Better at worldbuilding than storytelling?

[Jabrosky]

After struggling with novel-writing for years, I have grown disillusioned with it and lost confidence in my ability to tell character-driven stories. Plotting and characterization in particular are difficult for me. On the other hand, I really enjoy creating fictional worlds and histories. I wish there was a way to create a fantasy world and profit from it without having to think up character-driven stories for it. I do own a book called The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island, which essentially shows off the creatures and environments created for the recent King Kong remake, and I wish I could do something similar to it. Is there a market for books that can display your worldbuilding without needing a character-driven story?

 

[Steerpike]

You could always establish the world online and try to get people to contribute stories set in the shared world. If it became popular, you could monetize it that way. Also, if you have any interest in or experience with pen and paper RPGs, there are places to publish unique content for those games, including fleshed out worlds in which the games can take place.

 

[Ankari]

Creative Designer for any video game but MMORPGs more precisely. Get a degree from Full Sail University or something to that caliber and you may have found your calling.

 

[Jabrosky]

You could always establish the world online

You mean like a Wiki or something?

Creative Designer for any video game but MMORPGs more precisely. Get a degree from Full Sail University or something to that caliber and you may have found your calling.

Right now I'm working towards a degree in Biological Anthropology at UCSD, but I might be able to find something like Full Sail once I graduate from there.

 

[Steerpike]

You mean like a Wiki or something?

No, I'm thinking more along the lines of a site that showcases fiction. Where you have this created world and you have authors contributing stories that take place in it. Maybe with artists also submitting material. You could even publish them electronically. I think it would take a lot of work to get something like that off the ground, and of course you can never predict how well it will go. But if you could get to a point where you had regular fiction and other contributions, enough to draw traffic to the site, you could monetize it.

I thought about the concept in relation to the game world I created for D&D campaigns, but I never really looked into developing it. Imagine, for example, if there was a site with nothing but ongoing fiction, artwork, and the like related to Forgotten Realms. I think it would get a lot of visits. Of course, that's a huge brand that is already well-developed and has a big following. The concept could work with someone new, but I think it would take a lot of work and time to get it going.

You could also get writers to write stories in the world solely for the purpose of selling ebooks and e-published anthologies, maybe setting it up where you share revenue so that you're not having to go out of pocket to buy the stories. If the stories were good enough to garner a following in Amazon's Kindle marketplace, for example, I think there is potential there to get a loyal following of readers.

Of course, easy for me to say...

 

[Kelise]

Like a wiki, or I've seen book anthologies published where one person has built a website full of information and people request to write a short story or novella either set in a particular time, or city, or for an event. These short stories or novellas are gathered and then published in the one book, with the creator of the world having his or her own little section as one of the creators of the book.

New Ceres Nights by Twelfth Night Press is one that comes to mind, though I don't know whether they used a wiki or website, or just privately sent the information around to people.

 

[Kit]

You could also attempt to find someone who is good with characters but weak with worldbuilding, and write collaboratively.

 

[Penpilot]

If you're having issues with plotting and characterization, I'd recommend reading some books on them, and then maybe write a few stories in a contemporary setting without relying on a made up world. Just like you're studying for a degree in Biological Anthropology, I believe it's necessary to study writing to become a better writer. There are basic foundational theories to plotting and characterization that I believe writers should know. Just like you have to take 100 level courses before you can do 200 and 300 level courses, it's the same way with writing. You have to have a foundation to build on in order to get better as a writer.

My favourite set of writing books is the Elements of fiction series.
Amazon.com: Elements of Fiction Writing 5 Volume Set (Beginnings, Middles & Ends - Description - Setting - Characters & Viewpoint - Scene & Structure): Jack M. Bickham, Orson Scott Card, Monica Wood Nancy Kress: Books

Each book can be bought on it's own. I've read each several times over and each time I learn something new or get a deeper understanding of something I thought I knew but really didn't.

Another book I really like is a script writing book called Save the Cat
Amazon.com: Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need (9781932907001): Blake Snyder: Books

Even though it's script writing, a lot of the theory on how to structure a script plot applies to novel writing. This book is really accessible and its the one that got me into really understanding how the three act structure works.

Any ways, hope you don't give up on writing, but if you do.... at least it's a little less competition for the rest of us.

 

[studentofrhythm]

M.A.R. Barker published gaming and language guides for his Tékumel world besides setting novels in it. Another example I can think of of what starconstant mentioned is Robert Lynn aspirin's Thieves' World.

I presume you're thinking of doing this alone? I think I may know how you feel. I started preliminary notes on a world in 1999, began work on it in earnest in 2002, and did character sketches and vignettes trying to find a plot. I consider most of those crap. In 2006 I finally got the beginnings of a plot, which I have continued to revise along with the details of the setting until now. But the novel's coming along, or at least the ideas for the story are healthy -- now it's just up to me to write it down and keep revising until it's done.

I have considered doing what you are contemplating, and might have gone that way if:

I hadn't finally thought up this plot/these plots;

I didn't fear the loss of control from inviting others in to write stories or make things out of my setting.

Now that last point weakens as I define the setting in more detail, so I am still sympathetic to the idea of creating some web-based interactive product based on the setting. I would be very interested in knowing what you decide to do and keeping up with your progress.

 

[Mindfire]

Have you considered game design?

 

[Fnord]

I definitely fall into this camp as well. But I run role-playing games, so I'm comfortable with it. And the stories I create within the game world itself seem to interest the players. I just don't think they'd translate well to actual books.

I've written little stories within the world, generally as a means of trying to convey some of it to the players. But writing a full-blown book set in the world itself is yet beyond my grasp.