I like fantasy. It’s pretty much my go-to fiction. And what I like most about a good fantasy world is its lore, how its gods shaped the lands and the origin of magic, and all that good stuff. And so naturally, I’ve been drawn to the idea of creating my own fantasy world. But it really is no small feat.
I’ve had this idea for a fantasy world in my head since about December, but I’ve still not found myself capable of sitting down and fleshing out the world. Some would probably advise me to just write and see what happens from there, but I’ve tried that and I find myself hitting a wall every 5 minutes because I’ve not already established the laws and rules of the world. And yet, sitting down and trying to plot everything out and build the world from scratch, despite sounding like a super interesting and fun task, quickly devolves into boredom or an itching to write in a universe that’s already been made.
The general idea is to create a fantasy world that I’m going to be able to write new stories in for years to come, whether they be short stories, novels, or other forms of fiction. This would mean establishing a timeline of events and considering how much I want to shape and change the world with each storytelling event that happens within it. Some stories would inevitably feature heroes and villains on a scale of which would make history and be spoken of for generations. Other stories would be smaller, more focused on the lives of the everyday, perhaps those who stand in the shadows of these forerunning legends and have to live with the consequences of their actions. I’m actually more interested in writing the latter of those two possibilities. But every time I attempt to make a start or continue to build the world, I run into issues of attention span and motivation which I won’t bore you with in this blog post.
I’ve also considered the idea that I’m starting off too grand in my storytelling ventures. As a new writer, I should perhaps consider a standalone novel or something, unrelated to this world which I want to build. But my default genre and current direction of writing is fantasy, and I’ve found that fantasy always demands these grand worlds and extended universes, lest they be insubstantial, boring, or lacking in the sense of wonder and scale that attracts many to the genre.
Maybe I should just keep at it. Writing this blog post alone has somehow spurred me into considering making another attempt at the fiction for the first time in weeks. Lately I’ve been considering removing myself from the internet for one day of the week each week, in an attempt to spur myself into creativity as opposed to the mindless consumption that I so readily tap into. I don’t know. I’ll continue to work on methods of self-motivation. If you have any tips for me, I’d be more than willing to hear them.
UPDATE: After writing this blog post and before publishing it, I decided to try and write something within that fantasy universe mentioned in this blog post. I wrote 1,344 words, and it feels like the prologue of a longer narrative. Woo, go me!
Perpetually Perturbed 