shipping costs for your products.
You'll also need to consider staffing elements. For example, do your staff have the skills to manage a website? Will you need to provide further training for them?
Find out more about what is customer service, including how to provide good customer service, setting targets and measuring your customer service and attracting and keeping loyal customers.
Next Week's goals - run 5km, 10km - release book 1 update - release book 2 initial - finish writing book 3 1st draft - exit plan 10 - judegement day
Quarterly goals July, Aug, Sept - Specify app / membership - publish book 2 - audio book 1 - run 16 km - develop sales in shop - finish releasing EP3
Quarterly goals Oct, Nov, Dec - Publish book 3 - 1st draft of how to book - brand manifesto / social and sales strategy - App design - UF / CF ally for reciprical promo
September Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 16km - app ideas
October goals: - Publish book 3 - manifesto and strategy - EP 3 recorded and released - Run on sat and sun 5km, 10km
last week's goals - run 21km - format book 2 - judegement day - exit plan 8 - Get website ready for other people to edit
Planning
Next Week's goals - run 5km, 10km - update book 1 - judgement day - exit plan 9
last week's goals - run 16km - finish editing book 2 - finish recording judgement day - exit plan episode 7
Scale - Define the roles you perform - Work out how much time each day/week/month you spend - Find the hourly price for each role - Indentify the role(s) taking you away from your true passion - Fill that role with someone who shares your values and pay them what you worked out
Next week's goals - run 21km - format book 2 - judegement day - exit plan 8 - Get website ready for other people to edit
last week's goals - run 16km - edit book 2 - judgement day - exit plan 6
The 5 Step Framework Every Science Fiction Author Needs To Know 1. Pick a single scientific or social premise to build your story around. 2. Take your premise and answer three big questions 1. How does this relate to society? 2. How does this relate to the individual? 3. What new possibilities does this lead to? 3. Choose characters that represent society, individuality and the future 4. Create 2 minor and 1 major point of conflict as a result of your premise 5. Add one unexplained or unexplored premise
The 5 Step Framework Every Science Fiction Author Needs to Know Break through your block by using this easy to follow 5 step framework for creating compelling science fiction.
Because you need to create page turning and imagination firing science fiction stories I have created this easy to follow framework just for you. Sometimes the ideas just flow and sometimes we look on what we created and wonder why it just doesn't quite gel. This framework will help you step by step create amazing visions of the future with the depth that is so required today. I'll take you through picking a focal topic, answering the big three questions, generate the characters you need, find conflict and add the hook you need to draw your reader, viewer or listener in and keep them coming back.
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Pick a single scientific or social focal point to build your story around: Science fiction, though difficult to define definitively, can be said to be the exploration and expansion of existing ideas or theories into the realms of fiction. To put it more simply is that science fiction is a "what if" analysis of current theory or imagined possiblity set against some analogue of our own world. To that end the first step you need to do is imagine some future state of a scientific theory, technology or social construct. So pick one. It can be from your existing passions, an article you've read, a topic you are familiar with or something from today's news stories. This will be the focal point around which you will hang the rest of your world and story. It will act as the anchor or foundation of the following steps. This isn't the only reason for your story's existence, though it might be. Rather, this focal point is what we will use to as a skeleton to hang the flesh, sinew and nervous system of the rest of our world and story. You might be able to pick two but with a single foci you can attain greater clarity and the following steps in this framework will be that much easier. Some examples:
- Gene editing of human embryoes.
- Extra dimensional faster than light travel
- Consciousness as an emergent property of matter
- Social reputation entriely managed by a global network
- Colonisation of another planet Take your focal point and expand it into some future state where it is emergent or ubiquitous. Step one done!
quote: The 'science' in 'science fiction' isn't just physics and engineering. It can also be linguistics, anthropology, and psychology. -- Ann Leckie 2. Answer the three big questions If you want a great story that really grabs your audience by the viscera and squeezes you need to answer the Big Three. The Big Three are the questions that will build your world, inolve your audience and inform your story. Without them you'll find people don't "get it" and will drift off. The first thing you need of course is the focal point. This is the second step in the 5 Step Framework so if you haven't got your focal point go back and get one. What are the Big Three or B3? I'm glad you asked.
- How does your focal point relate to society? Your focal point, the scientific theory, technology or social premise you've chosen will affect society in some way. The world your story exists in will be created, molded and changed by your focus. Think about governments, trade, commerce, institutions and religion; how will they adapt or react? A universal cure for all disease will have an affect for example, a dominant world religion will have a social impact and so will faster than light travel. In what ways will this be reflected in social attitudes, family values, crime rates, political atmosphere or economic policy?
- How does your focal point relate to the individual? You've got how your society has been affected, you've shaped your world and build the institutions that define and are defined by society but now it is time to consier the individual within this structure. How does an individual get their education, relate to others and how do they feel about the rules and roles that society molded by your focal point has forced on them? If people over the age of fifty are culled from the population then how does a person feel as they approach that age or as their family or friends approach that limit? What daily actions does an individual do in the circumstances they find themselves?
- What new possibilities does this lead to? Every innovation, technology or social revolution opens doors to futher development. Where is this heading and what possibilities are presented due to your focal point? Is a new religion on the horizon? Is a new city being built guided by principals being learnt from extra dimensional faster than light travel? When computers became common, networking was taking off. When computer networks became common the internet started evolving. So what is the not quite science fiction of your science fiction?Isaac Asimov said: "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.
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Craft your Characters Three. A story does not work without characters and your story will be a masterpiece. So you must now choose your Characters Three or C3. There may be more or fewer that literally three individuals but there are three roles your must fill. Your focal point gives the skeleton, the foundation upon which you build your story. Your B3 or Big Three questions inform the world in which your story takes place and now this third step will populate your world with the vital characters through which your audience will experience your grand vision. Characters serve multiple purposes in a story. They progress the plot, carry the emotion and react to or cause the conflict. Your C3 will be pivitol in your plotting and will allow you to expose your world and ratchet up the tension and make your audience feel the world. Are there literally only three and are they each an individual? No. You might have all three expressed in a single person or one of the C3 might be a group of people, say the crew of a starship or one could be a computer, city or item of clothing. A character is a conjunction of idea, expression and reaction. A character paints a personal image in the mind's eye of your audience. Oh, you want to know who the C3 are?
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A character that represents society This character is the lens through which we understand and explore the social effects of your focal point. They are the interface between your audience and your world. Without this character the exploration of your focus is flat and without depth. Your society character demonstrates the traits projected onto your story's society by your focal point. They explain and anthropomorphise the world they live in. Through them we understand how society has come to be the way it has.
