Why writing rules

Can get confused about writing I think, as have been confused and realized wanted to talk to others about areas of confusion about writing.

Like, wrote an open source program years ago, and eventually started this blog to help promote and support it. So am I a writer?

Wrote code for computers, and write blog posts as well as much other but consider myself to be a wannabe writer as do NOT make money from my writing.

But what if I wrote songs? Would I think of myself as a wannabe songwriter?

People say writer and I was indoctrinated to think fiction writer who actually has made money with a book that has sold well.

That is messed up folks.

Writing built human civilization and continues to build, like with code I wrote that lead me to create this blog. Is not about money and MOST writing is not fiction.

So why the emphasis on fiction? To tell people that being a writer is hard and that few can survive at it. So just leave writing to the special people society blesses with money for pleasing it.

Because writing is the most powerful tool available to human beings in general.

Thankfully, I wrote open source and my code to help Java developers write code--is still mine.

Coders have had writing they exchanged for a salary to people who can barely code who made BILLIONS from it. But we were told--being a writer is hard. Better to have a boss, be told what to do, when to do it, and where to do it, for all of your adult life until you can retire. Then put out to pasture then you can rest.

Were taught to behave. Were taught to be controllable.

Because writing is very powerful and writing is key to human civilization.

So I talk songwriters. Sure, is hard to make money as one for many, but do they exchange their songs for a salary? I think jingle writers do.

Two occupations are afflicted with giving writing in exchange for some money: press and software developers.

Some small group got billions on code handed to them for a salary. Got billions and wasted billions while acting like were geniuses.

Others pushed our species to brink of extinction controlling press writers with salaries.

Were young occupations where modern versions emerged in 20th century. Are very young compared to songwriting. Press writing and writing computer code were ruthlessly exploited because people did not know better.

Was lack of experience made seem reasonable to hand writing away. Songwriters do not.

Owning my own writing now makes sense to me. Will not accept foolishness that I should hand away to anyone.

Am like a songwriter now. Writing songs is as old as humanity while writing them down is only as old as human civilization.

Because writing built human civilization.

Why promotion got simply harder

Promotion in theory is easy: put forward best synopsis of content highlighting in the best way content that will be welcomed by fans and potential fans.

That is how for example entertainers must grow their fanbase by being appealing to future potential fans. And web makes easier to reach people!

The web enables global information distribution and routinely now there are entertainers who achieve global success paying vastly less for promotion by brilliantly promoting.

Have talked my own consternation at feeling a need as a fan to help with global promotion. Is messed up now as 20th century systems and ways are only slowly being disintegrated.

So global promotion is still best done by fans. That is wacky. But yeah global fandoms have actually saved careers being hampered by media companies that have no clue how to do global promotion.

It is simple in theory to promote globally, but difficult in practice as requires skills. Like now better packaged entertainment synopsis I have noticed discussed comes from fans doing for fun and freely sharing.

Which is ok, up to a point. Entertainers controlled though by inept agents and managers can mess up any support. Which is frustrating.

Also fans needing to get it done is not good for health of promotion industry! Is a valuable field of paid work. 

Have entertainers with demonstrated brilliance who just need to be promoted properly which is not their job to handle.

Thankfully am confident as people learn will quickly become a problem of the past. And fans like myself can just enjoy brilliance without needing to help in global promotion if want to keep getting.

Some of my mood concepts

Mood is very individual but is key to my functional definition of entertainment which focuses on SAFE mood control.

Performers must craft SAFE mood with exquisite skill even when...no, ESPECIALLY when dealing with scary subjects.

If audience does not feel SAFE then audience is not entertained. Check me on that one, carefully.

You may surprise yourself.

Science fiction can really range with moods in this time. Ok, I really like sci fi. But still, it can!

Technology is part of it, but research is key to the science mood. Other moods can flow around that framework.

Research to solve problems: science mood.

There are of course many moods and humor is a mood. Which I list for an easy point of reference. (Yes, if follow my Twitter jstevh am copying tweets from it verbatim. Is MY writing.)

Moods are often complex constellations of emotion. And the FEELING is key to any mood. So, like Star Trek is best example of a brilliant show with military and science mood.

If pay close attention: scientific research, often done by Spock, is key to success! While StarFleet is a military organization dedicated to peaceful exploration.

(Ok, still using tweets but no longer verbatim. Is editing time.)

So then, science mood involves use of research to solve problems.

Military mood involves a hierarchical organization of people dedicated to something larger than themselves willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

That is so cool and ended up longer than I thought it would be when began crafting it.

Figuring out my moods has helped me self-calibrate my mood discernment engine. Which means of course, know what am searching for in any particular entertainment.

You might work on your own mood palette. Where for myself routinely reference comedic mood when trying to find a handle on mood concepts.

Community or marketable?

One question ask myself often with how much I share is: where is the money?

And thankfully started on web over 20 years ago trying to solve famous math problems. Seemed like a good idea at the time. And you don't do that for the money, but at first said I did and was convinced was a decent strategy, but no. Doesn't work that way.

Eventually realized mathematics is a community good, and I enjoyed searching for my own mathematical discoveries and talking that process out on the web.

Importantly my experience was better for sharing and there was no gain from not sharing. Learned more faster. Great lesson learned.

But spend a lot of time with web things and wonder, when can I expect to make money with something?

Have talked much on that subject across more than one blog, but here will simply note that a marketable product is needed to make money, and you sell that product--at a market.

Oh. So need a marketplace and good marketplaces have rules and prefer, or should prefer, to have products that are top quality. If not, how do you feel? Like if walking through a grungy store with sketchy things for sale? We even want the store to be...well most people do want a clean store, right?

Ok. Can do quality. But where are marketplaces where I might sell things I make?

Which is where am stuck. Good news is, have focused on community things like math, an open source product, and other idea things meant to be free like my science of entertainment.

So am good. Community focus got me global.

Being global is great and web enables that option for someone like me, and have learned a lot.

But yeah, wouldn't mind making a marketable product, like have considered writing fiction. But old 20th Century systems for publishing? Am NOT interested.

And oh yeah, money people scare me. So am like get an agent ever? Hell no. So yeah.

Web marketplaces are still the future. And that future is coming folks, but is sadly not here, yet.

Mood and YouTube revisited

Years ago when my functional definition of entertainment was still new to me, was testing the ideas and gave a deliberately comic attempt at applying it to YouTube.

But now am like: is actually correct analysis and with my social distancing because of the pandemic, spend more time on YouTube. So thought I'd emphasize and point out a few things.

Like yes, mood is key to size of your audience if have an entertaining channel. 

Entertainment is a SAFE mood control tool for us human beings. Holding a clear mood I call maintaining the mood line. 

If you succeed you get views roughly 50% or higher of your subscriber count.

You are ok with at least 10%. But less? Then most people are ignoring your videos. 

And we, the audience, are not wrong. My recommendation: if views are less than 10% of your subscriber count? Set aside a block of time and watch your last 5 videos in a row. 

Should admit--comedy is how could laser in on mood focus. Like if going to a comedy show and get bursts of funny mixed with sobbing about being broke, single and lonely that breaks the mood? Yeah. (Editing to add: if is part of comedy routine though? Of course that's different--preserves comedy mood.)

So what if cannot figure out mood? I think can learn but am an optimist about practicing to develop skills. Regardless at least can understand why those views vary as they do: audience knows.

So yeah, easy check is--watch a block of your own videos. If you squirm and get moody and hostile or cannot make yourself do it? Then you finally know--how your audience would feel. So they do not watch much. Simple. Have lots of posts on entertainment including at least one on mood line. If you care, you can find.