Category: Content Creators

Content Creators

By Marcus McGee
July 2, 2021

Furor Poeticus — Is it “Madness,” or is it “Art”?

Inspiration—it’s a process that no content creator can control. What is the source of inspiration, and its prodigy: genius? Inspiration comes from the Latin inspirare, meaning “to breath into.” While the Romans believed it was “an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavors,” the Greek empnefsi suggested the poet or artist would go into ecstasy, or furor poeticus—the divine frenzy, or poetic madness. He or she would be transported beyond his or her own mind and given the gods’ or goddesses’ (or Muses’) own thoughts to embody. In Hebrew thought, expressed in Greek, theopneustos meant “God-breathed.” The short answer: no one knows the source of inspiration, divine, sub-conscious or otherwise.

Inspiration can be elusive, as divine assistance and furor poeticus cannot be summoned at will. The great halls of “who-might-have-beens” are populated by unknown artists who have spent their precious little time and resources on Earth waiting on inspiration, which is beyond human understanding, and much less human control.

The artists and creators who we know and cherish throughout time, however, are a motley crew of mentally unstable, substance addicted, depressed, unrealistic, troubled, abused, incompetent and sometimes outright deranged individuals. Yet is that the key? Does a person have to fit into one of the above descriptions to create truly memorable content? Must artists sacrifice sanity, normalcy and conformity to create truly great art? Is that the price of fame and success?

Most humans, however, are too practical to be artists, too cautious to take that road less travelled, which certainly offers no guarantees. It’s a fools’ gambit at best.

Most would-be content creators, after all, never achieve “success” during their lifetimes — while posthumous success is way overrated. By popular account, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died impoverished and unknown to the world at the venerable age of 35, and he was buried in a pauper’s grave. Franz Kafka perished poor and unpublished. Henry David who? Edgar Allan Poe was an alcoholic who died unsuccessful in a gutter and made all of nine dollars for publication of The Raven.

How much easier it would be to learn a reliable and practical trade, get a common job and save a little each year to eke out a humble retirement. It’s the formula for success to the world’s masses. Is the risk ever worth the reward?

But then, what is success really? A good job? A nice house? Enough money to take a holiday once or twice a year? Not if you are cursed with “a gift.” And how do you know if you have a gift? Well, when you are really good — let me be more clear: when you are exceptional at a thing as a result of something innate, something within that comes from without and chooses you, something beyond that which you logically should be able to do, then that is the curse that is your gift, because you ultimately will have to choose what you will do with it.

To ignore it is a sin against divinity, but to embrace it is insanity. Like all things, gifts come in many sizes. If it is a small gift, perhaps a person can find ways to forge a normal, non-illustrious life while transforming that curse to a blessing in small meaningful ways. But if it is a profound gift, then freedom from the curse is not so easy. Ignored, it will gnaw at you. Exploited, it will betray you. Buried, it will bury you. Best to deal with it. Temet nosce.

Meden agan. Two things you must understand: 1) What does “success” mean to you?; and 2) What are you willing to sacrifice for it? If you understand those things, only then can you transform the curse to a blessing. Simply put: What do you want to change or achieve, and why? And what is the price you are willing to pay to accomplish the transformation?

Years ago, when I was in a low place, I wrote a short story as an exposition about “the curse of gifts.” In it a young man who has sacrificed everything for “success” is asked to make one more “substantial” sacrifice in order to achieve his ambition. While there was no logic to it, the purveyor of success demands the ring finger and little finger of his left hand. Those removed and sacrificed, the protagonist will realize uncommon achievement.

Only after the protagonist has sealed the deal does he understand that success comes at a price, and most often the desired expectation cannot exceed the demanded price. As a result, those individuals who pay the ante will always envy and resent the untalented freeloaders and exploiters who leech on the sacrifice paid. These diminished individuals form a unique “Club” of “successful” people who all are mutilated in some idiosyncratic way.

And here is where we come back to Van Gogh. In The Club, which is the story I wrote, all successful people are deformed in some way — mutilated, or more often self-mutilated. It’s the price of fame, if anyone considers fame to be success. And the price of wealth — estrangement, sycophancy and predation. Thus most who are given profound gifts can never escape the curse/blessing.

Engıa pára d’ate. The better success is to seek to use your gifts create and leave something behind greater than what you were given. In the logic of order, you were given these gifts and talents for a reason. In your life, you must grow them to enhance that order. You must not selfishly bury them so that their light will never shine.

In my experience, perhaps the most striking example of this illustration is in the life of Michael Jackson, who was self-mutilated, both within and without, and he knew it. And yet, the most profound manifestation of self-mutilation is martyrdom, or suicide, which is often the final act of Furor Poeticus. Prince was likewise cursed with his gift.

Please take the time to read The Club on this site by clicking the link. To end this blog, I’m embedding a little-known Michael Jackson song, called The Price of Fame. No further explanation required.

