Brain Drain Cured with VIM
I’ve noticed that lately, I’ve been starting, stopping, and abandoning projects. This is a familiar place I’ve been in before—but it’s easy to forget how to break free from this cycle. For anyone who follows my video chanels (PeerTube and YouTube) might have noticed and drop in quality and frequency. This site hasen’t had a new post since JUNE! I have a dozen half recorded songs, comics, and videos that just take up space on the SSD. That’s the big BRAIN-DRAIN I’m fighting with. And it sucks. So what do I do next?
Start WRITING of Course!
Every endeavor I jump into in the creative realm can be enhanced by opening a text editor and starting with a list. My neurodivergent brain really enjoys lists—especially with checkboxes. As a massive nerd, I do this in Markdown.
+ [x] Item One
+ [ ] Item Two
+ [ ] Item Three
Most of my thoughts begin in a blank Vim document because I love Vim and have it installed on every device within reach. However, I’m also very comfortable with Apostrophe, a GTK application for Markdown documents. It’s clean, gets out of the way, and is aesthetically pleasing.
On my phone it’s almost always Markor. Free and Open Source markdown editor that I’ve been using for years. Files can be synced manually or with Syncthing. All of these tools somehow jumpstart my entire brain again.
After a List?
For scripts, I like to use Foundtain. It’s a markup for script writing that also works very well with comicbook scripts. After a few years of stalling, I’m finally starting to write the script for my comic, Neon Paradise.
Title: Neon Paradise: Planet Oz
Author: Arthur Pizza
**PAGE 1**
_PANEL 1_
A sleek, small war-space craft is damaged. The craft is descending toward a nearby planet. Penelope is in the cockpit, dressed in a full flight suit.
NARRATOR
After saving her colleagues from a surprise attack, Captain Penelope Jones’s vessel gets dragged into a wormhole, sending her light-years from home.
MASTER CONTROL (VO)
You’re losing fuel fast! If you land on that planet, we can’t get a rescue for 8 months.
PENELOPE
I don’t think I have a choice! I’m losing altitude and I can’t get the nose up!
MASTER CONTROL (VO)
God speed, Captain Jones. Good luck!
_PANEL 2_
Worm’s-eye view looking up to the sky as the small spacecraft drops through the atmosphere. A long trail of smoke shows she’s entering the atmosphere. The foreground reveals local vegetation and creatures peeking up at the sky, their eyes wide with curiosity or fear.
PENELOPE
Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck!
Will any of this stick? Sometimes. Maybe. We will see.