(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)

OK got plenty of updates, so what’s been up?  I figure I’ll just put in everything here

Way With Worlds:

• The sample print copy of Book One worked pretty well – though there were some edits. I’ve got a second copy on the way now and if that works out . . . it’ll be good. So dropping in July looks quite likely!
• I did note the draft copies that I get are kinda lower quality than final prints.  That has made cover formatting a tad harder.
• I’m hoping to do some blog promotions on the book – and to share my insights!
• Book Two is going to definitely be moved to November. The Sailor Moon book drops in September and the followup could be pretty busy. On top of that my editor is swamped so I’m giving her some breathing room.
• Yes, the followup plans are still in place. Stay tuned – though you may not see them until December 2016 or January 2017.

Skills Transfer Book:

• I’ve got a little minibook based on my previous column on skill portability. I’m rewriting and expanding the ideas to release a useful 99 cent guide.  I mention it here as it may be relevant to Sanctumites.

Generators:

• Yep the theme is still food for 2016, though right now I’m juggling at least 3 generator possibilities. Stay tuned.

Whew, that’s a lot.  How are you doing?

– Steve

• www.StevenSavage.com
• www.InformoTron.com

And here it is, the Fusion Food Generator!  It’s done, ready to go.  OK done enough to release anyway!  So enjoy such things as:

• Teriyaki Potato and Ginger Spinach Argula with Bearnaise sauce
• Sesame Pizza
• Couscous Beet on Chips
• Roe and Beet Leek on Biscuit
• Chili Quesadilla
• Barbecue Salsa and Sun-Dried Tomato Melon
• Spicy Sweet-and-sour Buffalo with Chili sauce
• Stuffed Olive Octopus with Sweet sauce
• Habanero Almond and Spinach Goat
• Saffron Egg and Artichoke Pumpkin on Pasta

As noted my focus on generators this year is probably going to be food (though I keep getting new ideas).  I’ve got plans for at least 2 more food generators, which may mean it warrants its own section eventually . . .

Let me know what you think!

– Steven

My theme for the next few generators, barring interruption or more likely distraction, is going to be food.  I love to cook, and it’s only natural I apply this to the generators.  Plus it’s kind of interesting to study how we name and create foods.  First up is the Fusion Food Generator, now in beta, which generates assorted items, leaning towards meals and snacks.  Let’s take a look at some samples, shall we?

• Steak Dumpling
• Mango Cheese and Spinach Crab with Barbecue sauce
• Tempura Spicy Soy Burrito with Apple sauce
• Crab on Toast with Pesto sauce
• Boiled Burrito
• Squid Pilaf
• Toasted Curried Miso Bean and Kimchi Taco
• Buttered Honied Maple Mango and Kimchi Octopus on Fries
• Roasted Risotto
• Boiled Mint Cheese and Potato Squid
• Nacho Sausage
• Spiced Parmesan Risotto with Mustard sauce
• Lamb Lasagna with Honey sauce
• Pickled Banana Steak on Risotto
• Baked Sandwich

Lamb Lasagna with Honey sauce actually sounds pretty good (especially if you worked some mint leaves in there).  So, what do you think?

• Steve

My next generator is a food generator – focused mostly on savory meals and snacks.  Here’s some sample results:

• Candied Cheeseburger Taco
• Stuffed Chimichanga Loaf
• Fried Cheeseburger On-a-stick
• Pickled Parmesan Sausage Tempura
• Barbecue Bread
• Cajun Duck Omelette
• Baked Onion Egg Curry
• Barbecue Cheese Cabbage Soup
• Mango Onion
• Fried Squid Nuggets

Any of these sound good?

• Steve

So what’s the next generator planned?

Well, first a bit of a warning – I’m changing apartments so I might get a wee bit busy depending.  Now I’m an old hand at moving, but this time I’ve got a roommate (first time in 4 years) so I don’t know if this means it’ll be easier (help) or harder (more stuff).

But the next generator at least is going to be a food one – a bit more silly than the Reality Show Generator (which at its core involved serious linguistic analysis).  More something to create those ridiculous dishes that we see in experimental menus, or assorted Food Atrocities people whip up and post videos of.  Cheeseburger Pizza and Fried Kimchi on a Stick and so on.

It’s strange I haven’t thought of this as I like to cook (I even post about it at my blog), so it should be fun to build a generator close to my heart.  I might even try some others related, depending!

– Steve

 

Hello everyone, a few quick updates here!

First the Reality Show Generator is good go, thanks for the feedback!

Secondly, there’s a Books section on the site now since I’ve got some upcoming creativity books, and the Sanctum played a huge role in them.

