Announcing the seventh annual Tildes' Make Something Month (Timasomo)!
Timasomo is "Tildes' Make Something Month": a creative community challenge that takes place in the month of October. (We've been going for SEVEN years now y'all, can you believe it?!)
The best way to get a feel for Timasomo is to check out our previous Showcase topics, where creators share their creations with the community at the end of the event:
There are no hard and fast rules on what you can create. You can make anything!
All of the Timasomo topics will be over in ~creative.timasomo, so if you're interested in participating or following along, make sure you're subscribed there.
All people who respond to this topic will be added to a notification list that I will ping each time I put up a new Timasomo topic. If you do not wish to be added to the list, or you wish to only be notified for the final Timasomo showcase, please let me know.
The Roll Call thread will be posted in ~creative.timasomo on October 1st. That is the official beginning to the event and is where people will formally commit to their projects for Timasomo.
FAQs
What is Timasomo really though?
Timasomo is a chance to create something/anything!
There are no restrictions on what you can choose to make.
Can I participate?
Yes! Timasomo is open to anyone on Tildes! Please make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo.
The greater Tildes community is also encouraged to participate in discussion threads even if you are not actively working towards a creative goal. This is meant to be an inclusive community event -- all are welcome!
If you are interested in participating but do not have a Tildes login, please e-mail the invite request address here for an invite to the community.
If you do not want to create something but still want to check out the showcase, let me know in a comment here and I will add your name to a separate notification list that I will ping for the showcase topic only.
How do I sign up?
Make sure you are subscribed to ~creative.timasomo and/or are included in my notification list (simply comment on this topic to be added).
On October 1st, there will be a Roll Call thread. By posting your plans to participate in that thread, you have formally signed up for Timasomo!
Didn't it used to be in November?
Yes. Timasomo was originally inspired by NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in November.
Initially, I wanted people participating in NaNoWriMo to be able to share their work with Timasomo as well. In the entire time it has run, however, no participant has publicly submitted any work from NaNoWriMo to Timasomo. Instead, Timasomo has gained its own identity independent of NaNoWriMo (which, after recent events, is probably for the best).
Many participants from previous years have shared that October would be a better month for them personally, so we moved the event to October.
Also, the event was so fantastically popular that it regularly upstaged American Thanksgiving, thus we only felt it fair that Canadian Thanksgiving be targeted as well.
What are the rules?
Timasomo is self-driven and its goals are self-selected.
On October 1st, participants will commit to a creative project (or projects) that they plan to complete within the month of October.
There is no restriction on the methods/products of creativity: writing, painting, code, food, photos, crafts, songs -- if it's creative expression for you, it works for Timasomo!
Though most will be participating individually, collaborations are welcome too!
What is the schedule?
Timasomo begins October 1st and ends October 31st.
All creative output towards your goal(s) should be confined to this time.
This week prior to the start of October is for planning. There will be a few days at the beginning of November given to "finishing touches" before we have our final thread, which will be a showcase of all the completed works.
Below are the dates that I will be posting weekly threads:
Wednesday, October 1, 2024: Roll Call Thread
Wednesday, October 8, 2024: Update Thread #1
Wednesday, October 15, 2024: Update Thread #2
Wednesday, October 22, 2024: Update Thread #3
Wednesday, October 29, 2024: Final Update Thread
Wednesday, November 5, 2024: Timasomo Showcase Thread
Do I have to share my creation(s) publicly?
Tildes is a privacy-respecting site, and you are not obligated to share your creation here if you do not want to. We'd still love to hear about it though, if you're willing to share process and details!
Is it Timasomo or TiMaSoMo?
Either.
I personally use "Timasomo" because I think it looks cleaner and because too much time on the internet has made my brain incapable of reading "TiMaSoMo" as anything other than sarcasm, but go with whichever you prefer.
The best option, however, is “𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑶” for reasons that are self-evident.
This Thread: Planning!
Post your ideas.
Give feedback to others.
Set up collaborations.
Ask questions.
Everything in this thread is non-commital! Bounce around ideas and figure out what you'd like to do in our communal brainstorming session.
Also, please do NOT start work on your project yet! Stage setting, planning, and other preparations are allowed (e.g. getting supplies/materials, setting up workspaces, etc.), but save the creation initiation for the 1st.
Get excited for another GREAT Timasomo!
Ok so I think I want to do something with sewing. I just got a serger from my grandmother, and now I want to use it. But I don’t know what I want to sew.
In the past, my sewing projects have been things I wanted but couldn’t find commercially. Namely a climbing rope bag and climbing QuickDraw (carabiner) storage bag. But I don’t really need anything right now.
I have just recently done a few small projects with zippers, so a project with a zipper would be cool.
My only thought right now is a trench coat. I love the idea of waxed canvas, and it would be cool to have a homemade waxed canvas trench coat. But I haven’t found any trench coat patterns that I really loved the look of.
Anyone have any recommendations? Either for trench coat patterns, or some other bit of gear I could make for myself?
I'm in for finally finishing up what I started during Timasomo 2022. It's changed around a bit but it's still the same project - the world's first ever and only mixtape royal flush. Five multi-hour multi-genre music sets of new music (that sounds vintage) with almost no repeating artists and not one single track that isn't a perfect ten out of ten infinite repeat banger. There's a bestof 2020-2025 in there too once the tapes are done for sharing on ~music.
