# OMG I start writing and then it's blah



## Rullenzar (Apr 5, 2012)

*The question:*
Do you believe one has to completely work out their world before starting writing or can you do it on the fly as you go?

*The problem:* I find myself wanting to start writing badly but then I sit down and get 1 or 2 sentences in and realize wait...how far is this place I'm sending my characters too? How long is the journey? Where is this on my map? Why don't I have a map drawn? What was I planning to call that town? OMG my brain is melting I need to eat something. And then this turns into watching a movie or doing something else.


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## TWErvin2 (Apr 5, 2012)

I have a basic idea for the world. Main areas and places and peoples etc. But I don't have them detailed out for the entire world. As the story moves (but normally in preparation for where it's going) I have those regions and peoples and such much more refined.

If I tried to refine every land and place and culture and such for my world, I'd never actually get to writing...or it'd take several years, and much of that time would be wasted as the storylines may never venture that direction.


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## Steerpike (Apr 5, 2012)

I wouldn't worry about the details at this point. World building is an important part of fantasy writing, but it can also be a problem at times. It can be a distraction from writing, where an author spends all of her time creating the world, or the idea that the world isn't complete enough can cause you not to write at all (and the pressure of feeling like you have to create the world can be overwhelming and make you want to do something else).

The most important thing is to write, so I recommend just going with it if you can. It might help to have a general idea in your head, such as whether the distance the characters are going is short or far, but you don't have to know it precisely and you don't need a map (in most cases I never do a map). As the author, you might even dispense with the entire journey, skipping from when they leave to when they arrive, so knowing simply whether it took them a long time or not would be enough to get the impression off to the reader.

More importantly, if you just write, whether you have a good idea of the world or not, at least you'll have a draft on paper. Once that is written you have something to work with. You can always go back and make edits to build up more of the world if you feel it is necessary.


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## unwittytitle (Apr 5, 2012)

Admittedly, I'm new to this sort of thing and I've only just recently (like within the last week) been inspired to sit down and try create a fantasy world and story.  While it's certainly helpful to have a flushed out world ahead of time, it's definitely not required.  If you have some basic plot points already figured out then there is no reason why you can't go ahead and start writing.  Sometimes it's better to just to get some words down on paper, even if it's just fragmented scenes and sentences. You can always go back and  fill in or change the details later.  

So you don't know how long it will take your characters to make the journey from point A to point B, maybe you don't need to know right away.  Maybe what they are going to do when they get there is more important for the time being.  So they arrive at this unnamed town and what to they encounter?  Maybe they're accosted by hoards obtrusive dwarven fishermen trying to sell their goods, so because it's a fishing town maybe you just call it Harpers Wharf or something.  If nothing else, writing might be helpful as a way just to get your creative juices flowing, and as you begin to bring the world to life through your writing you can work out some of the particular details you come to encounter them.


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## Rullenzar (Apr 5, 2012)

Thanks all, guess I just have to *try* and let things slide in my mind so I can write without having every little thing stop me. Just hard sometimes, I've always felt like there needs to be some kind of order and haven't really gotten used to the abstract thinking and writing I need to get my writing going. Just thought maybe I was doing something wrong or I just didn't have enough of my world worked out or something.


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## Caged Maiden (Apr 5, 2012)

Yeah I feel your pain.  I have a pretty elaborate world, and have always written within it (because it's easier than creating another) but last Nov. I began a new story... and just left the details vague.  I wanted to tell the story first, and there's no problems with leaving details blank I sort of do this:

I pick a character I love, then the supporting characters, love interest, family, etc.  I write the opening scene, start my story rolling, then I outline the first half and all the major players, say; the church, the king/ruler, the nobles, the conflicts between factions.  Then I keep going with the story, get to the conflicts and the character's struggles.  THEN I go back and hack off the beginning where I was warming up my engines, start closer to the conflicts, and finish the story, then go back and fill in the details that have occurred to me since beginning.  

HAHA but then I have no training and often fly blind.  Best Wishes!


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## Rullenzar (Apr 5, 2012)

I might try this to see if it works for me. I've been struggling with not being able to write anything for a while. Everytime I sit down it's always something. A new detail, a new idea, a new name, a new town, a new character, revising magic system, contradicting a previous idea. It never ends. Then ofcourse it distracts me completely and my time runs out and all I have down is one sentence because of all the other crap.


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## Butterfly (Apr 5, 2012)

You don't need to write it in any chronological order. Just go along with whatever is in your mind right now.

Getting it done means working backward, forward, sideways even, it doesn't have to be scene A, then B, then C. It could be D, then A, then C, then B. But, I find it does help to know the ending, so you know where you are trying to get to.

As for maps and world building, I do that as the story develops and I follow the characters through their world, mainly to remember where they have been and what they have seen. It grows the further they travel, it might even change. 

