"Ideas man" with scant writing ability (at present)

[Caliburn]

Hey guys, just thought I'd do a little introduction here.

As the title suggests, I think I'm pretty good at coming up with ideas for things, but in terms of the actual craft of writing (and I believe there is one), I have absolutely zero confidence!

I'm fed up with just assuming I'm "not a writer". Even though I love coming up with story and world-building concepts, I would like even more to be able to actually tell stories and go from concepts to 'finished' works. You know... to make actual things!

So hi.

 

[Ghost]

Hi and welcome.

Do you have stories in mind and it's the nuts and bolts that gets to you?

 

[Caliburn]

Yep! I even get stuck with the finer points of world-building.
I usually don't move past the basic premise and a few other things.

At the moment I'm just coming up with ideas for characters, races, how magic works, cultural stuff. I love doing that, but I would like to try writing some character-driven short stories for the 'setting' I have so far if I could. (Its not really a setting so much as a loose assortment of personal preferences and "I'd like to do elves/magic/orcs/religion this way" sort of stuff.)

One idea involves a journalist doing a gonzo-style exposé of the 'adventuring life'.

And hello to you too, Ouroboros

 

[Caged Maiden]

Welcome. I'd like to send you some encouragement and tell you what an awesome place this is for helping build confidence. I've found everyone here really helpful.

If you want some practice, join us in the challenges. It gets you thinking and is just a no-pressure good time.

 

[Ankari]

Hello Caliburn. I've loved world building since I was a DM for my AD&D group 20 years ago. Currently working on that right now. Enjoy your stay here, ask tons of questions and show us what you got in the the Showcase Forum. We're generally nice, depending how sleep deprived I am, but we'll tell you what you'll need to work on and such.

 

[Caliburn]

I've always wanted to try DM-ing, but never managed to find a suitable gaming group (I've never played D&D in real life either, only via games like Baldur's Gate).

Look forward to checking out your stuff at some point, Ankari. I'm a bit timid regarding my own stuff but I'm sure I'll showcase something once I've settled in. I appreciate suggestions for improvement too, especially regarding the nuts and bolts. Frankly I'm not the best at handling criticism but I try not to take it too personally and focus on the feedback that is useful to me.

I like it when people fiddle with my ideas and do their own treatments/add new ideas. I don't often use other people's ideas--at least not in the same way--but they get me thinking in different ways which is great.


P.S. Thanks for the tip Anihow

 

[JCFarnham]

Caliburn, you sound like me.

I'm definitely the ideas man. More so in music than in writing these days, but still. This is probably exactly why I find collaboration so damn rewarding. That's not so say you or I can't do things on our own under our own steam mind you

And as always, we are our own worst critic.

If you want a place to hone your craft, you've found it. Welcome!

 

[gavintonks]

Ideas are ten a penny and have no value unless they are worked on and become something better 100 bad essays than one good idea. Unless you start and do things then that is all it ever will be an idea.

Do exercises take romeo and juliet and rewrite it, do anything a bit everyday if you are serious. My first writing was terrible and even a year later I am learning new ways of grasping the vagaries of writing and making my work un - put -downable, but you are here for writing.

This all sounds harsh but I work with small business and everyone has an idea, well if you want to succeed make it a business or in your case a book, and there is no better place than now

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Ideas are ten a penny and have no value unless they are worked on and become something better 100 bad essays than one good idea. Unless you start and do things then that is all it ever will be an idea.

This is the single most important piece of advice when it comes to any creative endeavor of any kind.

In other words: apply butt to chair, and write. Just keep doing it. Don't do it blindly; you have to think about what you're doing or you might be treading water. But you'll never get better at writing unless you do it.

Also--and this may be a longer-term concern--worry less about world-building and details than about learning how to make characters who are interesting and relatable. Stories are fundamentally about people weathering conflict in a way that makes us care about them. Everything else (setting, world details, etc.) is furniture.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Welcome Caliburn, don't worry, we'll make a writer out of you yet. Actually I often struggle to creatively world-build, mostly in terms of races, maybe you could help me brainstorm someday? Enjoy yourself here.

 

[Caliburn]

Hey Aidan, I'd like that
I'll keep an eye out for your worldbuilding threads. Also feel free to drop me a line any time

(I might just mention however that I am moving house soon and won't have Internet access for a while )