World building gone mad

[Brian G Turner]

I just revisted an old website for my own writings and repaired some nasty coding errors that were crashing it.

I had a browse around and couldn't believe how much time and effort I'd invested in world building - and the fact that I coded by hand a 700 page Encyclopedia for the writings on the site:

Index - Gathering Encyclopaedia - Epic Fantasy and Speculative Fiction - welcome to Chronicles of Empire

I've developed a very rich background history, and also wrote background for all aspects of society as I could, such as arts, literature, science, and philosophy.

I also draw detailed maps, including one of the main capital city in the books, based on a map of mediaeval Byzantium, plus even composed a soundtrack album which I used to promote online, and maybe have a copy of somewhere around.

Looking at it now - I spent 8 years working on that project, and haven't really touched it for 6 years since, other than brief fleeting attempts to touch up and edit the manuscript into shape.

At present it's looking awfully like a tragic waste of time and life if I don't get back into it soon.

I guess the point is that I surprised myself looking back to see how much work I previously put in, and how I should use that realisation as a spur to get myself back into rewriting and editing it all.

2c.

 

[iansales]

It looks like you weren't thinking small when you started it anyway: "When all six volumes of the Chronicles of Empire are completed, it will represent the largest literary epic ever written in the English language."

 

[Brian G Turner]

Heh, those were the days before I realised what George R R Martin and Robert Jordan were doing.

They would also have been the largest because of serious over-writing - the first book got written to 750k words - I need to cut that down to around 200k. So it won't be all that large in the end, after all.

 

[iansales]

It's always worth bearing in mind that people need to be able to pick up your novel in order to read it

 

[dustinzgirl]

Impressive.

You have been working on this as long as I have been raising my youngest.

Thats something to be proud of right there Brian.

 

[Ursa major]

It's always worth bearing in mind that people need to be able to pick up your novel in order to read it

And don't assume that we're all like Ian, able to work in one sixth of Earth gravity.

 

[iansales]

It's the inertia that kills

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Did you enjoy doing it? Because, if so, and if I were in your place, I wouldn't take the "it will all be a tragic waste of time if I don't complete this" tack to spur myself on. That would make the whole thing a chore.

I would tell myself, "I once had enough passion and felt enough excitement about this project to do all that. I want to rediscover that passion, and I want to finish the book that has meant so much to me."

But that's just what would work for me.

 

[magician2magici]

wow , i'm really impressed..

but i have a thing to tell you , i guess you should never say about a thing you wrote it was a waste of time , i'm sure this great work will have something in the future , but all you need is to believe in it , believe in your own writings , and try to modify what you need, take it as an editing process , untill you can rediscover this massive chronicle..

i can feel some of your regret , these great effort are actually in vain , i guess you need to determine what actually is needed and what is not ..

i guess tolkien made much greater of this work , and never a word spread out from it unless it's essential for the readers , you should see it from this view..
hope you the best

salam..
el-saher>>

 

[Talysia]

Wow, that is pretty impressive. I'm tempted to get my writing out again and try to finish it this time.

 

[thaddeus6th]

750k down to 200k?

I suddenly feel much better about trying to make 195k into something like 120-130k

 

[Brian G Turner]

Did you enjoy doing it? Because, if so, and if I were in your place, I wouldn't take the "it will all be a tragic waste of time if I don't complete this" tack to spur myself on. That would make the whole thing a chore.

I would tell myself, "I once had enough passion and felt enough excitement about this project to do all that. I want to rediscover that passion, and I want to finish the book that has meant so much to me."

But that's just what would work for me.

You're right, Teresa - at the moment I have such a heavy workload that it's hard to have time to relax, let alone dedicate to writing. I keep telling myself it's just a time management issue, but I probably need to revitalise myself long enough to redevelop the passion.

Another big concern is that as this work is supposed to be my magnum opus, I've been concerned about trying to write/edit while I still feel my writing skills are immature.

Even still, I guess that's the process of writing, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting, rewriting, editing, editing etc etc.

 

[Pyan]

Why don't you post some details of your world, Brian, and invite members to write stories based on it? - sort of like the Thieves World books.....

 

[chopper]

wildly impressive.

i'd never think of it as a waste of time either. you might think that your writing skills are immature, but the process of constructing such a huge world must have done them some good....

plus, it's interesting to see the roots of the Chrons forums...

 

[JDawg2.0]

I'll tell ya what...that is one hell of an accomplishment. Seriously, even if you never finish the stories, just that website alone is a worthwhile creative exercise. Seriously. Very nice, my man.

And it isn't all for naught. Just consider that your project wound up creating these forums!

 

[Sephiroth]

I sense something of a kindred spirit here.

My world-building went mad, too, and I've been working on it for almost ten years.


Just recently (very recently, and in large part due to this site), I've remembered that I'm supposedly a writer. So I'm making myself write narrative and I've canned the world-building for the time being (it's not like I haven't done enough already).

I agree with those who say you haven't wasted your time, Brian.

And I wish you good luck getting back into it.


What I will also say, is that the feeling of having writing skills too 'immature' to write one's magnum opus is exactly the same one I have had (well, one of them). If you're anything like me, though, you'll probably never get to a point where you're satisfied with yourself.

So you should try and trust the skills you have now to do the job. You can always improve it later.

 

[Green]

Those skills won't improve by themselves Practice! Practice practice practice practice!

Sorry, that was the Practice Monkey at the keyboard for a second there. He's gone now.

Brian, post some of your writing, let's see the crack.