Thoughts and Prayers Don't Help Anyone (Especially Not Creators)

There is a ritual we go through in America whenever something bad happens. Whether it's something big like a terrorist attack or another school shooting (and isn't that a depressing statement), or something personal like someone struggling to pay their rent or worrying about losing their job because their car broke down, we immediately chime in with phrases like, "You can get through this," "Hang in there!" and the ever popular, "Keeping you in my thoughts!"

This has become almost a Pavlovian response on social media. We see somebody struggling, and immediately throw one of these empty phrases out the same way you'd offer condolences someone who was grieving a recently departed spouse. And while it isn't something you're generally supposed to say out loud, I wanted to explain something to folks out there who do this as a knee-jerk reaction.

Stop. No one needs empty words and meaningless prayers. If you see someone in need, and your response isn't to do something to meaningfully provide that help, just save it.

Seriously, folks are drowning out here. Don't stand on the shore and clap!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

What This Has To Do With Your Favorite Creators

Generally speaking, the creators you follow are not supposed to talk about how dire the straits are when it comes to doing this for a living. But with the exception of a relatively small percentage of celebrity authors, YouTube heavy hitters, rock stars, etc., most of us who make art professionally are constantly just trying to keep our heads above water. And while we usually try to make our requests for help subtle (like how every YouTuber casually reminds you to like the video and subscribe to the channel, or how every blog entry I write has easy links to all my social media down at the bottom), sometimes we have to come right out and tell you what's going on, and to ask for your help.

And do you know what isn't helping in that situation? Saying, "I'm sure it will all work out, you've got so much talent!"

You can't pay bills with talent. Only traffic.

The issue isn't just the performative commentary (though that is part of it). Rather, the issue is that a lot of people see someone who's struggling, and then they do something that doesn't actually help, but which they feel excuses them from the necessity to actually take action to make a positive change.

There's a social media post about someone asking their spiritual leader why god made atheists, if he truly made everything. The priest responds that atheists are here to be an example, because when they do something to help another, or make life better, they do so not out of a hope of a reward in heaven, or out of a fear of hell, but because it is the right thing to do. The lesson goes on to say that when you see a person who needs help, you shouldn't pray that god helps them and go on about your day. Instead you should, in that moment, become someone who does not believe there is a benevolent figure out there who will reach down a glowing hand to lift that person up. You should become an atheist who recognizes that it's their job to help their fellow humans when they can, and to throw them a line so they stop drowning when you have the capacity to do something to stop it.

Rule 303, and Making a Difference

Rule 303 is a term that's been around for a while, and it has a rather checkered history to it. While the video below from Beau of The Fifth Column goes into some of that history, a lot of folks understand it to mean something pretty simple. "If you have the means to help, and the opportunity to help, that confers upon you the duty to help."

It's important to remember that we're talking about real, material help here. We're talking about action. Because thinking about helping, or wishing you could help, doesn't do anything for anybody. But taking action, even if it's relatively small action, does something. And if enough people do something, it can end up making a really big difference.

Let me give you some examples. If someone reading this right now wanted to help support me and my work, they could do any of the following things:

Things That Cost Money
- Buy a Book From My Amazon Author Page

- Buy an RPG Supplement

- Become a Patreon patron
- Buy me a Ko-Fi

Things That Are Free
- Subscribe to my Daily Motion Channel
- Subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel
- Browse through my Vocal archive (I get roughly 1 cent per every 3 reads)
- Subscribe to my social media channels (found at the bottom of the blog)

Take a look at that list, and think about your means, and your opportunity. What on this list could you do, if not for me, then for other creators that you like?

If you have money, even a couple of spare bucks, you could easily become a Patreon patron for someone, give that person a tip, or buy some of their merch to ensure they made some money that month. That is real, material aid to someone who is struggling, and you helped them. Maybe you can only afford to do it once, or you sign up to give them a little tip every month, but that is direct action to support someone in their struggle to keep making things.

Maybe you don't have money to spare. That's fine, too, because you still have the ability to take direct action to assist. If your favorite creators make videos, you can watch them, or if they're on Spotify you can listen to them. Hell, you could just let their playlists run in the background, even if you're not even in the room just to boost their numbers. As mentioned above, if they write articles or short stories that you can read for free, spend a little bit of time every day consuming it to help them get their numbers up.

You can follow this logic even further. Subscribing to a creator's social media, their YouTube channels, etc., weights their posts more heavily, sending a message to the algorithm that they should be promoted to other site users. Sharing their posts and content, whether it's making posts on your Facebook wall, leaving links in subreddits, or tossing out stuff into Discord, all helps, too. Sure, you might not have thousands of people eating up your shares personally, but you are still lending your hands to help a creator push a rock up the hill, and that's no small thing. And this isn't an either/or situation; you can mix and match whatever actions you're capable of at any given time to support other people as your means and opportunity shift.

This focus on action is especially important when you consider the frankly absurd numbers it takes just for us to pay our bills, to say nothing of actually saving for a rainy day. More on that in If 90,000 People Read This Article, I Can Pay My Rent This Month, if you're curious about a numerical breakdown by platform.

And since there's at least one person out there who is wondering this, yes, leaving comments on social media helps, too. But if you really want to feel like you did your part, please consider more than just high-fiving the drowning person's hand and walking away when you could do something to help us at least tread water for a little while.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!