Blue Thunder Pro Samhain Slam 2 Card Posted

You are very welcome!! And I hope that things have been a little better over the past week or so.

That shift from obligation to just playing for fun is so necessary but it's difficult. The dividing line between "wow, I really love this story I came up with and can't wait to write it" vs. "ugh, so now I have to write this idea into a full promo" isn't always so clear.

Like for me - I've always booked my big angles/stories in advance and try to work backward. That gives me the opportunity to have things build to the conclusion I want. But the problem is that I often run these ideas in my head for a long time before I finally get the chance to actually write it out. So my execution of the idea may fall short due to either forgetting some stuff (despite writing down a lot) or just kind of cooling off on the concept. It's in my head so much that I lose interest in it and want to do something else. So then it feels like a chore to write out the original story with the same energy as when I initially had the idea. It was fun when I first had it but then it becomes a chore or obligation to finish it. The line isn't always so clear when it's crossed but hiatuses often make it clearer to me.

I think sometimes it can help to just sit down with all of your planned stories/matches/processes and ask yourself what do you actually want to do now vs. what did you want to do weeks/months ago that you are just kind of holding onto because it was the plan. And that isn't just for stories either but for your actual method of storytelling: whether it be Twitch or video matches or write-ups, etc. I sometimes "lock" myself in a certain way of doing things based on nostalgia, inertia, etc rather than ask myself how do I want to present shows and how can I actually get them done. I absolutely have a preferred format for my shows - but it's the format I used like 20 years ago and I don't have the time/energy to do things the same way. So I have to make decisions to maximize what I want out of the experience while trimming the fat of what I no longer need.

For now though - I think the most important thing is having fun broader than Fire Pro. On any given day, ask yourself what you want to do with your time off. Maybe it's a different game or a TV show or something without a screen entirely. Maybe it's a different wrestling game or a new way of enjoying Fire Pro. About a year or two ago, I had gotten burned out on Fire Pro but still wanted to play it. So I tried something different. I downloaded some real life edits and put them into 1P matches similar to how I played Fire Pro when I initially got into it. It was a fun two week experience and it got me back into the game.

At the end of the day, Fire Pro is just another one of many potential experiences to have for enjoyment.


Also really liked what Makar said about juggling a lot of brands. He and I have talked at length about this as we both tend to experience e-fed mitosis LOL. Both of us have promotions that continually sub-divide into different shows/brands. Even during my hiatus over the past few months, I've still had ideas that essentially create new programs/shows within my existing e-feds. The ideas are fun but the execution can be really exhausting. Maybe you just want to stick with one brand for a while when you get back into things.

And really like what Will said about the community being here and not setting expectations if they are causing you stress. They could actively be getting in the way of your productivity too once you get back into that mode. If anything, maybe expectations should be based around direct/measurable fun experiences you can have with Fire Pro rather than e-fed milestones. Like instead of "I'll create edits for the next show" it can be like "I'll play a few matches with my favorite edits" or "I'll run some simmed Battle Royales because they can be entertaining" before you even resume using Fire Pro for fed purposes.


Again, hope you are feeling much better in general and about these specific Fire Pro related things.

Looking forward to Tuesday. Hoping the show goes well!

Update: Instead of running at 10:30 we will be running after Sakura Pro. So join us after Sakura Pro for Texas Thunder!