- Your individual character Look at how your focal point affects the individual and that is what this character is. Often she is the protagonist but not necessarily so. You individual character carries with them the weight of all people trying to get by. Imagine an editorial comment posted on a current affairs show like 60 minutes if they lived in your science fiction world. That editorial is your individual character. She is the every-woman who sees the problems and takes advantage of the advantages without realising it. He will sit in a sterile, air conditioned bathroom commenting on how the people living in mud huts and collecting dung to burn in the fires that contribute to the horrendous mortality rate of their children have rich sense of community and some essential value lost to modern men. They are also the inspired adventurer seeking to experience everything their world can offer.
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The character that embodies the future Sure your story is already set in the future but you need a character that embodies the future future. If the individual character isn't your protagonist you'll probably find this one is. If your story is about changing or progressing the society created by your focal point then this is the guy leading the charge. Where is this all going? Follow your future character.The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.
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Anne Frank
- Create 2 minor and 1 major conflicts as a result of your premise. Conflict is the story and without it you've got a collection of words and little else. This is the fourth step in the five step framework and hangs off the first three. Create one major conflict which will be the prime crescendo of your work and it will come directly from your focal point. Think of it this way: if your story didn't have the focal point your chose then this conflict would not happen. If your focal point was that colonists on a new world have evolved differently to Earth bound humans then your conflict should necissarily come from this evolution. Remove the focal point and you remove the conflict. Why I hear you ask? Because otherwise you just have what amounts to cops and robbers in space. If you can remove your focal point and tell exactly the same story scene for scene with present day real world analogs then do you have science fiction? You can claim it is but really you've just created some "futuristic" window dressing to gussy up a tired old story. Don't be that girl or guy. But one conflict doesn't cut the mustard. You need to pick two minor conflicts related to two of the B3. These conflicts need not relate to the focal point but they need to relate to the world and in doing so they relate to the world. These minor conflicts will form the ups and downs that surround the unveiling of the primary conflict. Can you create more than two minor conflicts? Yes, but then you're going to have a handful dealing with all the interactions between your C3 and your conflicts. Each conflict will touch and be reflected from each of your characters. This is what gives texture and depth to your story.
Conflict is drama, and how people deal with conflict shows you the kind of people they are.
* Stephen Moyer
- Add one unexplained or unexplored premise What is life if not for mystery? Do you want a story that leaves nothing to the imagination? No, I didn't think so. We are, at our base, primal creatures. When we receive information it first passes through our reptile brain, our most basic processor and we determine if what we are perceiving is predator or prey. We want our stories to be the prey sought by our predator audience. What does prey do? It rustles the bushes and runs from us. Deny it if you like but you'd be wrong; we chase what runs. You've chosen a primary focus which holds everything together and now you need to pick a second one. This second focus should remain unexplained and unexplored. Involve it in each conflict, have it turn up in a character history but leave it without resolution. So in your world you have cryogenic sleep pods that allow people to travel between the stars without dying of old age and this informs your society, the individuals and points to a future of further exploration. Now throw some strange dreams that people experience while in suspended animation. Maybe one of the reams provides a clue to solving the main conflict. Have a university studying the phenomena but say no more on it. That little tid bit is your mystery, you prey to pull the reader into a deeper contemplation of your world and story. When they finish your story, if you've done it right, they will hunger for more from you without specifically craving resolution of the dream enigma.
Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.
* Neil Armstrong
next week's goals - run 16km - finish editing book 2 - finish recording judgement day - exit plan episode 7
September Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 16km - app ideas
last week's goals - run 16km - edit book 2 - judgement day - new podcast called Personalize -
Next Week's goals - run 16km - edit book 2 - judgement day
August Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 16km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - run 16km - publish book 2 - judgement day
Leigh James and A Man Of The Mountain Trailer
Next Week's goals - run 16km - publish book 2 - judgement day
August Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 16km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - 10km - release ep3 3 - finish book 2 cover - narrate chapter 1 - judgement day
Annual planning
Value of planning
planning vs winging it as 2 tools for the growth mindset
Next Week's Goals - run 16km - publish book 2 - judgement day
August Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 15km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - 10km - release ep3 2 - finish book 2 cover - narrate chapter 1 - judgement day
Dunning Krueger
Empathy stories Setting action reaction
Next Week's goals - 10km - Narration of chapter 1 - judgement - book 2 cover
Quarterly goals July, Aug, Sept - Specify app / membership - publish book 2 - audio book 1 - run 16 km - develop sales in shop - finish releasing EP3
August Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 15km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - narrate chapter 3 and 4 - reformat book 1 + improve cover - extra book 2 cover
Innovators dilemma
Next week's goals - 10km - release ep3 2 - finish book 2 cover - narrate chapter 1 - judgement day
August Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 15km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - run 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - narrate chapter 1 adn 2 of audio book - extra - finish chapter 3 book 3 - design cover book 2
Magic I'm going to teach you how to do magic so your dreams come true. The thing about magic is I'm of the Arthur C Clarke school of thought on magic. It is technology that is sufficiently advanced, or in this case unexplained. There is so much that we do and that happens around us that if we did't have an understanding of what was going on we'd call it magic for sure. Computers, mobile phones, television, diabetes and even exercise are things that with just a little less understanding would be magic. Heck some of that still is magic for many people. But what I'm going to talk about is often thought of as magic and dismissed because magic covers a great many different things and with such a variety and range it is true that most magic is just make believe and fairy tales. The magic I'm going to talk about, which will transform from magic to common sense once I've told you about it, is of a more practical and real variety. It is the magic spoken of by people such as Joe Dispenza in his book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. Instead of using his words to talk about it I'll paraphrase and discuss it in the way I've come to understand it. If you want to learn more detail or get a fuller sense of what I'm talking about I recommend reading the book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. You'll find a description and link to it on shop.gravityundone.net/books/