More to come so stay tuned . . .

• Steve

 

What’s next up for me? Well working on all my OTHER books I am doing a book called “The Power Of Creative Paths” which I used to call “The Creativity Book.”  It’s my first “Sanctum Branded” book – IE one about my creative theories.  I gotta put a “book” section in here at some point.

It’s now at the editor AND we have a beta cover:

So this should be out at the end of January – it’s a $2.99 ebook, a bit under 100 pages, and hardcore focused on identifying your creative path, helping you expand your options as a creator, and understand how people on different “paths” can get along – or fail to get along.  It’s the first book to really boil down my creative theories learned from Seventh Sanctum.

I’m actually sort of glad to get it out of my head – I’ve kicked these ideas around awhile, but I really wanted to write something on general creativity to help people out and leverage what I’ve seen.  It’s a pretty good creative model, and I think you’ll like it.

Also if you want to be a reviewer . . .

– Steven Savage

So I’ve not talked about this much here, but now it deserves it’s own post – because my first Seventh Sanctum inspired book is coming up – and it’s not Way With Worlds (which is going to editor in a bit, more later).

It’s called “The Power Of Creative Paths,” and it’s a book on how people come up with Big Ideas – specifically, the five different ways that they do it.

Working on Generators, talking to people, I tried to formulate a way to understand how people created – and came up with a theory that there’s five basic creative types – Creative Paths as I call them.  Like any path, people “travel” it to get somewhere and find something – a Big Idea.  The thing is we’re often on different paths than others and don’t know it – or don’t realize they’re stuck on one path and would do well to try others or they aren’t working well with others.  Sometimes both.

So the book focuses on knowing which Path you’re usually on, practicing getting onto others, and figuring out how to work best with people based on your current or preferred path.  Of course it contains plenty of exercises and hands-on stuff to do, so you can really get to trying out the different Paths!

It’s at the editors, so it should get back to me soon!

It should be out sometime late January if all goes well, and I’ll actually start a Book section on the site – because Way With Worlds is coming up . .  .

• Steve

 

 

After quite a lot of ups and downs (and a new contract, and a cold, and more), the Reality Show Generator is being worked on.

This is the one, I’d mentioned, involved me doing more in-depth data analysis before building it.  In many cases (not all) I sort of dive into the generator and build as I analyze.  In this case I stepped back and broke the data down – something I usually only do for generators with more obvious patterns like the Magical Power Generator.

The results were:

1. The breakdown was revealing.
2. The breakdown was really boring to do after awhile.
3. The breakdown worked and let me build the generator very fast.
4. Once I started building the generator, I could make it “richer” in data, patterns, etc. very quickly.

Short form – doing an early, organized analysis of data for a generator pays off, but it’s not as exciting as doing it by the seat of my pants.  On the other hand, this was less frustrating than the Plot Twist Generator.

So, anyway, if you want a preview of what this generator will do, here’s some results:

• Best Women Of Vancouver
• Bizarre Stories of the South American Navy
• Brazilian Cop
• Brazilian Teacher
• British Film
• Confirmed Records of London
• Confirmed Women Of New York
• Fish Killer
• France’s Next Top Boy
• Husband Grandparents of France
• I married a Millionaire: Britain
• I married a Star
• Japanese Computer Man
• Miami Scalpers
• North American Sister Change
• Rescue Person
• Sibling Academy
• The Next Best Grandfather
• The Queen of Lawyers
• True Hunters Of France

 

– Steve

Hello one and all, and hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving where appropriate.  Lots happened (and you saw I vanished a bit).

Twitter – OK I’ve debated what to do with the Twitter.  I do want to post random stuff to it – but that seems to work at Tumblr.  But what I AM doing is, beyond posts and such, promoting a generator a day.  There’s over 170 so you can discover generators you didn’t know about . . . or that I forgot.  I may also add feeds from other cool twitters and sites.

Next Generator – I finished the breakdown of the Reality Show Generator.  This was an attempt to do actually do a full analysis before writing a complex generator – and apply what I learned not to do during the Plot Twist generator.  The analysis was incredibly useful and I will begin working on the generator next.  The issue?  It was boring, though it worked really well.  Maybe I just need to perfect my techniques.

Way With Worlds – The book(s) are back from one of my pre-readers, and pre-reading ends tomorrow.  Time for me to do an editing sweep, line up my editor, and line up my cover artist, as well as put it in front of my writing group.    Still aiming to publish both in the summer as well – but not at the same time.  It’ll be one then the other a month or two later, as well as some followup.

Well that’s it.  How’s everything on your end gang?