Not knowing is half the battle

The Creator Class Has No Prerequisites

You don’t need a certificate. A plan. A perfect first draft.

We think we need to know before we begin. Know how to paint. How to run a game. How to write a song, a story, a script. But every creative act begins the same way:

A blank page. A rough idea. And a whisper: you’re not ready.

If you feel scared, good. That means you're doing something that matters to you.

But here’s the truth: If you think you’re “trying,” you’re not doing. If you call yourself “aspiring,” you’re just waiting for permission. If you think you need to 'feel ready'… you'll wait forever.

I never know exactly where I'm going with these newsletters. If I did, I probably wouldn't write them. I'd talk myself out of it for sure. I'm here to understand ideas, not because I already do.

Every film you love, every game that changed your life, every story that cracked your chest open— They all began as a mess. A broken draft. A risky leap. A pile of doubts duct-taped together with “let’s see what happens.”

The only difference? The people behind them didn’t wait. They moved. They trusted the next step would show up once they took it.

Roll initiative.

Stop Waiting for the Map

We’ve been sold a myth: That the best creators are experts. Confident. In control. Qualified. They know exactly what they're doing.

That's a myth.

The most legendary journeys start with no map.

Indiana Jones didn’t wait for perfect intel. He bluffed his way through temples, dodged traps, and said it best:

"I’m making this up as I go."

That’s not a flaw. That’s the creative process.

Bilbo didn't have a 10-step plan and a notated map. He got a backpack, two breakfasts, a contract he barely read, and a shove out his front door.

That's it. That's the whole quest.

"You won’t know when you’re ready. It’s a leap of faith."

—the one and only Peter Parker (Into the Spider-verse)

Miles Morales? His lesson was to enter the flow-state and take the leap of faith.

What's up danger?

We think the pros always know what they’re doing. But most of them are just committed amateurs with more reps.

They're just the guys that show up and say, "Yeah maybe I'll quit tomorrow… but not today."

You don’t need certainty. You need courage.

You don't need a map. You need movement.

“Inspiration exists— but it has to find you working.”

— Pablo Picasso

Creativity Is Commitment—Not Control

Creativity isn't about following a blueprint. It's about wading through fog til you place your next step.

The best musicians, filmmakers, game devs, creators of all kinds, they all basically say the same thing…

"I didn't make it happen, I let it happen."

Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi with $7,000 and a borrowed turtle. He didn't even speak Spanish and the whole movie is in Spanish.

He didn't have a crew, he didn't have money for multiple takes, no backup plan.

He just did it one scene at a time.

Tolkien didn’t map out Middle-earth in advance. He wandered into it—one rewrite, one longhand page, one riddle at a time. He even revised the Hobbit mid-publication, to add more detail that he'd 'discovered' while writing LotR.

Miyamoto didn’t build Zelda from a lore bible. He built a maze. The fun came later. The world and story came later.

Even Merlin, the OG mythic mentor, didn’t hand out maps. He shared his vision of what could be. That’s what creatives do: They trust that the magic shows up once you start.

Train Like a Creator and Not a Craftsman

You don’t need more plans. You need more adventures.

You get stronger by failing forward, not waiting to feel “ready.” You level up by wandering. By doing it wrong until you start doing it right 'by accident.'

Here's how the legends do it:

1. Pick projects that you don’t know how to finish

Drop into the world like Link in Breath of the Wild. No map. No plan. Just tools you barely understand and instincts you haven’t tested. Figure it out as you go.

That is the game.

Everything else is distraction, doubt, darkness.

2. Make ugly drafts on purpose

Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are beautiful chaos. Half-built wings, scrawled notes, bad math. He moved fast, broke things, and built successes out of the ashes of his failures.

I've heard that babies learn faster than anybody else… They don't stop to concern themselves with the messes they make. I think there's wisdom in that. Make messes.

3. Watch makers in action

Apocalypse Now was a nightmare behind the scenes, shot in a storm of disaster. No one knew what they were doing, least of all the director. But the thing got finished and now it's iconic.

Dark Souls didn’t start with a story.

Miyazaki said "The lore came later."

The whole thing was build backwards, starting with mood and mecahnics.

Behind every legendary work is a trail of glorious mess.

Don't worry about making a mess in pursuit of creating something that you want to see in the world.

The real work is in committing to the act, not in controlling the outcome.

You're not a machine. You’re a pipe that magic flows through.

The caveat is that the magic only shows up after you start. It's over there with its feet up, not taking you seriously until you start using your hands and feet.

The fog may never clear, but you can still find the path through after you start walking.

So don't wait for permission.

Pick up your dice.

—Rex