So, what is this magic? It is the magic of metamorphosis. It is the magic of conjuration and manifestation. You've heard variations of it called the law of attraction and the secret. But I've got a more grounded and reasoned approach because I'm a more grounded and reasoned person. This does require you to undbind your rigid thinking and allow your mind to drop from a beta state of mind to an alpha state. Remember from a few weeks back I was talking about the different mind states we can be in? Beta is the logical, ordered, analytical state we are in when we are awake and doing things we understand and have rules and boundaries that guide us. Alpha state is a relaxed state more conducive to learning and inuition because we don't have the active boundaries restricting our thoughts. So go alpha, let what I say sink in and look for connections and abstract relationships more so than trying to directly relate the terminology I'm using to scientific or rational boundaries. Got it? Let's begin. Imagine I'm drawing on a white board. I draw a big dot at the top of the board and from there draw to diverging lines to the base of the board forming a triangle. The dot at the top is you. It is your current situation and context. It is the culmination of all your past choices, actions and reaction. It is you as you are now. The height of the board from you in the present to the bottom of the board and thus the bottom of the triangle I've drawn represents time. The further down the board we go the further into the future that space represents. the base of the triangle then represents all the possible reasonable future states of you. We could say that absolutely anything is possible but in reality there is a finite number of future situations you can possibly, reasonably find yourself. While it may be possible that you spontaneously teleport to the moon the likelihood of that happening is so small that you could probably run through as many versions of the universe as there are seconds that have passed since the big bang and still not have that happen. So We'll restrict ourselves to a set of reasonable future states. The danger here is that what you think of as being reasonable may actually be a small subset of things that are genuinely possible. let's not concern ourselves with that level of specific just now. So You are at the top of this triangle and you will be at some point at the bottom of the triangle after some amount of time. It doesn't matter what that period of time is. The diagram will work for any time period, just the range of possiblities will vary. Lets consider this possible set. We'll draw another dot in the centre of the base of the triangle. This is the most likely situation you will be in if nothing changes during the period of time represented by the gap beteween the top dot and the bottom dot. That is, if you did nothing different to what you do now then you will most likely find yourself at that second dot in the centre of the base of the triangle in the future. The thing is you probably want to be toward one of the bottom corners of the triangle. You probably want to be in a better or at least different situation. I know I do. But the further from the centre point, the less likely we will end up there, all other things being equal. So we will need a little magic to skew things in our favour. Why do we need magic? Because every second of every day we want things better but we don't get them do we? No. That's why we think the base of our triangle is narrower than it really is. We need a way to change our moment to moment reality so that dot in the middle of the base of our future triangle shifts from the centre toward the outer edge. Now imagine one of those carnival games where you drop a ball in the top and it falls down hitting pins and bouncing to the left or the right. If it bounces more to the left than the right it will end in a higher score position at the bottom. If it bounces left and right an even amount it will end up in the middle low score position. That ball is you and the pegs are the situations, events and people you encounter. You bounce to the left or to the right depending on how you react and what your perceptions are. So you can see if you don't change your habits, thoughts, perceptions and skills you will continue to bounce left and right more or less evenly and end up somewhere near the middle. Joe Dispenza's book presents a way you can confront your habits and beliefs and alter them to favour a different outcome. That's the magic. If it were obvious how to do things differently and end up closer to where you want to be then we'd all be doing it right? How does this work? Imagine you had a time machine and you could go back in time to witness and interact with the past. I think we all know that we'd have to be very careful because the further back you go the smaller the change required to effect momentous change in our present day. The short story A Sound of Thunder has a time machine that goes back to a time when dinosaurs walked the earth. A character steps on a butterfly and when they return to their present day, everything has changed. and we all know about the grandfather paradox which was essentially presented to us in Back to the Future where Marty McFly accidentally changes a critical moment in his parent's past which leaves him in danger of not being born. We can all agree then that even small changes in the past can have big effects in our present. But we need to also realise that our present is the future's past. Small changes we make now can snowball into big changes. The magic is this: to be in the future situation that you want to be in you have to become the sort of person who is in that situation. You must think and act like the sort of person who has that desired context as their everyday context. Let me explain: you are at the top of the triangle on the white board. I said that you are there as a sum of all the decisions you've made of all the reactions and actions you've taken and the actions you haven't taken. You are the sort of person who is in the situation you are in now. You have all the things associated with a person who is just like you. And this is the start of taking responsibliity for your life of course, but I don't want to get into that discussion just now because it is easy for that to initially sound like victim blaming and i don't want to go there. But suffice to say that you are where you because of who you are and you are who you are because of where you are. Right? So if I wanted to be in your position I'd have to act and think more like you vice versa if you wanted to be in my situation. If I want to run a marathon in under four hours I have to do the things a person who run marathons in under 4 hours does. Does that make sense? This is what Joe Dispenza means when he talks about breaking the habit of being yourself. Even small changes have a compounding effect on your life. What am I doing to position myself where I want to be? i've discussed this before so I'll summarise here: 1. Be mindful. I have taken up the practice of being as fully aware of myself, my thoughts and my actions as I can be. Every day, multiple times a day, I take time to consider how I feel and what I'm thinking. This then allows me to more often consciously choose how I react and how I perceive things. You can't change the wind, but you can adjust your sails. 2. Choose health. Being mindful I choose to be healthy. I have committed to running and exercising regularly. I choose to eat the foods and in the manner that experts say I should. 3. I commit to executing what I know I should. I have read countless times from reputable sources that writing your goals down makes you 1.4 times more likely to achieve them. So I am doing that because I want to achieve my goals. 4. I tell myself better stories and refuse to repeat bad stories. Anytime I might say "I can't do that" I have changed to "I can't do that yet". That's growth mindset vs fixed. 5. I actively visualise myself in my new situation. I imagine what it feels like to accomplish the things I want to accomplish. I take time to feel that I have already done what I wanted.
And so on. This is the magic spell i use. Does it work? It has so far. I've gotten a good job that pays well but gives me the after hours time to work on my own things. It has put me in contact with people I feel aligned with. It has meant I've published a book, in the process of editing and publishing my second book and part way through my third. By the end of this year I'll have published three novels. By the end of next year I'll have published another three books at least. By writing my goals down and tell you about them here on My Creativity I am more often acheiving them. And I feel so full of passion and drive to keep going that i know I will move away from that centre position. Heck, more oportunities than I thought i had are starting to surface. I urge you to learn and practice this magic of becoming the sort of person who has the sort of situation you want. Read Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself with an open mind and let the knowledge flow in. - to learn more check out shop.gravityundone.net/books/ and click on Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. - write your goals down and send them in to me and we'll be accountable and more likely to achieve our goals together. - follow @gravityundone on twitter
Next week - 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - narrate chapter 3 and 4 - reformat book 1 + improve cover
Quarterly goals July, Aug, Sept - Specify app / membership - publish book 2 - audio book 1 - run 16 km - develop sales in shop - finish releasing EP3
July Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - run 10km - record the rest of ep3 - audio book of book 1
Claire Scherzinger interview
- invite people to send in goals
next weeks goals - run 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - narrate chapter 1 adn 2 of audio book
July Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - run 10km - record all EP3 lines - create EP theme song - Begin audio book of book 1
Frictionless story telling
Story telling is powerful. It is what our civilisation, all human civilisation is built on from the earliest cave man to the most modern cyber community (whatever that means) The stories we tell ourselves define us and I spoken about how I changed the stories to change myself. Stories also define our brand. I mean brand in a holistic all-encompassing sense. The persona in your head, as you listen to me, that is me as far as you're concerned and the persona you transmit about me to others. Gravity Undone as a brand exists not just on a web site nor just in my head but it spiders out from me into the world and exists in your head. It is a little different in your head to in mine and when you transmit it to others it has been filtered. The story of Gravity Undone is what carries the brand and defines it.
