SMARTER ARTIST EPISODE 7: The Creative Mid-life Crisis

This episode is about hitting your creative mid-life crisis. You've been at it, you've had success or are still working toward it, but something's missing. You don't feel the magic like you used to. What happened? In this episode we're going to look back to when we started in 2011 and take a look at some of the highs and lows and how we pushed on.

• TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Intro 2:00 — talking about sponsorships 3:40 — Lars Von Trier disastrous interview discussion 5:20 — "So there…" 6:00 — Dave's Something Cool — "Bring Her Back" & Dave doesn't know what Johnny will find objectionable 11:10 — Johnny's Something Cool — "The Chair Company" 15:40 — Sean's Something Cool — which makes Dave laugh 19:50 — Johnny talks about the Catch-22 of "Worst Show Ever" and how an enjoyable show requires Dave's suffering.
• TOPIC OF THE SHOW 21:00 — Looking back at the Kindle Gold Rush and our starts. When did we realize we could make a living at writing? 27:00 — Johnny on the discouraging nature of indie publishing and how he's moving away from e-books and toward print. 29:00 — Is there a time we were disillusioned with writing, and what caused it? 31:20 — Sean on finding joy after a disastrous setback 38:00 — Johnny on writing malaise and figuring out what you're good at. 43:00 — How do you keep the magic alive? 46:00 — Hypotheticals — a return of a favorite segment, hypotheticals. This week's question: If you had to start over right now with all of your knowledge, what would you work on?

LINKS: BOOK — Becca Syme's "Dear Writer, You Need to Quit" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N36MHWD

VIDEO — (Lars Von Trier's Disastrous Press Conference )

Website — www.smarterartist.net

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, we talk about killing your darlings. When do you decide enough is enough on a project? When do you call it quits on a series you're writing? The complexity of selling stories. Do creators owe their audience a proper ending?

And Dave horrifies us all with the movie he wants to make someday. Two words: Rom-com.

All this and more in this week's Smarter Artist Show.

Opening — Sean busts on Dave for not getting the podcast up yet 5:00 — Something Cool: Blue Moon, She Rides Shotgun, and Companion 15:00 — Dave v. Optimism — 15:00 min. 16:20 — Dave's Dream Movie he wants to make 20:35 — The Topic of the Show Killing Your Darlings 35:00 — Do you have an obligation to finish a series that doesn't perform well? 56:09 — Johnny talks about the Reginald the Vampire TV show based on his Fat Vampire book series

THE SMARTER ARTIST SHOW #5 — Indies Growing Up

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, Sean, Johnny, and I (Dave) discuss the evolution of indie publishing and the importance of maturing as creators.

Johnny is back from Kevin J. Anderson's Superstars of Writing Seminars and joins us to discuss experiences at various conferences, highlighting the differences in community and approach between events.

The conversation emphasizes the need for long-term thinking, creative collaboration, and the challenges of advertising in the indie landscape.

SOMETHING COOL Sean surprises everybody with a VERY unexpected Something Cool this week. Johnny talks about watching the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House with his son. And Dave shares the trailer for a movie he's psyched to see — Undertone.

In this week's episode of The Smarter Artist Show, Johnny is missing in action. Which leaves Sean and I to discuss the controversial topic of AI and how it is affecting creativity and creatives.

We explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of AI.

Listen or watch at our website:

http://smarterartist.net

SOMETHINGS COOL

In our Something Cool segment Sean talks about the TV show Landman and I talk about the movie Groundhog Day. Does it hold up for Dave or his Gen Z son?

THE TOPIC — CREATIVITY EVOLVED

Then we talk about how AI is affecting creation in the creative fields — from writing to art to film to music to video games.

Technology is changing things, whether we like it or not. So if we can't put the genie in the bottle, what CAN creators do to survive without getting lost?

There are no easy solutions or answers. And shit is bad for a lot of people, especially in the area of video games where the past year has seen a bloodbath in layoffs, thanks to AI.

So how can creatives evolve and survive, maybe even thrive?

Is there a way to use AI to enhance creativity without replacing it?

How do you keep your soul in today's market?

What opportunities does AI offer people who used to lack access to creative tools?

We also discuss why we don't use AI for our stories, but can see areas AI could be useful for writers (like making story Bibles of books already written and to track things.)

Then we discuss an area where Sean does enjoy playing with AI — in creating music. It began as an adversarial curiosity, but then he started spending hundreds of hours actually writing lyrics for the songs and engineering the music in his head with AI to make something fun.

In this episode of the Smarter Artists Show, we talk about some of our favorite fictional worlds, the art of collaboration in writing, and we touch a bit on everyone's favorite controversial topic — AI.

Some of the worlds we discuss are Dune, A Song of Ice and Fire, and The Matrix.

The Smarter Artist Show is hosted by bestselling authors and screenwriters Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright. Tune in every Friday at noon EST for a new episode!

Visit [Smarter Artist](https://smarterartist.net/) for more info and past episodes.

⠀Chapters 00:00 Welcome Back and Listener Comments 02:44 Something Cool: Movies and Shows 05:22 Exploring Fictional Worlds 07:56 The Art of Collaboration in Writing 10:37 World Building and Favorite Universes 13:35 The Influence of AI on Writing 16:20 Diving into Dune and Other Favorites 18:22 The Matrix and Its Impact 20:21 Game of Thrones and Complex Narratives 22:05 Final Thoughts on Fictional Worlds

In this episode of The Smarter Artist Show, we (hosts David Wright, Sean Platt, and Johnny B. Truant) discuss the evolving landscape of storytelling in the age of AI.

We also talk about how the loss of cheap paperbacks and the lack of e-book adoption among kids and teens affects the market and is a troubling sign for future readers.

We explore how AI is impacting creativity, the future of reading and media consumption, and the role of the storyteller in a world where algorithms and digital media dominate.

The conversation delves into personal experiences with storytelling, the importance of audience engagement, and the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies.

The original hosts of The Self-Publishing Podcast, Sean, Johnny, and Dave, are back! Join us every Friday in their new podcast, The Smarter Artist Show, your invitation to a no-holds barred night out at the bar with your old writer friends.

In the first episode we discuss where we've been for the past few years since the end of The Story Studio Podcast, why Dave (?!?!?!?!) is the new host, and how Johnny has become Dave in his curmudgeonry.

We discuss the importance of connection, innovation in storytelling, and the changing dynamics of self-publishing and storytelling. We also touch on marketing strategies, media recommendations, and the future of content creation.

TAKEAWAYS

• This is a reunion of the original The Self-Publishing Podcast team.
• Dave has been roped into being the new host, but he's planning on performing so badly that Johnny will step back into that role.
• We reflect on our absence and the evolution of our podcasting journey.
• We get nostalgias discussing past shows.
• The self-publishing landscape has changed dramatically over the years.
• Connection and collaboration are key themes in our return to podcasting.
• We stress the importance of innovation in storytelling and content creation.
• We discuss social media's role in marketing.
• A return of our Something Cool feature!
• We discuss the impact of our past work on current projects.
• The conversation wraps up with discussion of what's next for the podcast.

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