I reactivated my mixcloud account about a week ago and uploaded the final cuts of #9 and #10, they are both perfect. I've been working on #11 all this week and it's getting close - alternating male/female artists each track is an interesting challenge that takes more time. I finished #12 a little while ago, and #13 is a short but pretty solid draft. I want to get them done and all posted to mixcloud by end of october just so I can take a break from the mixtapes for a bit and get back to hunting new artists... my spotify release radar alone is at 3800 tracks of backlog right now and it needs a good spring cleaning.
Short summary of the mixes...
SV09 - Anthem : This one sounds like a 90s/instagramcore hybrid, is a mixtape about making mixtapes, and lyrically doubles as a quarter life crisis manual. Ideal format is a Maxell 120 minute tape, it's two hours, 37 tracks, 41 artists, mostly pure punk-pop adrenaline with some emerald city vibes to wrap it up.
SV10 ~ vs The Internet : This started as an idea for a Tildes themed mixtape and evolved into something any streamer or content creator will be able to appreciate since it lyrically represents their career path. It's a critique of the internet and spells out the solution. Target format is 4 LP Vinyl records packed to the seams, 40 tracks, 53 artists, and it's retrowave / funk / synthpop / darkwave / folktronica with a couple other spices mixed in. I am head over heels in love with how well this one came together. You'll have to make it past the devil (literally) to find the light.
SV11 - Cut the Light : This one's not fully cooked yet but I'm happy with the first 20 tracks and still putting the story together for the finish... need to scare up some more duets. It's a 1980s-sound ultimate breakup and get back together mixtape. I may as well do something with all the love songs I find cratedigging. At this point it's mostly about the order of the tracks and which ones I cut from the set to get it down to 3 hours. Probably another 4LP Vinyl but I might cut it to 120 minutes, haven't decided. No cover yet, but I know it needs to feature a couple with their backs turned on each other that are silhouettes, I'm not putting up with race-based comments about the cover.
SV12 - The Message : If there's a mixtape that's going to get me in trouble, this is it. The final word on the culture war... with a Tarantino styled (but heavier) mixtape of 1970s sounding soul, psych, and punk that eviscerates Hollywood without mercy. It should be (and probably is) illegal to have this much fun making a mixtape, this is probably the best one I'll ever manage. This is another 4 LP Vinyl set, 48 tracks / 56 artists and it's completely finished. I just haven't posted it to mixcloud yet since one can't re-order one's submissions, so once #11 is done this goes up right after.
SV13 - #church : This is /r/boneyard (proto-metal) material that sounds like 1970s metal / hard rock. It's also the cure for depression because that's what the heavy stuff is the best for. Trouble is this is only 88 minutes and it feels like I can take it much, much further. Every track has to feature gospel vibes and/or at least a mention of god, devil, sin, etc to be on topic - but no 'christian' artists because they almost universally put me to sleep. :P This one needs the most work, but there's acres of good stuff I haven't gotten to yet to harvest, these genres are very active with new releases right now.
That 'Scag's Bones' mix I mentioned for Timasomo 2022 is slotted in at #14 now, and it's about reconnecting old friendships. Probably going to be the most sublime chilled out mix I ever make, almost the spiritual opposite of this set which all go pretty hard. That's not part of the Timasomo goal though, but it's still cooking.
So, three down, two to go. I think I can get there and have all five up on mixcloud by the end of timasomo. The best part that I don't tell anyone is that this is all one massive mixtape (in order) and the cure for ten second attention spans. It's already better than any /r/listentothis bestof. ;)
I’m curious. How much different music do you listen to? Are these structures of music that is already your favorite intended to tell a story, or are you constantly listening to new things to gather for this project?
I have what you might call a debilitating addiction to music - always on, at work, at home, in the car, so every day is hours of listening, since around 1994. My headphones are as always-on as my eyeglasses. At this point I'm so far past caring about genre it's almost comical, they are all great genres in my book, it's the best tracks I'm after. I'm like a psycho apache scalper who will raid an artist, burn through their entire discography, and walk away with three tracks impaled on a pike to put in my playlists. Almost always that's upbeat or positive in some way, I don't have much patience for dull harmony or trite lyrics anymore.
Since I'm always filling up playlists with my favorites I have a lot of them, and I group them impulsively by moods, or eras, or styles. Eventually when the playlists are pushing past ten hours I jump in and look for whatever story the tracks are already telling. I don't pick the themes, those just emerge from the collections of tracks and I stitch them together so that the lyrics all read like a single perfect letter. Then I listen to them about a hundred times before they are finished (yes, some of those I've spun for 300+ hours each already while making them). The tracks that wear out get cut, and once I know the theme I'm hunting new ones always pop out of the usual cratedigging at me and I file them into the appropriate mixtape. I suppose you could say these mixtapes make themselves, and I was just listening.
It's more fun and challenging than a jigsaw puzzle, I guess. I make these for my own infinite repeat enjoyment and they always take me back to when I was making them, like a photograph. Plus I get to share them which is always a lot of fun. I'll probably keep making them until I'm in the ground. It's just how I listen now. Might have something to do with modding /r/listentothis for ten years and listening to that non-stop while doing it, got me into the habit.
I'm trying to decide what I should do. I signed up for two times now, but both times I fell through for various reasons.
My current options are:
also I kinda want to rewrite it as a full-fledged original dark romance novel tooSo yeah. Got a few options, just... Need to pick one.
In late 2023/early 2024 I completed a 9000 piece jigsaw puzzle and got it framed (with helpful advice from Tildes about what I should do to glue it together etc). I have about 50% of a blog post written about the process of framing it. I'm going to use TiMaSoMo this year as an excuse to finish and post the blog post, something I've been procrastinating on for about 10 months now.