Story telling is the vector through which meaning goes viral. But every time the Gravity Undone brand leaves me and is absorbed by another it goes through their filters and when they retransmit it is slightly changed and so on. So it becomes vital that the source be as pure and consistent as possible. If I present a different message about Gravity Undone each time then I'll end up with brand fragmentation which is where the Gravity Undone in person x's head interferes with Gravity Undone in person y's head and the message is weakend.
So to ensure my message is as clear, strong and far reaching as possible I need to have what is known as frictionless story telling. That is when someone asks me about gravity undone I can respond quickly, easily and naturally and consistently. When I'm presented with a situation I will be able to respond easily and convey my values effectivly. That's frictionless story telling. My mission is to create a collaborative entertainment network that inspires creators and is supported by patrons not ads. So I need to get my story straight.
This is where brand manifesto and ethos come into play. It is what I have to work on, what any of us has to work out if we intend to successfully and sustainably create.
The way I'm doing this is:
1. List values: What is important to gravity undone. These things will also be important to me personally but filtered through the concept of gravity undone. I must personally share these values to ensure an authentic set of values. Gravity Undone will not embody all my values, just the ones that promote and provide focus on my mission and purpose.
2. Identify say 3 to 5 issues or topics and for each I need to know how gravity undone responds to them. What opinions gravity undone will hold on those topics. These will be around the values already identified.
3. Write a manifesto. This is a statement of the core emotional value and belief I want gravity undone to embody.For example Apple's manifesto:
This is one of those things that in the past I've rolled my eyes at and just kind of skpped over on the assumption that "I already knew it" but all the experts tell you to do it. All the successfull businesses and the long-term successful creatives have done it. In many cases it is a matter of gaining some level of success and then defining story, the manifeto and ethos but every brand manager and every business coach will tell you to do it and tell you to write it down and keep it handy. And at hte start of this I committed to doing the things the experts say to do, doing the things the successful people have done.
Once I've got Exit Plan 3 recorded and out and once book 3 is written and published I'm going to go on a marketing bender and really get my name out there. But that means I need to know what my name means and what I want to tell people. To fail to plan is to plan to fail and I've already done that enough to learn that I don't want to repeat those same lessons. it's time to move to the next level. I'm a creative, a writer, and I want to create and I want to make money doing it so I can continue to create and inspire others to create. That is why I have to plan to succeed.
next week's goals - run 10km - record the rest of ep3 - audio book of book 1
- invite people to send in goals
- next week is Claire Scherzinger of Arca 45672. She's an artist and creative across multiple disciplines and she does it full time. As a result she has a great insite into the business of being an artist and it isn't all sipping lattes and writing in a notebook. She has to get investors, submit for grants and plan. It was a great interview and I think we'll all get something from it.
Until then, good luck and tell your story. see ya.
July Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - publish book 2 - run 10km - release ep3 ep 1 - app ideas
last week's goals - 10km run - record rachael - finish draft 2 of book 2 - additional - recorded 3 episodes of EP3
KC Wayland interview - Creator of We're Alive - About to release Gold Rush in September - Works as an audio producer
Next week's goals - run 10km - record all EP3 lines - create EP theme song - Begin audio book of book 1
Quarterly goals July, Aug, Sept – Specify app / membership – publish book 2 – audio book 1 – run 16 km – develop sales in shop – finish releasing EP3
July Goals: – Each week review monthly goals. – publish book 2 – run 10km – release ep3 ep 1 – app ideas
last week’s goals – quarterly goals – run 10km on sunday – edit kc wayland interview – chapter 8 book 2 draft – edit 2001 a space odyssy space brains – Judgement day recording – additional – set up bank accounts for barefoot
Inspiration for stories, where’d I get it?
– blood work woman on train – seeing same person getting on and off – doorway effect on short term memory – dnd game from highschool – history of the magna carta – new idea: mirror matter – waking from coma in morgue Spanish prison authorities are baffled after a prisoner who was declared dead by three separate doctors woke up in the morgue – just hours before his own autopsy was set to commence. The prisoner, 29-year-old Gonzalo Montoya Jiménez, was found unresponsive in his cell during a morning roll call, and had been transferred to a hospital mortuary in a body bag when pathologists heard something strange. Snoring. Coming from inside the bag. – chaos flux: A classic experiment on visual processing involves asking people to watch a video of 6 people passing a basketball, and press a button every time a particular team has possession. Invariably only about half the people tested ever notice a woman in a gorilla suit walking across the middle of the screen during the game.
Next Week’s goals 10km run record rachael for exit plan book 2 drft 2 complete judgement day 136bpm
States of mind: alpha, beta, etc..
from https://blog.mindvalley.com/brain-waves/
Brain waves are quite real and have been studied extensively.
They are produced by neurons in your brain that communicate with each other by electrical change.
These changes can be observed by different forms of medical technology, like the electroencephalography (EEG).
Much of what we know about brain waves is a result of extensive research conducted by medical professionals.
Why do brain waves matter? We easily forget that we are the controllers of our reality. Our reality is not made up of outside influences, but actually consists of our thoughts, beliefs and mindset.
Therefore, by learning about the deeper states of consciousness, you can open your subconscious mind and create your reality at will.
To do this, the first step is to understand your different brain frequencies.
In order from highest frequency, most active to lowest frequency and least active:
Gamma A recently discovered level of brain activity at about 40Hz. It is the fastest frequency. Gamma brain waves aer associated with bursts of insight and high-level information processing.
Beta Beta waves are associated with normal wakeful consciousness and a hightened state of alertness and logic. Beta waves are where we operate while actively working on something or performing tasks that requires concentration and understanding. From a creativity point of view, this is where we are when we know what we are doing and we are using all our learnt tools and skills to achieve our goal. The downside of beta waves is they come from a highly ordered and structured mind that likes rules and predictable patterns. This is great for doing those tasks we know how to do and we know the "rules" associated. They are bad for being intuitive and creative. The more ordered our mind the harder it is to leap to intuitive resolutions and be really creative.
Alpha Alpha waves are dominant when we are in a state of deep relaxation and usually emerge when we are daydreaming or during light meditation. The brain is less alert and the rules and structures we think in are relaxed and less important. As a result it is a great time to find creative solutions to problems we have and excellent for learning new things, vizualising situations and concentration. This is one of the reasons I take time each day to meditate and consider my body, my feelings and my surroundings. When I'm on the train with my earphones in I'm not really listening to the music I'm drowning out all the other stimulation that would put be in a Beta mental state. I let my eyes lose focus and I come up with ideas for stories, podcasts, music and so on.
