Here Comes The Son

and of course there is the metaphorical consumption at the heart of orv, with the reading and internalization of the external (i.e. "i am yoo joonghyuk") and so on so forth being depicted as necessary for survival just like food and water. the tree of paradise can only grow through consuming others, and likewise we see our main cast grow through consuming the stories around them.

It usually feels really bad. Because this is the point it becomes real craft. It's so, so difficult to really be able to identify if it's truly not going to be anything or you're just in the hardest part of the process, and really the only way to know is to... write through it. Write it badly. Or, if you really can't, put it in a drawer and come back to it after a few months of breathing space. Remember, you can fix so much in the edit, but you can't fix nothing!

First step to get through it is to take a breath and try to rewind. "This sucks and I hate it" is a signal. It's a signal. It's not the truth, it's just a signal. A little red flag that your brain is waving to say, "Hang on, something's off here." For me, the more I try to ignore the signal or talk myself out of it ("no, don't be silly, it's fine, you loved this last week") the more loud and insistent the signal gets until I CAN'T ignore it, and by that point I'm upset.

Here is the big secret: The opposite of anxiety isn't tranquility -- it's curiosity. If you want to beat the Slough of Desponds... Get curious. Stop trying to ignore the signals your brain is using to try to get you to pay attention to a problem. Stop as soon as you feel a signal, turn TOWARDS it instead of away from it, and think with loving curiosity, "Okay, what's going on here?" And then LISTEN to what you tell yourself with compassion and kindness--and curiosity, curiosity, curiosity.

If your brain is saying, "This is bad and I hate it," ask yourself: "Okay, good to know! What would I like more? What's the ideal outcome? What would be FUN?" Ask yourself, "Hmmm, what's bad about it? When did it start being ''''''bad'''''''? What is the source of the bad?" You will probably have to go back a few pages to figure it out -- usually between 5-20. Tap on the walls to figure out which one is hollow. Check the taps to see which one is dripping. Use the Rubber Ducky method that programmers know about -- get a rubber duckie (or a pet, or a very small child) and explain the problem in small enough words that a little rubber duckie could understand. Stay curious! If you can't figure it out, go have a shower, or a snack, or go for a drive, or sleep. Your brain will keep chewing on it. When you figure it out, you will KNOW, because your whole brain will light up like Christmas and you will feel a surge of delight and joy. "Oh! Of course! I forgot that she was supposed to be sad after her grandfather's funeral, so the vibes of this whole scene with her love interest are WAY OFF! No wonder I was feeling cranky! Hey, that's such an easy thing to fix, I'll just... [tinkers around in the scene, changes a few lines, tweaks the description, adds the poignancy of Grief] Oh that's SO much better!" <- Like that. That's how it will feel.

Another example of what your brain might say: "Ugh, why should I care, why should anyone care, what's the point", those are actually fantastic questions already! Yes! That is your brain telling you, "You know what, i think we need to make this MATTER more to the protagonist. We need to know why SHE cares. Why DOES she care? Why is this problem she's facing CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT, and what disaster will happen if she doesn't solve it?" If the main character doesn't have a reason to particularly care, neither does the reader, and neither do you, and since your brain is really smart, it already knows that. It is trying to help you. It's doing its job.

I JUST REMEMBERED HEARING AN ELON MUSK QUOTE WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE BELIEVES CHESS IS "TOO SIMPLE" OR WHATEVER AND HE SAID HIS FAVORITE GAME WAS A GAME CALLED "POLYTOPIA"

I JUST REMEMBERED THAT IVE PLAYED POLYTOPIA

It being Elon's favorite game (or at least one so important to him that his biographer dedicates a lot of time to it) is.....really really funny.

Basically, imagine Civilization, but as a mobile game. So like if Civilization Revolution was even more dumbed down (that's a Civilization insult. That's devastating. It's devastated right now). For what it's worth, it's not a bad game. On the contrary, from what I could tell in the little bit of time I played it, it's a perfectly competent game with good design. But it's not a deep game by any means. I played through it once, won easily on my first go, then saw that the other playable characters had barely any differences between them.

Like, not to imply you can judge a book by its cover, but here's what it looks like

I came across an article by Dave Karpf discussing this exact thing, and I think it describes it wonderfully

my fetish

my friend's fetish

but there are so many stories i've read over the years that could be summarized into a few sentences of bland-sounding plot, and it's the execution that matters. it's the writing. it's the writing!

a talented writer can turn a bland plot into a story you want to devour. and someone who only cares about ideas can take the most interesting idea ever conceived and make it unreadable/unwatchable.