Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

[Greninjaman]

Would you guys consider Super Mario 64 simple story-wise?

 

[LightningTopaz]

@Greninjaman

I would say so--Mario works because the story is simple (save the princess), and the gameplay is the star. Stories need not be deep and complex to be good.

 

[Greninjaman]

@Greninjaman
Stories need not be deep and complex to be good.

I do agree with you on this.

 

[skywaffles]

I always have a problem starting stories/worldbuilding. It's so hard. But once I get a story going, then I can go on forever. Part of this is the reason why I have about 6 billion unfisnished google docs. I can't seem to keep going after a few paragraphs of worldbuilding and starting the story.

 

[skywaffles]

I literally have a full sequel to an unfinished story

 

[Welkamo]

I always have a problem starting stories/worldbuilding. It's so hard. But once I get a story going, then I can go on forever. Part of this is the reason why I have about 6 billion unfisnished google docs. I can't seem to keep going after a few paragraphs of worldbuilding and starting the story.

I literally have a full sequel to an unfinished story

I'm good at doing character stuff, but when it comes to plot, I have vague ideas at best. I start a thing (even something as small as a oneshot), but then I lose motivation and start something else, only to come back to the original thing months later.

Do you want to finish the unfinished story? If so, go for it! If you don't, and if you think the sequel could stand on its own, then hey, you've got something there! (I had a similar situation, where I finished a sequel oneshot to a long running story I once wrote.)

 

[skywaffles]

I'm good at doing character stuff, but when it comes to plot, I have vague ideas at best. I start a thing (even something as small as a oneshot), but then I lose motivation and start something else, only to come back to the original thing months later.

This is my situation exactly. Although sadly I dont think the sequel would make sense on it's own tbh. I just need to not get distracted and to stop worrying about it making sense and leave that to the editing phase, I always edit and fix grammar/plotholes while I'm writing and I'm not sure if thats good or bad

 

[Welkamo]

This is my situation exactly. Although sadly I dont think the sequel would make sense on it's own tbh. I just need to not get distracted and to stop worrying about it making sense and leave that to the editing phase, I always edit and fix grammar/plotholes while I'm writing and I'm not sure if thats good or bad

Same on that last part. I need to keep reminding myself that my first draft is for getting my ideas in story form, and that I can edit later.
I can't really help much on the distraction part, because my attention flips between being unable to focus on anything but the story (this usually happens when I'm trying to sleep) to being distracted by everything. I usually try to write when I'm, say, eating lunch or waiting to get a drink order from Starbucks or whatever, or I try to build up motivation to write throughout the day so I want to write when I have free time, if that makes sense.

Also—try to focus on a few things at a time. I have at least two major writing projects at the moment, so I try to limit myself to writing one or so smaller things at a time on the side.

 

[LightningTopaz]

I have a very similar problem--I spend a lot of time building the world with some ideas of what I want to happen, then when I actually sit down and write the thing, I end up losing interest or burning out on it.

I know I can finish longer stories (Pokemon Moonlight Silver took me 120 episodes plus an epilogue), but how do I stay motivated to see a long project through to the end?

 

[Bluwiikoon]

I struggle a lot with this aspect, too! I do know I have ADHD at least, but getting around it is another beast entirely. I think what does help is dividing it into very tiny steps, like just opening the fic document and reading over your current chapter to get it fresh in your mind. And then, maybe just commit to writing one sentence! If your brain's in the right gear, it could lead to more sentences and maybe even paragraphs. ^^ Tiny steps!

What's the proverb... it doesn't matter how fast you go, as long as you don't stop?

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I've come to the realisation that the hardest situation for me to write is when I'm staring at a Google Doc. Anyone know how to remedy this?

 

[LightningTopaz]

@Nitro Indigo

--Find a random plot idea generator/creator (preferably one that generates ideas in your preferred genre. If you like writing fantasy, D&D adventure hook generators also work very nicely for story ideas)
--Click until you get a cool sounding idea out of said generator
--Copy said idea and paste it into your Google Doc
--Start writing around said idea--never mind if it doesn't make sense or has a ton of mistakes.

Have fun!

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I meant, I already have ideas, but the hardest place for me to write them down is a blank canvas.

 

[Greninjaman]

I meant, I already have ideas, but the hardest place for me to write them down is a blank canvas.

Yeah that makes sense.

 

[Welkamo]

Man 2020 and 2019 were, in different ways, crazy years in terms of what I wrote. I did many firsts those years, many of the most iconic, dumbest, best, darkest, and (insert other superlatives) I've done.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

This year, I've been writing my darkest fics yet. I've already posted a My Little Pony black comedy about death and an anthology about Temtem eating eachother, and I'm currently writing an Animorphs fanfic about people losing the will to live due to being possessed.

 

[Welkamo]

This year, I've been writing my darkest fics yet. I've already posted a My Little Pony black comedy about death and an anthology about Temtem eating eachother, and I'm currently writing an Animorphs fanfic about people losing the will to live due to being possessed.

2019 was hands down the year of the darkest fanfics for me. Characters breaking down and admitting that they've been dealing with mental illness? Check. Characters drowning their sorrows? Check. Crime, gang attacks, and all the Gym Leaders getting fired? Check. An alternate timeline that's just Order 66 but the Pokémon League? Check.

 

[LightningTopaz]

Real life was already dark enough, so I chose to be one little beacon of light for people to relax and forget about the chaos for a little bit.

I am however, exploring the possibilities of a Tales of fanfic that builds off Abyss' music theme and Vesperia's themes of justice--the characteristic genre is "the RPG that unites the world".

At the moment, I have a rough story for this idea and some character names, but not much else.

 

[Welkamo]

Real life was already dark enough, so I chose to be one little beacon of light for people to relax and forget about the chaos for a little bit.

I sometimes try to follow this principle. There have been many moments in my life where I wrote dumb, chaotic nonsense because the world around me was so bleak. At the same time, when things get bad, I usually resort to writing angst.

 

[Lord Kyuubi]

It's funny, every time I try to write something more lighthearted, it always ends up getting oddly personal and then straight back to being dark again. I might need to broaden my range a bit.