Theta Theta brain waves are present during deep meditation and light sleep. This is the realm of your subconscious and only experienced momentarily as you drift off to sleep or wake from deep sleep. An interesting point about this state is you can achieve it during repetitive exercise. When I run at lunch I sometimes get here. Mostly I'm in alpha but sometimes the awareness of my body and surroundings fades and I live, just for short bursts, in my mind alone. I'll lose track of where exactly I am and my body will just run on autopilot while my mind conjures strange ideas.
Delta Delta waves are the slowest and are experienced in deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep meditation where awareness is fully detached. Delta waves and deep sleep are linked with healing and regeneration. We need all levels of thought to be healthy but it is easy to get caught at the high levels.
Next Week's goals quarterly goals run 10km on sunday edit kc wayland interview chapter 8 book 2 draft edit 2001 a space odyssy space brains Judgement day recording
June Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop complete - each category have at least one item for each IP - run up to 10km on Sunday - finish book 2 - start exit plan 3 - record cover of judgement day
last week's goals 8km on Sunday finish first draft of book 2 transfer isbn to kdp upload new revision of book 1 edit/mix revolt for space brains -extras - sign up for amazon associate - create page for exit plan book 1 - create binge 3 - add page for high performance habits - social media twitter queue
Intention, the journey you take, the destination you reach and feelings of doubt and anxiety. I read a lot about people suffering anxiety about their creativity, fear about what they produce and in stopping their art. Another thing I see a lot of is what I suffered from years ago while I wrote my first novel: I'm writing just for me, I would write anyway, I'm not intending to make any money out of this, it doesn't matter if it gets published. There's a connection between all of these anxieties, fears and lies. Because that's what they are, plain and simple: they are lies. But why do we tell them and what can help us navigate past them? For me it was understanding intention, understanding what sort of journey I am on and how to, dare I say the term: manifest my destination. And in this case I had to understand that my "destination" was a state of mind and state of being not an end but a way of being on my journey, if that makes any sense.
What does this have to do with intention?
Wikipedia says: Intention is a mental state that represents a commitment to carrying out an action or actions in the future. Intention involves mental activities such as planning and forethought.
So there I was writing my first novel, an as yet unpublished epic fantasy called "The West Queen" and had planned a little of it, built the world but was writing it largely by the seat of my pants. And it has come to be my belief that it is extremely rare for a person to write by the seat of their pants and maintain a sustainable creative career. I'd use the term successful but that is too loaded a term and everyone will disagree on what that means. So instead I use the term sustainable to indicate a creative career that you can pursue for the long term and have effect. While I wrote I had doubts that I was doing anything good and while I wrote I said "I'm doing this just to see if I can write a book" and "It doesn't matter if no one reads it, it's just for me" and all those other lies we tell ourselves. I queried a handful of agents who politely declined and as I wrote my next book I got about halfway through and changed to another book and about halfway through I changed again. About halfway through that one I just stopped. I wrote a handful of short stories and even that ended. I told myself I wasn't that serious and it was just for fun and I felt dead inside like something had withered. Does any of this sound familiar? I'm sure it does to many people who listen to this. And it doesn't have to just be writing. It could be a computer game you're producing or a painting or a business idea or even a relationship. We tell ourselves these same lies and we flail about blindly and try to reassure ourselves that "well, we did the best we could". For years I believed that and I followed that pattern in a number of my creative pursuits. But I had a midlife crisis and called bullshit on all of it. Why did I have to "just write for the fun of it" or "not care if anyone read my work?". I have a need,and always have had a need to create and inspire and build a better world in any way I can.
I was missing intention. Or rather, I was out of alignment with my intention. (amongst other things). Again, Wikipedia points out that intention is a commitment to carry out an action in the future.
When I started writing The West Queen what was my intention? I wasn't clear on it. I said one thing but acted another way. This is called dissonance and it tears people up inside. It is visible to other people either consciously or subconsciously. I'm sure you've met people that you know just aren't doing what they say or believe themselves to be doing. Has that inspired you or made you take them seriously? Nope.
The problem comes from this: your intention is to do something creative. So in theory you have a commitment to carry out an action. But intention involves such things and planning and forethought. If you start repeating stories to yourself that are in conflict with your intention what happens to that commitment? you lose it. You lose your intention and you don't carry out the action. You end up in a state of dissonance where you are doing one thing but believing another and your mind tries to make these two things meet up but fails. You end up with anxiety and feelings of fraud and you stop.
I've set my intention and I recognise that now. I've committed to my course of action. I am not writing and creating just for the fun of it. I do care if nobody reads or hears or sees my work. I am on the path to being full-time employed in my creative endevours. Gravity Undone will be a collaborative entertainment network for creators who inspire. With this intention I know what actions I have to take and I know that if I trust in the process I will reach my goal. No more do I say things like "I'm not in this to make money" I am in this to make money. That isn't my sole concern but if I don't make money I can't continue pursuing my creativity. I, like everyone else, need to eat and need shelter and for that I need money or the equivalent resources. Do I feel like a fraud? No. Not any more. Because I'm doing what I intend to do and I'm honest about it. Do I make money now? No. Well, I've made about $5 Australian so far but that isn't the point. I have planning and forethought and a commitment to carry out an action in the future. I have intention.
What is your intention? Look deep into yourself and ask if what you are saying and doing align with what you intend. If it doesn't align then what is your true intention rather than your spoken intention? That is, consider what it is you've actually committed to, what it is you've planning and had forethought about. Flying by the seat of your pants relies on hope as a strategy: you hope that what you are doing will somehow move your forwards. A wise woman once said to me "hope is not a strategy". This brings me back to creating by the seat of your pants. That is just you hoping that what you're doing creates something good. Is you intent to make something good or is your intent to experiment? Be clear on your intent. Experimentation is fine and valid but don't mistake your lack of commitment to an action for being creative. Do you want to write a good book that has an effect and that people love? Then you need to plan for that to happen. Hoping you finish and hoping it is good is not in alignment with the intent to write a good book or create a strong business or build a lasting relationship. If your intent it to experiment and discover your joy and passion then pantsing it is in alignment with that goal. But don't tell lies to yourself or to others. Be clear in what it is you intend, act in alignment with that intention and you will not suffer dissonance.
Now I would be crazy not to realise that this is a controversial position to take, but I hope that in that controversy you come to a realisation and an understanding within yourself. You don't need to agree with me. I don't need you to agree with me. What I want more than anything else if for you to understand yourself and agree with yourself so I can stop reading all the "oh I feel like my work is no good and what if what I've done is just rubbish and it doesn't matter, I'm not doing this to make money and I don't care if no one sees this." I want to start reading and hearing "I'm doing what I set out to do. I'm not making money yet but my plan and process will make that happen, my work will have an impact and my legacy will live beyond me because that is the direction I'm heading and the intention I've set."