By Marcus McGee
June 30, 2021

What is a Content Creator?

What do content creators do? What makes content creation official? Are you a content creator? The answer is simple. If you write, compose, sing, recite, draw, interpret, translate, pitch, blog, design, produce, direct, photograph, edit, consult, teach, collaborate, develop, publish, perform, represent or promote original content, that qualifies you as a content creator. “Content” has a broad meaning, which ranges from humdrum statistics to passionless reporting to college papers—more about that later—but the content creators I seek to reach and empower are those who produce “creative” or “artistic” content.

“Original Content” means you are bringing something completely new to consumers of content. If you cover a song or you produce a Shakespearean play, then the work itself is “content”—subject to copyright laws and royalties, though it is not “original content.” Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Othello were derived from the Babylonian love story Pyramus and Thisbe and Un Capitano Moro by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio respectively, but Shakespeare refashioned the work, recreating his own characters, conflicts, resolutions and messages as original content.

Copying or cloning is not content creating, though there is nothing wrong with deriving original work from other great stories that have been told earlier. However, copying any work without attribution is considered plagiarism, which is antithetical to original content creation. Specifically, original content is something unique that a person (or sometimes a program) creates—something novel that finds a way to share an idea or tell a story in a completely fresh or new way.

Let’s begin with the stories we read and watch. King Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun,” and for all purposes, who can argue against that? Traditionally, in art and literature, there are seven major main plots: Overcoming the Monster; Rags to Riches; The Quest; Voyage and Return; Comedy; Tragedy and Rebirth. Every story ever told or written fits into one or more of those categories.

Telling the story is the next challenge. When I was in college studying the structure of classical drama, I focused on prelude, protasis, epitasis, catastasis and catastrophe, which became a part of my DNA and which writers of mainstream drama today translate in the arc as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, catastrophe and resolution (which in fiction is called the denouement). It’s an indispensable formula for telling good and memorable stories. All storytellers would do well to remember and incorporate it.

Furthermore, there are seven character roles: The Protagonist (hero), The Antagonist (villain); The Love Interest (object of desire); The Confidant (sidekick); Deuteragonists (supporting characters); Tertiary Characters (minor players) and The Foil (contrasting character(s)).

For practical purposes, however, characters can be classified as flat, round, static, and dynamic, which become the most important tools of content creators who share stories.

In the same way that all organic molecules are composed of carbon atoms in rings or long chains, which are attached to hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms, all the stories that we consume and enjoy are created from combinations of the plots and characters listed above. The content creator merely finds a way to combine them in a unique way that is both original and provocative.

If you have an original idea and you have invested the time, discipline and energy to put that idea into a form that translates to and inspires an audience, then you are a content creator. The next challenge: What do you do after your content is created? What do you do after it is published or “dropped?” How do you give that content the best opportunity for success? How do you take control of the process rather than relying on others?

ContentConnect is the answer. Stay tuned—more to come about that!

Content Creators

By Marcus McGee
June 28, 2021

Painting a Room

If you have never painted a room, that gives you all the more reason to read this post, because a room is a project—a model. Whether your next project is a poem, a performance, a song, a short story, a novel, a play, video or a film, it is no different than painting a room.

When painting a room, imagination is required from the start. You first have to imagine what the completed project will look like (create a concept), i.e. the color of the walls and the color of the trim, accents and possible artistic or innovative touches. And with that picture in your mind, you move forward.

Painting a room begins long before the actual process of painting. Once you have conceived what the end project should look like, it’s helpful to acquire color samples, or swatches. You may decide on two colors and place them side-by-side—only to realize they are too similar, or their contrast is ghastly or unsettling. You might seek opinions from friends you trust and who you deem qualified to advise you.

Once you have refined your initial vision, then it is time to acquire all the tools and supplies you will need to complete your project. It’s more than just paint. You’ll need brushes, rollers and innovations developed to paint corners and other difficult areas of the room, and you’ll need a stepstool or a ladder. There will be other adjunct materials not involved in painting that you’ll need.

Masking tape, or even better—Frog Tape, to make sure the lines between walls and trim, between trim and floor, and around fixtures, windows, outlets and switches are neat and clean. You’ll need drop cloths, tarps and/or canvasses to protect your flooring, furniture and windows from spills and accidents. And finally, you’ll need agents and materials to clean your brushes, rollers, surfaces and to address possible errors or any painting beyond(over/crossing) the lines.

In the end, your success a room painter (content creator) is determined by how close the completed room resembles the room (project) you imagined. Yet sometimes, during the process of painting, you might be inspired by the realization of your work to add creative improvements, a message, or flourishes to your initial vision or plan.

Plan for the unexpected…

No one paints a room without encountering set-backs. As careful as you might be about setting up a painting schedule and scheme, sometimes unforeseen issues arise that might put you behind in your plan. If this happens, you should never stop or take an indefinite pause on your project. Rather, you must address the problem directly so can you reset your schedule and promptly resume work toward your goal. If you determine that you are going to run out of paint or capital, plan to address the shortfall before your brush is dry.

