Kytaari's Self-Discovery Journal

I set unrealistic expectations

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Kytaari
, 04-14-2012 at 11:27 PM (207 Views)
I was more confident in my ability to tell stories in the past, but now I'm starting to see a lot of gaps in quality. Some of it's not that good, and my stories aren't as developed and original as I once thought they were. The setting is probably the most developed in original out of the whole story, but not much else. Characters? Plot? Not all that original. It's beginning to dawn on me. I've spent so much time developing the fantastical elements of my setting that I never paid sufficient attention to the more realistic details, and the details that make for great writing in the first place.

Maybe I'm not meant to be a great writer after all, just an entertaining one. That's kind of disappointing though. Like I've said, only the setting is very developed and original. The characters and plot, not so much.

I thought my ideas were better than they really were this whole time. I think I may have to switch my medium to something that can focus more on my strengths and less on my weaknesses. Most traditional storytelling forms are about character and plot, but my strength seems to be setting. The only medium that kind of comes close to relating to setting is video games, but I'm not sure how to use that to my advantage. I've never designed a complete game before. It looks like I have some more thinking to do.
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  1. Heresy's Avatar
    Think Lord of the Rings, Hitchhiker's Guide, (I'm not going to say Harry Potter...). Setting and imagination are absolutely crucial to story-telling, especially in Science-Fiction and Fantasy genres. Don't discard these genres through vanity either, remember that both the examples above are classics. Don't get bogged down in ideas of the traditional or what is considered "serious" literature, because they are both over-simplifications. Just write what you want to write and let the small stuff generate over-time.

    It's very unlikely that you'll be satisfied with the the first stories and so on that you write. They will be fraught with deficiencies especially those relating to your weaknesses (character and plot), but THIS IS THE SAME WITH ANY WRITER WHO HAS EVER LIVED.

    You just have to keep practicing. As Norman Mailer said "Learning to write is about as difficult as learning to play the piano". Talent and imagination can only make up for some of your technical deficiencies. You have to improve them through hard-work. There is no other way. At some point in our lives we must all learn to cope with details and realize that we need hard-work.

    Anyway, if you still think computer animation or any other kind or animation is for you, it's probably best you realize that as with writing you will need to practice very hard through a learning curve before the result even comes close to the picture in your head.

    Hope this helps a little.
    Kytaari thanked this post.
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