I hope that by revealing this about my own life that I've helped someone else. If you disagree with me or if you fully agree with me, let me know on twitter @gravityundone or @mycreativitypod or you could email me surrey@gravityundone.net
Also, if you'd like to join me in being accountable you can let me know your goals and when you intend to reach them just like I do each week and I'll read them out so you know what you have to do.
next week's goals Run 10km Add additional recommended books to my shop Start 2nd draft of book 2 judgement day at 85 bpm, complete play through Edit interview with KC Wayland
June Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop complete - each category have at least one item for each IP - run up to 10km on sunday - finish book 2 - start exit plan 3 - record cover of judgement day
last week's goals 8km on sunday create at least one product for each property record first take of judgement day
Authenticity True to yourself. My real work durinig the week other than goals
next week's goals 8km on sunday finish first draft of book 2 transfer isbn to kdp upload new revision of book 1 edit/mix revolt for space brains
The 5 keys that every urban fantasy author must know 1. Choose your type of fantasy a. Classic western mythology: vamps, weres, witches, biblical b. Classic non-western mythology: south american, egyptian / arabic, far east c. Neo-mythology: epic fantasy based / weird 2. Integration level a. Secrecy by rarity: real magic/fantastic elements are rare enough that their strangeness is absorbed in the background b. Secrecy by pact: There are enough magical beings that they have a council or ruling body that enforces secrecy c. In the open: The world is a blend of fantastic and mundane without secrecy at all. 3. Organisations a. Academic / religious b. Government (normal and paranormal) c. Ad hoc (hunters, protectors) 4. Characters a. sane b. insane c. good d. evil 5. Conflict Primary underlying conflict: avoid good/evil that's rubbish in urban fantasy. a. change vs stagnation b. redemption c. love vs fear d. mundane vs supernatural
May Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop complete - run 5km each sunday
Last week's goals: - complete shop - run 5km
Exit Plan season 2 is done, writing book 2. I have videos about world building
But plotting. Blake Snyder Beat sheet.
BS story beats Opening Image – A visual that represents the struggle & tone of the story. A snapshot of the main character’s problem, before the adventure begins.
Set-up – Expand on the “before” snapshot. Present the main character’s world as it is, and what is missing in their life.
Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up) – What your story is about; the message, the truth. Usually, it is spoken to the main character or in their presence, but they don’t understand the truth…not until they have some personal experience and context to support it.
Catalyst – The moment where life as it is changes. It is the telegram, the act of catching your loved-one cheating, allowing a monster onboard the ship, meeting the true love of your life, etc. The “before” world is no more, change is underway.
Debate – But change is scary and for a moment, or a brief number of moments, the main character doubts the journey they must take. Can I face this challenge? Do I have what it takes? Should I go at all? It is the last chance for the hero to chicken out.
Break Into Two (Choosing Act Two) – The main character makes a choice and the journey begins. We leave the “Thesis” world and enter the upside-down, opposite world of Act Two.
B Story – This is when there’s a discussion about the Theme – the nugget of truth. Usually, this discussion is between the main character and the love interest. So, the B Story is usually called the “love story”.
The Promise of the Premise – This is when Craig Thompson’s relationship with Raina blooms, when Indiana Jones tries to beat the Nazis to the Lost Ark, when the detective finds the most clues and dodges the most bullets. This is when the main character explores the new world and the audience is entertained by the premise they have been promised.
Midpoint – Dependent upon the story, this moment is when everything is “great” or everything is “awful”. The main character either gets everything they think they want (“great”) or doesn’t get what they think they want at all (“awful”). But not everything we think we want is what we actually need in the end.
Bad Guys Close In – Doubt, jealousy, fear, foes both physical and emotional regroup to defeat the main character’s goal, and the main character’s “great”/“awful” situation disintegrates.
All is Lost – The opposite moment from the Midpoint: “awful”/“great”. The moment that the main character realizes they’ve lost everything they gained, or everything they now have has no meaning. The initial goal now looks even more impossible than before. And here, something or someone dies. It can be physical or emotional, but the death of something old makes way for something new to be born.
Dark Night of the Soul – The main character hits bottom, and wallows in hopelessness. The Why hast thou forsaken me, Lord? moment. Mourning the loss of what has “died” – the dream, the goal, the mentor character, the love of your life, etc. But, you must fall completely before you can pick yourself back up and try again.
Break Into Three (Choosing Act Three) – Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or last-minute Thematic advice from the B Story (usually the love interest), the main character chooses to try again.
Finale – This time around, the main character incorporates the Theme – the nugget of truth that now makes sense to them – into their fight for the goal because they have experience from the A Story and context from the B Story. Act Three is about Synthesis!
Final Image – opposite of Opening Image, proving, visually, that a change has occurred within the character.
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Three act structure
The first act is usually used for exposition, to establish the main characters, their relationships and the world they live in. Later in the first act, a dynamic, on-screen incident occurs, known as the inciting incident, or catalyst, that confronts the main character (the protagonist), and whose attempts to deal with this incident lead to a second and more dramatic situation, known as the first plot point, which (a) signals the end of the first act, (b) ensures life will never be the same again for the protagonist and (c) raises a dramatic question that will be answered in the climax of the film. The dramatic question should be framed in terms of the protagonist's call to action, (Will X recover the diamond? Will Y get the girl? Will Z capture the killer?).[1]
The second act, also referred to as "rising action", typically depicts the protagonist's attempt to resolve the problem initiated by the first turning point, only to find themselves in ever worsening situations. Part of the reason protagonists seem unable to resolve their problems is because they do not yet have the skills to deal with the forces of antagonism that confront them. They must not only learn new skills but arrive at a higher sense of awareness of who they are and what they are capable of, in order to deal with their predicament, which in turn changes who they are. This is referred to as character development or a character arc. This cannot be achieved alone and they are usually aided and abetted by mentors and co-protagonists.[1]
The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.[1]
Next Week's Goals come up with monthly goals 5km run on sunday complete shop produce space brains.
May Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop compmlete - run 5km each sunday
Last week's goals: - record song for danson - finish chapter 8 - run 5km - record space brains - edit and release spectral space brains
Points to cover: - About waking up early to get more done. Bull crap. What does the science say? Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researcher Lydia DonCarlos, PhD, is a member of an expert panel that's making new recommendations on how much sleep people need The panel, convened by the National Sleep Foundation, is making its recommendations based on age Dr. DonCarlos and other experts on the multidisciplinary panel examined findings from 320 studies reporting sleep duration findings for healthy individuals, effects of reduced or prolonged sleep duration and health consequences of too much or too little sleep. Results are published in Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation Dr. DonCarlos is a neuroendocrinologist who studies how hormones affect the structure of the brain. The section of the brain responsible for regulating hormone production is the hypothalamus. Hormones produced by the hypothalamus govern body temperature, hunger, stress responses, sex drive, circadian rhythms and sleep Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12683469 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181009135845.htm The world's largest sleep study was launched in June 2017 and within days more than 40,000 people from around the world participated in the online scientific investigation, which includes an in-depth questionnaire and a series of cognitive performance activities Approximately half of all participants reported typically sleeping less than 6.3 hours per night, about an hour less than the study's recommended amount. One startling revelation was that most participants who slept four hours or less performed as if they were almost nine years older Another surprising discovery was that sleep affected all adults equally. The amount of sleep associated with highly functional cognitive behaviour was the same for everyone (7 to 8 hours), regardless of age. Also, the impairment associated with too little, or too much, sleep did not depend on the age of the participants.
"We found that the optimum amount of sleep to keep your brain performing its best is 7 to 8 hours every night and that corresponds to what the doctors will tell you need to keep your body in tip-top shape, as well. We also found that people that slept more than that amount were equally impaired as those who slept too little," says Conor Wild, Owen Lab Research Associate and the study's lead author
Participants' reasoning and verbal abilities were two of the actions most strongly affected by sleep while short-term memory performance was relatively unaffected. This is different than findings in most scientific studies of complete sleep deprivation and suggests that not getting enough sleep for an extended period affects your brain differently than staying up all night.
On the positive side, there was some evidence that even a single night's sleep can affect a person's ability to think. Participants who slept more than usual the night before participating in the study performed better than those who slept their usual amount or less - I wake up at 6:30am but I go to bed at 10pm to be asleep by 10:30. - The real benefit of waking up early, assuming you go to be correspondingly early so you get full sleep, is the benefit of seeing the sun rise which is associated with improved emotional well being and so you can get things done before the busy period of the day when everyone is doing everything. That is, you are more likely to be able to get things done without interruption.
- When things don't go your way or you feel set back. This past week I had an attack of inadequacy and futility. I'm sure many of you have had this same feeling come on from time to time. It is the feeling that the progress you are making is too little too late and will never amount to be equal to your dreams. That the book you're writing, the business you're growing or the relationship your building is progressing too slow and you aren't capable of making it go fast enough to reach the goal you imagine it needs to reach. Or you've been battered by setback after setback and things just aren't happening and may never happen. So what did I do to overcome it and why did I take that strategy? Number one thing I did was close my eyes, practice my mindful meditation to centre my thoughts and really pay attention to what was happening in my body. Where was I feeling stressed, what sensations were in my head. Armed with that I then explored the source of my troubling thoughts and imagined my way down to the worst possible outcome: that my fears were totally true. What did that make me feel and think? What I came to realise that the symptoms I was feeling in my body were the same feelings I get when I haven't been sleeping enough. The tightness in my chest, the tension at the base of my skull and the emotional "wooziness" I felt were all the same as when I haven't slept. So I thought back to the past few nights and realised I hadn't been getting to bed on time and there had been a lot of smoke in the air due to burn-off. People not from Australia and not from California may not be so aware of it, but each year we in WA burn off as much old bush litter as possible the moment the wind dies to nothing and the temperatures start to drop. I then imagined what I would feel like if I had full sleep and was fully rested. I thought through the scenario that my fears were unfounded and that I had plenty of time to reach my goals - that's why it's a 10 year mission I'm on - and I reminded myself that no one got instant success. The vague feeling of unease and anxiety remained, I can't alter my body chemistry that much, but I was able to drop the worrying thoughts and instead imagined being able to tell people about this feeling I had during the interviews I'd give as a successful person. With renewed focus and determination I resumed my writing and got on with my day job.
This is why I always aim to get enough sleep, but not too much. I don't always succeed at getting enough sleep but life is a journey not a destination. You never reach a point and say "well I'm finally alive, or I've finally finished life"
Next weeks goals: - run 5km - produce binge episode 1 for exit plan season 2 - complete my shop - Home page links to each category - at least one product in each category - browsable shop page. - record judgement day song for Danson.
May Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop compmlete - run 5km each sunday
Last week's goals: - exit plan finale - finish chapter 7 - run 5km
Vincent Interview - self published his first book at 16 - talks about the one thing he has that he will always do - where he sees himself in 10 years and how he is stepping toward that
Next week - record song for danson - finish chapter 8 - run 5km - record space brains - edit and release spectral space brains
May Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop compmlete - run 5km each sunday
last Week's goals: - exit plan - finish first draft up to chapter 5 - get product operational (test payment) - run 5km on sunday
Next week's goals: - exit plan finale - finish chapter 7 - run 5km
Last weeks goals: - exit plan - send out season 3 scripts with a deadline for the lines to return. - Add social links and feed links to my other podcast episode pages. - finish first draft up to chapter 3 of book 2
fox interview: - has strong vision of what she wants after nearly 20 years - sets a high standard - has long term vision - looks at her performance as a business and seeks to add value - recognises there are parts in pursuing her passion that are fun and exhilerating but also parts that aren't but must be done. - teamwork, team goals
May Goals: - Each week review monthly goals. - Shop compmlete - run 5km each sunday
next Week's goals: - exit plan - finish first draft up to chapter 5 - get product operational (test payment) - run 5km on sunday
Intro: Hi, welcome to My Creativity - the podcast about being creative and producing output. I'm your host Surrey I reveal how I work, my projects, my process… well, my creativity. From the planning and goal setting, to how I stay accountable for my output, to the way ideas pop into my head and to the frameworks I use to stimulate my creativity and formalise it.
Next weeks goals: exit plan season 3 formatted more website: specifically - add social icons to exit plan episodes - create product pages for shop
Energy Multiple people have at various times asked how it is I can get anything done first thing in the morning or after work. Isn't my mind fried? Well, obviously it isn't. But why? Brendon Burchard, author of High Performance Habits, likes to say a power station doesn't have energy it creates it. Well that's all well and good but I know there was once a time when the thought of doing anything except staring at TV or playing computer games was well beyond me. My mind was fried at the end of the day. I'm a computer programmer, analyst and technical architect during my day job. Suffice to say my main tool of trade is my brain. So it's reasonable that after using it all day to think through IT problems, develop new solutions and understand complex relationships between different pools of data my tank would be dry. But I've since learned a secret that put a stop to that. Want to hear it? It's pretty dumb. Ok, your mental reserves - your strength of willpower - is limited only by your belief that it is limited. What? I know how you feel. That's how I felt when I first heard it. But I found that after reading the research on the topic and practicing mindfulness that it not only started to make sense but started to work.