If your assistant(s), consultant(s) or collaborator(s) is(are) unreliable, cease working with that(those) person(s) immediately. There is profound wisdom in the sayings: 1) A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; and 2) T’is better to be alone than in bad company. In the end, whether you complete painting or not and the success of your endeavor is up to you. It’s your project. You can’t blame anyone else for your failure, and no one else deserves credit for your success.

One last bit of advice: Once you begin, you cannot stop painting. You must work every day until the project is done, even if it is for five perfunctory minutes on some days to maintain continuity. And finishing is not the same thing as completion. After the last section is painted, you’ll have to back up, just outside the door, to gain a perspective from outside the room. You’ll want to ask yourself, Is this the room I conceived or imagined? From that place and time, you’ll understand how others will view your work.

Is the color solid and consistent? Is there some underlying distraction, or are there some other shades and hues of other colors showing through? If additional finishing is required, don’t be stubborn. If its a second coat, a third coat, or even a fourth coat, do whatever is necessary to arrive at your vision.

If any further explanation is required for “Painting a Room,” I sincerely recommend immediately joining ContentConnect and seeking translation from other content creators, like yourself. Hellen Keller, born blind and deaf, who went on to become one of America’s first disability rights activists, said it best: Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much. Alone, you can successfully paint your room, but with ContentConnect, you will connect with others to paint a palace beyond your imagination!

I don’t usually add any commentary to the videos I post with my blogs, but while I like this clip for it’s relevance—i.e. the less-than-artful typical approach to creating, or painting a room, the laugh tract is cheesy. Excusing that, it really is the path that many would-be content creators pursue. Remember, though: Style and Method Matter!

VOD – Video of the Day – No Commentary

By Marcus McGee
June 21, 2021

Content Creators

How Ordinary People Can Accomplish Extraordinary Things

Most of us are aware of our limits. Some things truly are impossible, and yet many of the things we believe are beyond our capabilities and abilities are extraordinary things that we can actually accomplish, if we can figure out a way to go about it. Often, while we laud a content creator as we realize some prodigious work or accomplishment and call it “genius,” a closer look often reveals a stubborn, disciplined and systematic individual who has plodded along, often for years, to bring this content to the world.

A blockbuster movie, for example, begins with an idea, and sometimes the beginning of an idea. In order to go beyond a mere notion, this idea must be developed, a storyline must be created, characters must be conceived, a message must be encoded, and the denouement must have impact on a proposed audience. But that is just the beginning.

Next, the idea for this project must be pitched to someone who can get the wheels rolling toward production. Natural questions must be considered. Will the proposed audience be interested in the project, and why? Will proposed success with this audience make the project viable for investors? What is the scope of the project (how big is it)? How much will it cost? Will the project be profitable?

Once the first milestone is reached, then it is time to bring on other collaborators. A good producer is a business person with the knowledge and experience to create and administer a framework in which all project collaborators will work. This often includes finding the most suitable collaborators and contracting them to contribute to the project’s content. The collaborators will include investors, analysts, accountants, technical production staff, a camera crew, graphics creators (and/or special effects experts), directors, writers, actors and many other necessary collaborators.

Yet even before production begins, the producer must oversee the development of promotion and distribution, since a completed film project must have a proposed destination and marketing plan in place before the outlay of the greater part of investor money. A trailer must be developed, and versions of the project must be screened by sample audiences as production advances.

Production involves the work of these many collaborators in the creation of unique content: actors who are working with other actors and directors, who are working with other directors (casting, photography) and producers, who are working with other producers (sets, costume, technical, sound, locations, permits, finance, editors), promotional and distribution companies.

It’s no different for the double-platinum music album, the Emmy-award winning television series, the most popular plays on Broadway or an incredible spoken word presentation. Success requires understanding how to go about doing things.

It begins as an idea, as all extraordinary accomplishments begin as mere ideas. Unfortunately however, most great ideas die because the thinkers of these ideas see what is extraordinary as “impossible,” or beyond their abilities. Not so.

The problem, in many cases, involves thinking too big, though not in terms of ambition. In reality, every big thing can be broken down to two things, half as large, which can both be broken down to two things, one-quarter as large, and so on and so forth. Or a complex thing can be divided into to separate essential elements, and these themselves can be divided into separate components, which can be broken down into manageable pieces, which can be accomplished on an individual basis. It’s like eating an elephant.

The good news: once you learn to eat an elephant, you can do it over and over, and if you have several elephants to eat, you can learn to juggle elephants as you eat them. Yet if you are truly fearless, you can eat even larger things than elephants.

Please Share Your Experiences

What is the most extraordinary thing you have ever done?

What was (were) your greatest obstacle(s)?

How were you able to accomplish it?

How did it change the way you see challenges?

VOD – Video of the Day – No Commentary