Matt’s Mix Tape, Vol. 95
Hi, I’m Matt Tillotson and this is Matt’s Mix Tape, a weekly Mix of ideas on writing, content strategy, and personal tech for the Creator Age.
This week’s Mix:
It takes two, baby: Our iPad dreams crushed again
We are all creative copycats
Supercharge your storytelling by emphasizing emotion
John Krasinski on doing things before we are ready
Tech tools: Procreate
This week’s Florida Photo
It takes two, baby
We had hopes. We had dreams.
Apple stuffed the iPad with elite hardware. Surely, iPadOS 15, introduced this week at WWDC, would set the iPad free to be the One Device, a standalone computer we all know it’s capable of.
Nope. Instead, Apple wants us to have (at least) two separate devices.
Here’s what iPadOS 15 gave us, and why.
We are all copycats
Everything we make is a confluence of our consumption. So it’s pointless to be so protective of our creations—they aren’t original, anyway.
Lauren Razavi shares what an abundance mindset looks like when it comes to creativity:
Creativity isn’t magic: it happens by applying ordinary tools of thought to existing materials. And the soil from which we grow our creations is something we scorn and misunderstand even though it gives us so much — and that’s… copying.
— Kirby Ferguson
There’s a difference, obviously, between blatantly ripping something off and remixing it with other work and ideas as your own creation.
But Lauren is right: Creativity happens in community.
So be generous and give, because if you’re creating, you’re taking.
For better stories, emphasize emotion, not facts
Dylan and I talked this week about creativity and marketing. (I recorded it. It’s going to be my first podcast and video, soon!)
Like Dylan, my storytelling needs work. Here he gives us a five-step framework, courtesy of Robbie Crab, to weave more resonant emotion into our stories:
Emotion is how we generate interest and impact. Stories are the best way to package emotion into a memorable framework.
Do things before you are “ready”
Earlier this week I settled into a comfortable movie theater seat for the first time in 15 months. It was great to get back to the movies with my girls.
We saw Quiet Place II, John Krasinski’s sequel to 2018’s “A Quiet Place.” It’s great! It’s extremely stressful!
In the video below, Krasinksi walks us through the movie’s excruciating opening scene, and discusses the power of doing things too soon:
… the best work I think comes from when people are asked to do things a day before they were supposed to do things, again, working on pure instinct.
Try things, just a little too soon.
Tech tools: Procreate
Drawing is therapy.
Few things shut off my internal chatter like drawing. And lately, I’ve been drawing with Procreate on the iPad.
What is Procreate?
Procreate gives you everything you need to create expressive sketches, rich paintings, gorgeous illustrations and beautiful animations. […] It's a complete art studio you can take anywhere
Procreate is loaded with advanced features, but you can do so much just learning just 10% of its capabilities.
Procreate costs $10 on the App Store. Ten bucks! Not long ago, similar software would easily run $200-$500, plus a dedicated tablet and stylus.
If you’re at all interested in creating art on the iPad, Procreate is incredibly powerful—and one of best values on the App Store, period.
This week’s Florida photo
Nearing sunset on the Hillsborough River.
Welcome to eight new subscribers
As always, thank you for reading and sharing.
Please hit reply if you have questions, comments, or open rebuttals. (Or just want to say hi.)
Maybe it‘s just me but I think your letters are getting better by the week. I loved the interview with John Krasniski and hat not heard of either the original ~Quiet Place or the new sequel. I will try both. Also your reference to Lauren Razavi was thoughtful and thought-provoking. Thanks for writing this..
Thanks for the mention, Matt! It was really great chatting with you this past week. Looking forward to the podcast!!