Old school of thought: It was previously thought that willpower was a pool that got depleted during the day. Ego depletion model it is called. But more recent research has failed to duplicate that result. Additionally after some experimentation it was found we have essentially unlimited willpower. In part this comes back to growth mindset versus fixed mindset. If you don't know what I'm talking about then go back and listen to episode 2 where I talk about Carol Dweck's work on mindset. The short version, and there are complications and subtleties involved for sure is: In a study conducted by the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck and her colleagues, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dweck concluded that signs of ego depletion were observed only in test subjects who believed willpower was a limited resource. Those participants who did not see willpower as finite did not show signs of ego depletion.
Michael Inzlicht, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the principal investigator at the Toronto Laboratory for Social Neuroscience, believes willpower is not a finite resource but instead acts like an emotion. Just as we don’t “run out” of joy or anger, willpower ebbs and flows based on what’s happening to us and how we feel. Viewing willpower through this lens has profound implications.
So motivation and willpower is like an emotion. We can't run out of it but it does mean we need to manage our experience of it so it is sustainable. Just like we don't want to stop feeling sadness but rather we want to manage it so it is less likely to become depression. We want to manage our willpower and motivation so it doesn't desert us when we want it and neeed it. So what are some things to keep in mind?
The number one thing that keeps our energy levels up is doing something we enjoy and / or find purpose in. Multi-tasking kills motivation and willpower, Lack of sleep prevents us from focussing and stops our bodies from functioning correctly at all, Repeating unhelpful stories about ourselves pushes the fixed mindset.
What have I done and what do I do to keep my energy up and keep me motivated?
- eat well. Forget any special diet. You know how to eat well, you know what you shouldn't eat. The thing that is missing is knowing why you should eat well. We all know our diet should comprise primarily of fruit and vegetables that we prepare ourselves. IE: low processing before we get our hands on them. This is important because the types of processing we can do in our homes is different from the types of processing that can be done industrially and it is the fruit and veg that does us good, not the additives used to ensure shelf life and good appearance. Why eat well? Our bodies and brains have evolved over millions of years to perform their function while consuming fruit, veg and wild caught or grass fed meat and fish. You can forego the meat if you prefer and many cultures do, so obviously that can be done. If we give our bodies what they were built to use they will work the way they are meant to work. That's why we eat right. Personally I use intermittent fasting. I initially tried the 5/2 diet which is 2 days of the week without eating (technically you can have like 500 calories or such, but I found it easier to skip altogether). But I found the 2 days fasting just too tricky to maintain and I'd be starving hungry and not feeling energised at all. Others have great success. I instead to 16/8 ro 18/6 fasting. Which means 16 - 18 hours without calorie intake with just 6 - 8 hours to eat. It sounds tricky but what it really means is I don't eat breakfast until 1pm. So easy to do. I just go to work with my breakfast in a thermos and eat it after I've been for my lunchtime run. I get home at 6:30pm and generally dinner is ready so I eat and stop eating about 7-7:30. It's that easy. I initially would get hungry but now I'm so used to it. I think because it is every day I retain the same routine and that becomes my pattern. But I'm a creature of routine and predictable patterns (that is, the patterns are predictable to me though others may have the illusion that I'm spontaneous. Except my wife. She knows I can't handle sudden course changes and I need warning or my brain goes haywire. So my apparently spontaneous actions are actually planned moments of spontenaity).
- exercise daily. Again. We all know this. It isn't hidden secret sauce known only to a select few. We all know we should exercise often and regularly. I walk the dog, garden, run, ride and do body weight resistance training. Others might walk, swim and dance. At the least you should walk for half an hour a day. It can be done while doing other stuff like shopping, talking, or listening to podcasts.
- work on the train in the morning. Watch netflix on the train home. I work on the train in the morning on my scripts, books and other creative stuff. By engaging in something I love first thing I keep my energy high. Netflix on the train home keeps me consuming sci fi and fantasy and allows me to switch mental modes from work to free imagination.
- I have stopped watching television and reduced game playing to 20-30 minutes maximum once or twice a week. This is because I gain no additional benefit from these activities. TV is just full of ads for things I don't care about or presents news designed to incite fear or anger. I can get all the video entertainment I need on demand without ads and so do it on the train on the way home or in the evening with my family.
- get to bed at a decent time on the weekend so I'm up at 6:30 - 7am and able to get stuff done before the day starts. By 9am I've usually had a good hour of my work, the chance to sit and enjoy a slow coffee, done the dishes and other bits and pieces. So i can go out with the family or work around the house. Sleep is so important. Forget these people who say you aren't committed unless your up at 4:30am There's nothing magical about that time and it is a false economy as it means you need to be in bed by 8:30pm or you will become chronicaly sleep deprived which is the opposite of being productive.
- I write my goals down and always, always refer them back to my annual priorities which have been aligned to my mission goals. This way i know i am always moving forwards. With goals that lead toward my mission and my mission derived from my passion I maintain a sense of forward momentum. Every week I report on this podcast the tasks I've completed and goals I've reached. By seeing those goals tick off I retain a sense of purpose to my activities.
And one of the biggest things i do is mindful result visualisation. You'll hear similar things from the law of attraction, the secret and others. But it isn't magic or "the universe" sending things to me. It is a way of enjoying the feeling of success before you have it. Sort of the opposite of worry. Worry is disliking the feeling of failure before it happens and for some reason so many people do it. I work hard every day to enjoy ahead of time the feeling of excitement and elation from achievement. It means I make decisions that head toward success rather than steer away from failure. If you can see the difference. mind you, failure is just natures way of teaching you how to succeed so don't be afraid of that in the slightest.
So that's energy.
next week is an interview I did with Fox Ward.
new goals: - exit plan - send out season 3 scripts with a deadline for the lines to return. - Add social links and feed links to my other podcast episode pages. - finish first draft up to chapter 3 of book 2
Last week's goals exit plan - done finish novel - now for sale update website - progress
Next Week's goals Camping with the family season 3 formatted more website: specifically - add social icons to exit plan episodes - create product pages for shop
Episode 4 is an interview with Aaron Gwynaire, a computer game creator / musician and music teacher who has built a creative lifestyle to pursue his passions.
Last Week's Goals: Edit and produce next episode of Exit Plan Finish editing the novel of Exit Plan season 1 Create an online shop for GravityUndone.net to sell the novel and merch
Discussion on Carol Dweck's Mindset book.
Next Week's Goals: Edit and produce next episode of Exit Plan (sub goal of formatting season 3 script) Finish formatting and prepping novel for publishing Get products in store ready for testing Interview people