So, the creativity generator has been finished!
…it took a lot longer than expected, even with my friends helping. Largely because I poo-pooed a lot of suggestions as not quite what I need or am looking for, but in the end, it has been completed!
the story generator has 5 categories
Structure (10 entries)
Genre (40 entries)
Setting (80 entries)
Thing (100 entries)
Character (100 entries)
Again, part of why it took so long was I tried to make sure every entry could theoretically combine with any other. so if you get ancient rome for a setting, “car mechanic” would be a stupid character entry. however, mechanic or engineer? those are good and vague enough to be applied all over, but also are words that evoke an emotional and connotative response. they evoke concepts of grime, of labor, of machinery, of metals, of the concept of repair or fix, problem solving, and so on.
so, in summary, I did it, woo. And (as far as I can tell so far) they all can work together. I’m sure I’ll come across a problem eventually, but, yeah, its done!
For those who aren’t regularly reading, the reason I made this thing is thus:
as a child, i wrote like an addiction. had my first things published at 15, I wrote over 6000 short stories by the time I was 18. I wrote A LOT. then when I got super sick and depression and all that other sad shit over the last few years, I went from doing 500 a year to maybe… 5. at best. and that was when I was really forcing myself.
So… in the same vein as trying to get over depression, build a new life for myself, and be productive again, I recognize that creative writing part of my brain hasn’t really been flexed much in the last few years. since creating this site a couple weeks ago, I have come up with 11 original stories, a couple of which I posted here. so that’s good! its a 200% improvement over the entire last year in just 3 weeks or so! :D
…but I used to do, seriously… like 5 a DAY.
SOOOOO I came up with this idea to force that part of my brain to work, and work harder than ever before
along the same lines of reasoning as I’ve read about training other skills. basically, challenge yourself and do it a SHITLOAD and then before you know it, you’re an expert.
So, I made this generator to force myself out of my comfort zone of just doing cyberpunk short stories or blogs, and now I have to do all kinds of wacky shit. another part of the fun is piecing together the results of the RNG (random number generator) into a story, because that’s part of the challenge. It’s like those competitions where you’re given a few household objects and you have to make a catapult or a blender or something. you have to be able to look at the pieces as much more than what they literally are.
and, if you think about it, that’s basically what creativity and poetry and art… is.
a painting is, literally, just a bunch of crushed up plants and bugs and stuff mixed with oil and smeared on some cloth.
…or it is a plethora of emotions, a piece of history, a part of a soul.
so, yeah, that’s why I made my own generator. Chris argued hard for just using one of the generators already out there on the net and I had to insist no: making this is part of my trial to myself. I have to prove to myself I can accomplish even this much.
So this all said, I have rolled (using an RNG) 10 example things that I am going to try to write over the next couple days (please again bear in mind I’m on a new dose of extremely powerful mind altering medications so when I’m actually able to write and when I’m just staring at my shoes wondering when the world will stop spinning is not entirely up to me yet)
would you like to see what I rolled? (skip past this if you want it to be a surprise)
__________________________
memoir
war
5-dimensional clusterfuck
art
mercenary
_________________________
Historical Lecture
inventor adventure
waiting room/lobby
garbage
priest
_________________________
one act play
exploration
victorian london
program
drug user
_________________________
Short Story
otherworld
raining/in a storm
magical
sick person
_________________________
Short story
crime noir
house/apartment
diving suit
alien
_________________________
Long Tanka Poem
romance
wasteland
blood
inventor
_________________________
Epic
magic punk
convention
drugs
ghost
_________________________
short story
utopia
swamp
leadership
driver
_________________________
Historical Lecture
low fantasy
masquerade ball
ring
pilot
_________________________
blog/journal in character
steampunk
wild west
domestic animals
explorer
__________________________
so… yeah. some of those I’m actually really excited about, some I am absolutely dreading. But that’s part of the point: forcing me outside my comfort zone also forces more of my brain to work on the projects and getting creative and so on. Further, having this generator means I have ZERO excuse of “I don’t have an idea today” bullshit. you have… *quick math* 320,000,000 possible stories, and even then possibly more because I could use the same prompts and come up with a different thing using those same prompts in a new way.
yes, 320 MILLION
so even at, say, 3 per day…
that’d be 292,237.442922 years of creativity options. at minimum
so… some people think they’ll invent immortality within my lifetime.
I guess I’ll have to take another afternoon 300,000 years from now to come up with a new generator. But this should do for now, eh?
well, let me know if there’s one you’d like to see me do first, or any other questions and comments below. (or via email if you’re shy, that’s okay too.)
Oh, and a little update on news for the future… I’m guestimating 3-ish weeks from now:
I will start selling my works on kindle. You’ll still get to see some here, of course! but I’ll post about a third of what I make here, and the rest on kindle.
My current plan is to sell you a 20-pack of stories, plays, poems, whatever I can come up with (with or without the help of the RCG: Random Creativity Generator. I do want to make my own, from my own basic creativity methods of my psyche stories of course, lots of them. the RCG is just to kinda… prime the pump, you know? and hell, maybe it’ll come up with some great stuff, we’ll see!) on kindle for as low a price as I can get, probably $1.95. yes, seriously, less than 2 bucks you get 20 stories of mine in a pack. I will make as many of these as I freaking can. go go go!
I will also be working on (assuming the stars align) 2, possibly 3 webcomics, and some… I’m not sure what to call it. Performances? They’re kinda like a play but with no blocking, I guess you’d call it just a dialogue but its performed by my professional comedian friend and I playing the parts and writing together.
Oh, and I have 3 novels lined up, basically all bullet pointed out, and one of them already has the first few thousand words done. I may put up that as a teaser trailer type thing here in a little while.
… I’ll also be starting another new company in a few months.
busy busy busy busy
but you know what?
If I can actually stay busy? I will be happy and proud of myself for the first time in almost 5 years.
and that is worth all the headaches and weird drugs and finger cramps and insomnia and whatever else.
So, I hope you support my work, spread it to your friends, and buy my stuff off kindle. its less than a dime each, its about as barely above ‘free’ as I can go, because I’m not here to get rich, I’m here to tell a good story. :) …though a man’s gotta eat, so, some of the stories (at least one or two a day, hopefully) will be free, the rest you have to buy. I think that’s pretty fair don’t you?
Wishing you all a great night,
skull
Thanks for reading.
PS: I may write a couple of these tonight, might not. Again, it kinda depends on my health as I adjust to these new drugs. They’re… bizarre, to say the least. But I’ll certainly try! and if not, I’ll do them in the morning. and according to my stats for this website, I doubt any of you would even know the difference 7__7 but still, I’ll try :p
Hmm. do I go with one I’m confident I could do well and easily to make it an easy start, or go with a hard one to kinda max out the challenge. Like, if these were weights do I do a bunch of 10pound reps or do i go for the 50pounder. I’ll think on it.
PPS: thanks for your continued support of reading my stuff, I really can’t express how much it means to me. and to my friends ed, kris, chris, forrest, matt? …and the others who have nudged me along and been a kind voice? thank you so so much.
Let’s make sure it was worth it. That I’m worth it.
Here goes….