Try to keep a notebook specifically for things you need to remember, such as travel times, fight scenes, spells used and their effects. It will help with consistency and to avoid repetition. Spreadsheets are good for this.


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## Cinder (Apr 5, 2012)

What I like to do, is create a story after I've created a world. This way, the story will always fit in the context of the land. I'll usually draw a map (an artistic mess, usually) and fill in the various regions, cities, towns, landmarks... I'll add a little conflict, sometimes write myself a little guide that includes religion, politics and a brief history. Then I'll think of some notable people.

Then I'll start work on the story.


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## sarouchka94 (Apr 5, 2012)

As I'm a beginner in writing your answers are all very interesting. And about your question, Rullenzar, I think that as long as you have a plot and characters in your mind, you can start writing, even though your world might not be completely build. I think that writing, will put you in the mood of your story and even if it isn't very good at the beginning, at least you have something you can work on and improve.


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## Shockley (Apr 5, 2012)

One of the things I do when I introduce a new place that needs is a new name is sort of simple: I insert a string of obscenities in all caps and keep on moving. I can continue with the story without losing my current flow, and I have enough time to think up a really good name.

Edit: I should clarify, the all caps is so that I can pick it out easily during revision.


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## Penpilot (Apr 5, 2012)

When ever I have trouble getting going I find that it's because I don't know what the purpose of the scene is. Is it a scene with a goal and obstacles or is it a contemplative scene where the character is reacting to failures and contemplating choices? This may or may not be your problem. But for me, that's when I start to focus on stuff that for the most part I can ball park, make up as I go, or just straight out BS my way through by being vague because it's really not all that important. 

If you don't want to disrupt your mojo to figure things out once you get going, what I do, and I totally stole this, is make a small notes like these within the text: (TK: Insert fancy name here.) (TK: Figure out distance) The TK is an easy thing to search for because the two letters don't ever appear together back to back in words.


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## kadenaz (Apr 5, 2012)

I created it like this.

1- main "cool scene" around which all the book is based
2- protagonist, why he/she is special
3- conflict
4- now that you have a struggle, you need to make it comfortable to you (example: NOT a civil war)
5- You have all these elements? Make characters be just A PART of the conflict, so they will obviously find themselves in the most controversial/interesting situation
6- now that you have a logical structure, start the journey making your characters react logically(emotionally) to the main events
7- create small events to connect the various big parts of the journey


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## SeverinR (Apr 9, 2012)

Shockley said:


> One of the things I do when I introduce a new place that needs is a new name is sort of simple: I insert a string of obscenities in all caps and keep on moving. I can continue with the story without losing my current flow, and I have enough time to think up a really good name.
> 
> Edit: I should clarify, the all caps is so that I can pick it out easily during revision.


If using MS word, you could create a word such as Townname and a number then when you get a name for the town, use the find feature or the replace feature(caution I here sometimes "replace", replaces to much)

I build my world as I need it. Write it down when you make something so you don't have one thing one place and a something different in another.
You will need to figure out the specifics at some point.

World creating can be macro to micro or vise-versa.  You start at the universe and work down, or work from the individual and expand it to the universe.
ie create the small village in a small barony, in a small Kingdom, in a large continent, in a vast world, in a multi-cultural universe or the reverse.
Creating as you go works too. You need a small town, create it, a tribe of ___, create it. forget the rest of the world for now.


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## Caged Maiden (Apr 9, 2012)

Getting started is always the hardest part.  If you sit down knowing you are in brainstorm mode, just start writing and open a new document which you title Book #3 Brainstorms and jot down things with bulletpoints that occur to you.  Then you get flowing and can add things as they become relevant (or omit them if they never fit in).


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## Legendary Sidekick (Apr 9, 2012)

Rullenzar said:


> *The question:*
> Do you believe one has to completely work out their world before starting writing or can you do it on the fly as you go?


Did you see last night's Game of Thrones? During the "map" intro, the map veered westward for the first time, revealing a place called Pyke.

A new place is needed to tell the story, so the map becomes "bigger" for the reader. As the writer, you only need to be one step ahead. If you need a new place, write one.

If you're showing maps in your book, there's no reason why you can't basically do what HBO did and reveal new locations as soon as they become important in the story. You wouldn't necessarily expand outward. There could be blanks on your map that you fill in.

If you're not showing a map, this is even easier to pull off.

I start from extremely basic and reveal details as I go. I'm starting a story that hints that East = Asian, West = frontier, and the "middle" of the continent/world is typically medieval. Having lived in both Hong Kong and the U.S., the very words "East" and "West" have a cultural context _to me._ I also like this admittedly inaccurate association,* North : cold :: South : hot*. Anytime I create a world, I tend to use a little bit of our own map as inspiration so when I need a new place or culture, I know where to put it.


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