SimStoCreMo 2012: Week 4
No, really. Don’t give up! You can do this!
Amazing how fast a month can slip through your fingers when you’ve got a deadline to meet, but guilting out over the time you’ve wasted isn’t going to get it back or get this done. Neither is checking your friends list, twitter, and dashboard for the bazillionth time, grabbing a snack, and then going back to see if your social networks have updated while your head was in the fridge.
Some of your best work can be done during crunch time, if you can get in The Zone.
The Zone is not a place of discipline, it’s a place of, well... passion. I don’t mean that in a pretentious way, I’m talking about what many other pep-talkers before me have focused on: FUN.
You must have been there before or you wouldn’t even be trying this. You know how awesome it feels to be in The Zone, but you also know it only happens once you’re actively working. Procrastination will get you nowhere. You have to head down the runway before you can take off.
Don’t inhibit yourself. Fretting about how you’re “not feeling it” or “never gonna get done” makes it a self fulfilling prophecy. You want to do this and you can do this. Now stop refreshing simblr and get in The Zone.
Don’t put yourself in a “the way it should be done”, “the way I always do it”, or “the way everyone does it” boxes. If you’re bored with a scene? Change it. Re-order it. Trim it down. Cut it. Work on another scene. Just don’t get stuck! If something’s proving to be harder than you expected, don’t put it off, find an alternative. Don’t feel bad about using shortcuts to get through and finish up, and don't over-edit. Trust your instincts and take risks! What do you have to lose?
I personally have more trouble with words than I do with visuals. Sometimes if the words don’t come to me, I just don’t add them. Let the picture speak for itself and more importantly, let the readers think for themselves.
I also cheat by falling back on the same animations for everything. I mean, the Confused Hula Dancing animations from Bon Voyage?
You could shoot a whole story with those alone. And you can milk that “Ask Sign -er” animation from Nightlife for all it’s worth.
The same thing could be said for just about anything in the game. Your biggest obstacles are your own self-imposed restrictions. Guidelines and self discipline are important... for getting past your own human failings. Creativity is a virtue.
Good luck! You can do it!