It is difficult to think of a creative field, style of performance, type of fiction or nonfiction filmmaking or writing, etc that isn't bolstered tremendously by the person doing it having a variety of hobbies/interests that have nothing whatsoever in common with it

It's also way healthier if you post your creative work online or make a living/are trying to make a living online to have hobbies and interests and friends that all have NOTHING to do with it vs your whole life and all of your important relationships being funneled into one thing

I've gotten curiouscats over the years asking about screenwriting structure books and I'm not a pro screenwriter and have never read one of those books but I do believe there are a million more meaningful venues of improvement as an artist outside of "repeat successful formula"

In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch is my favorite film book because it's an enlightening and really human editing theory book about how an audience psychologically and even PHYSICALLY interacts with a film, not a book that treats art as a math formula or a trope set

I also find people who display empathy and curiosity in their work and who can pull from unusual or novel places and experiences a lot more interesting than people who are technically proficient

It is also just fun to have weird hobbies and know people who are passionate about weird obscure things even if you don't share those same interests. It making someone's art more interesting and full is a cool bonus

I'm a big horror dork and a lot of my favorite horror films or horror films I find most interesting are influenced by specific life experiences the filmmaker had or by atypical artistic influences (like Raimi and Campbell being Three Stooges fans and adept at physical comedy)

This is also just a long-winded way for me to say it's good for your brain to log off twitter and do something else and to both mix up your media consumption/go outside your comfort zone and just find hobbies that aren't 1) for public consumption or 2) just consuming media

I've been walking lately and got an app that can identify and provide information on a specific plant from a photo. So it's been nice learning about local plants I see. Also extremely into getting different nice soaps now/into how soaps are made and into enamel pins