Love the Art in Yourself

So recently I've been in a bit of a rut when it came to my art. All sorts of art I mean. My acting, my writing, but most poignantly, my drawing and painting. I would just stared at my drawings and think "this isn't where my skills are supposed to be! I'm supposed to be better than this!"

That, I think, is the most destructive thing an artist can think. Saying "I'm supposed to be better" may spur you on to study more, but it'll also frustrate you and make you constantly disappointed in yourself. How can you love to draw if you're always reminding yourself how much you suck at it?

I talked to an artist friend of mine who voiced these same concerns to me. His art is awesome, in my opinion, but he was still coming down on his stuff. I watched him sketch a bit and, when I went home, I did the same. I just free-handed a bunch of headshots (my favorite thing to do) and let myself enjoy the moment of drawing.

And what do you know, I actually liked the result.

I need to leave myself alone. Stop self-editing. I love the art I do, and while I'm always striving to improve, I need to be happy with where I am now as well. Whatever level I'm at, however much I still need to study, I need to remember why I started doing artistic stuff - because I love it.

The Post About Bad Writing And Why It Sucks

A bit of a rant here.

It seems like when it comes to media-productions nobody cares if the writing is any good.

I've recently played video games and watched movies with INTENSELY amateurish writing. So much to the point where there is no conflict-resolution, just a jumble of ideas that never reaches any sort of fruition. I see writers spending eighty-bajillion years explaining their intense exposition, boring their readers/viewers to tears, only to throw it all out in lieu of some scene that really doesn't have a place.

Why is it that writing seems like the first thing to go when it comes to large media projects? I've seen people who say things like "I don't need a writer, I've written stuff before." Yes, I'm pretty sure that you learned how to write as a child, unless you grew up in an intensely difficult situation or were born without hands. You've written grocery lists, and book reports, and maybe some e-mails that you thought were just the cleverest things in the world, but until you know how to write a story, you have not written "stuff" before.

Good writing is the kind you don't notice. You're too busy enjoying the rest of the film/game/show to stop and say "wow, this has a comprehensible plot and well-written characters" and that's the way it should be. Often, you don't notice bad writing either. You're just saying "wow, this doesn't make any sense, and wait, why is that happening, and what about these characters, where did they go?" It's only when you have to really sit down and think about what made the project good or bad is when you come up with "The writing rocked/sucked".

PLEASE. Creators of the world.

WRITING IS A SKILL JUST LIKE PAINTING/ACTING/COSTUMING/DANCING/SINGING/WHATEVER.

If you suck, either admit it and get a real writer, or learn how to write. Don't just say "oh, I've written stuff before".

It's an insult to writers and an insult to your audience.

The Post About Part-Timing

So I'm officially back in school. For those who didn't know, I'm actually a full-time college student, part time indie developer.

I'm actually taking a class this semester on indie game design and development, which is going to be AMAZING. I'm so excited and I was really lucky to get into the class (there were only eight slots available.) I can't wait to start building projects - it's going to be an intensely fun learning experience.

Another class is on romantic literature (that is, literature about romance, not literature from the Romantic period). That should also really inspire my own writing, especially in my Ren'Ai games.

And then all my theater classes. Big surprise here - I'm not only a full-time college student/part time indie developer, I'm also an aspiring actress! I know, I'm a little eclectic.

Creating games on a part-time schedule is tough. With all of my classes, rehearsal, and club commitments, I barely have any time for game developing. That's why I've given myself all the time I need to get my projects out. I haven't really announced any of my games, my studio is currently nothing but a blog, my deviantart has a few pieces from my game artwork, but those are so conceptual I really can't consider them "official artwork".

The truth is, I can't really announce my projects until I have enough content to give at least semi-frequent updates. I don't want to disappoint fans or lose momentum. The worst thing a developer can do is announce a game and then let the hype die. So for now, I'll just develop quietly and at my own part-time pace. After all, college papers don't write themselves. (Sadly enough.)