Another Subtember come and soon to be gone!
The dream of streaming full-time is seeping into my brain again. There’s no logical reason for it. I average three viewers a stream. Three. That’s after two years of the grind. I pick up a new follower every four or five streams, which is a trickle, not the steady flow I’d hoped for. I’m closing in on three hundred followers, so maybe this time next year I’ll be closing in on four hundred. Honestly? I’d be happy with three hundred and ten.
In short, don’t come here for advice. I don’t have the magic words that launch you into streaming fame. I’m a streamer still too small to know better, rambling about it. If nothing else, maybe you’ll enjoy the read?
Yeah, that one… Anyway…
With my recent move (see here) and new job, I worried I wouldn’t have time to chase this crazy goal. That fear turned out to be mostly right. I work in live entertainment (not streaming), and the schedule gets hectic. By the time I can go live, I’m exhausted. My “schedule” is closer to if I can stream, I will, unless work calls me in to put out fires. It’s a mouthful, I know, and hardly a schedule at all.
Few things excite me more than starting a stream and just hanging out. I don’t know who’s on the other side of the screen, or if anyone’s tuned in at all. I go live and bring whatever energy I can muster in the moment. Every stream has its highs and lows, and I’m getting better at feeling them as they happen. I’m still guilty of dead air, but these days I usually notice it creeping in. The real challenge is turning that silence into something interesting that ties back to the gameplay. It’s an art form of its own, and I’m slowly learning it.
To help with the art of speaking is watching my VODs back and studying how I react to chat, to the gameplay, and to whatever else crops up on stream. I’m hoping it teaches me how to pivot out of dead air, and how to sharpen my voice and keep my energy up for the whole stream.
I need time, and time is the one thing my job rarely gives me. What I do have goes to streaming and writing. Watching VODs only fits in late at night, if at all.
Still, I’ve found enough time to finish Star Wars Zero Company (watch here) and start a Marvel’s Wolverine playthrough (catch the beginning here). I’m hoping to squeeze in a few more games before the year’s out: Control Resonant, Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, Star Wars Galactic Racer, plus a handful of cozy indie games.
Will any of that get me to three hundred and ten followers? Maybe. Will it get me any closer to that full-time dream? Probably not by much. But every stream is a little more practice and a little less dead air, and I’ll take that.
With a bit of luck and a lot more grinding, I’ll find my way to full-time streaming eventually. And if I don’t, the journey has been incredible, and so are the people I’ve met along the way.
Join me on my streaming journey with more Musings of a Stream. Or come learn about my life with Echoes of a Journey. And, if you’re really awesome, join me live on Twitch, Monday through Thursday starting at 8:00am and 6:00pm US central.