So you want to make your own factlist, here’s how!
- Read the manifesto
- Review the factslists topics of others (like mine)
- In this ( the ‘factslists’ category), create a topic with the Title “[your username here] - factslist”
- Start listing your techniques, with examples, descriptions, diagrams, etc.
Now before you decide “This technical BS Ain’t for me”… WAIT!
Please just stop and consider / remember these important points:
- A factslist is literally just a list of cool / inspiring ideas - it is not programming, engineering, a complex game, or anything. Just a list of inspiring ideas. ‘Rules’ in an ampfact are merely suggestions; meant to be stretched and broken.
- There is almost no wrong way to facts list. Though ideally techniques are described in a way so they can inspire the reader in ANY creative medium, you just need to describe the technique well enough for someone to try it in their medium. You factslist will be created out of your desire to share ideas / concepts, and therefor no one can tell you if it’s objectively the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way (though creative criticism / discussion is encouraged).
- An Example in an ampfact is appreciated but not necessarily required. As stated in the manifesto, one of the purposes of ampfacts is to share creative techniques that might not be obvious from examining finished creative works; this by definition means some techniques you discover / invent will not have examples from known works (of course if you invent a new technique that would also be the case). That being said, even a simple drawing or anecdote demonstrating the fundamental principle of the technique is a great way to communicate the technique, though for some concepts, an example may not even be possible.
- Your facts do not need to be original. Again, ampfacts serve 1 purpose - to inspire and make the creative process more enjoyable. So an ampfact could just be some technique or principle that you read of discovered somewhere that you simply want to share (though it’s always nice to cite sources / give credit to original creators etc.) Your factslist will most likel end up being a combination of original ideas / techniques and one that you have noted or copied from other creators.
Let’s discuss some Examples:
Mediocre ampfact: "Musically Modulate from a major chord to a minor chord".
This would be not a great ampfact, because a visual artist (or anyone else not versed in music theory) would not exactly know how to apply that principle.
Good ampfact: "Consider a group of three objects - copy the group but then just change one of the objects slightly; like modulating from a major to a minor chord"
This would be a much better way to state that fact would because it is described in a way that anyone can understand, but also outlines a general principle that also helps non-musicians get an idea of what a ‘chord modulation’ is.