Maybe for a moment, at the very end of reading it, or a very well crafted section. But usually I very much enjoy and am motivated by well put together works in a competitive way. i also get motivation boosters from awful works when I declare that I can do better.
When I play games, watch movies or read, I sometimes find inspiration, its sometimes a good thing to pay attention to what you see in the media, it can help you develop an idea or come up with a new one. I personally think you shouldn't compare your work to someone elses, there's bound to differences in style, prose, and other stuff. Same goes for just about anything, as long as you have an idea just persevere and conquer.
I find that seeing a good story motivates me to make mine better. It doesn't really get me down, but it does ground me while giving me the motivational boost to get back to work on my projects.
I don't see different writers as on a scale with a continuum from great to atrocious, really, so I don't get discouraged by great writing. Instead I see each writer as having their own set of talents -- Stephen King is not great in the same sense that Amy Tan is, etc. I have my own set of talents that I'm using to create something brilliant. And I don't play video games, so they don't inspire me at all.
For a moment or so, but there's plenty of bad to go around to make me feel better. If it's long lasting, I have netflix which is great for finding terrible movies. I don't lose motivation with reading, I have a problem merging the specific styles in with mine.
First of all, this entire thread began with a request for personal opinion. So please don't get irritated because I gave mine. If you see games as an "art form", or as a way to exchange views on ideas, that's fine. I do not. And I somehow doubt that the majority of gamers see them that way. I also doubt that most games were created with that in mind. As I said earlier, if I want to confront, challenge and critique ideas, I prefer to do so directly. Frankly, the idea of playing a video game the point of which is to serve as a critique of objectivism is enough to get me looking forward to my next dental appointment.
Well, count me into the group that enjoys rpg games for their stories. Games are made to meet and exceed their genre. I think the issue that is arising in this issue is the fact that you are including all games while they are limiting it to mainly rpgs. I don't expect or play COD games for their story lines (barely there if you dig) but I do play multiple rpgs, old and new, for their story lines. Newer ones give you option, an ability to nearly control the story (or at least the main character) and older ones brilliantly lead you through the story. In short, first person shooters are not usually made for story or ideas and gamers don't play them for them. RPGs tend to be made with an entire plot, ideas and statements, and are expected by those who play them. I do not take offense with your stance, but the statement that most games are not made with anything other than a pretty design and most gamers expect this. It is firmly dependent on the type of game.
I think what Ed is saying is that games don't inspire him or grip him which is fine not everyone likes the same genre or story format. It is Ed's personal opinion - life was be dull if we all felt the same. Not to mention half of us would stand no chance of ever selling our work. Personally, I love stories in all forms but there are people for who my beloved bothy ballads would do nothing. On another thread one writer said Musical Theatre did nothing for her - it does me and I love the stories there. I'm aware elements of theatre (musical, straight acting plays etc), songs, RPG games, Action Adventure games, board games, novels, cartoons, TV documentaries, poems etc that make their way into my stories.
I recently played a game called Katawa Shoujo. The writing in that game was utterly superb and was well beyond anything that I could ever possibly hope to create. But, rather than make me feel demoralized about my writing it made me want to try desperately to emulate them; to become, in some shape or fashion, as good at writing as the writers were in that game. Granted it completely tanked my view of humanity and made me feel horribly depressed over a feeling of loss of connection, but that is outside the point.
I wasn't irritated with your comment. I just see baseless objections to games all the time and it is getting tiring. Either way opinions are opinions.
I always feel a little disheartened when I think I have a thoroughly original idea or concept and then see it played out in a movie or a book. It can be really frustrating but in the end if you have a story that you want to tell you should tell it.
Same here. When I saw Hunger Games for the first time (never read any of the books) I was really disappointed to see two elements of my book, up there on the screen. I felt exceptionally unoriginal (which sounds like a contradiction as I write it). It took a while before I could recognize them as background information and accept that many stories have common ideas, but its the telling of the story that makes it different. The example that I always try to keep in mind is Cinderella. I see the base of this storyline played out many times. Downtrodden MC has secret/hidden/unknown powers/curse/blessing/riches/guardian angel that is finally revealed/discovered by their enemy/love/long lost relative/guardian angel. Hmmmm. Sounds like Harry Potter. I used to have a list of other "Cinderella Stories" (nod to Bill), but Rowling's book always comes to mind first.
I can't even begin to compare my characters with those of Stephen King's epics. I guess the cure would be to read a really horrible book, like Shades of Gray, and compare her character development/setting with what you have, but then again you'd be wasting a lot of time otherwise well-spent writing.
Between many things that bug me about my stories, the one that bugs me the most is that my characters aren't that much complex or whatever... Especially because I simply hate the Woman in Refrigerator trope. Or the Power of Love trope and the so very used "my parents are dead" plotline and I pretty much can't think in another way of putting complexity into my characters so I sort of... Give up. And when I read stories with complex characters I just want to kill myself. Basically.
But why would you? You're not trying to compete with anyone. You're just trying to tell a story and hope the masses like it. Great that someone else has managed to write a great story. But there are many great stories to tell.
When I read good writing, it reaffirms my faith in unique beauty, my ability to recognize it, and the attainability of it in the first place. I read good writing, and while intrigued by the shades and flavors of the individual authoring, there is some perceived quality of universality shared by all good work, a quality I feel like I understand better with each new exposure; I fall in love. And like all romance, the onset brims with a sensitivity to inspiration and the world feels different and ripe. Of course, like any romance, the energy fades but the wonderful thing about good work is that jumping from one to another isn't an emotionally hazardous affair so in a way it is one of the perfect things in life. And then there is indifferent writing and bad writing which, like indifferent and bad people, one must interact with and experience different forms of mild suffering.
When i see these great pieces of work created by someone else, i dont lose confidence but i use the creators as my role models. They inspire me to do great things. You musnt compare yourself to them, but rather consider them to be very talanted at what they do. Just enjoy their work and learn from them. If you are really passionate about creating a great story, then just admire their work. Every piece must be unique, but they all must be created with passion and heart if they are to be popular. Believe in what you write.
If Christopher Paolini compared himself to JK Rowling, when he was 16 and list confidence in his own writing - Millions if people would have been deprived of reading a great seried created by a kid when he was just 15 years old. Use these people as role models and be confident in your own unique writing.
I almost weep when I read rich, successful on going series with a lot of depth because I had to put one of my projects on hold because the world I was trying to create is just too immense for my skills at this stage. I've imagined so much about my fictional world but it's just so hard to transmit my imagination to the page. One day *shakes fist*
It seems to me that you may be exaggerating the "greatness" of whatever you just witnessed, psychologically speaking. Most films, games, books actually have a "Meh" storyline: Neither great, nor terrible. "Standard" quality you might say. If you convince yourself, for whatever reason, that this "Standard Quality" writing cannot be beaten, you will probably never raise your own work above "Standard Quality" yourself. My advice would be: stop admiring other works so much, and work hard at raising your own writing quality above the quality of the works you witness. Its doable. You just have to try hard and be patient.
I get more discouraged when I see rubbish that is making its author rich and famous. I need the money, why can't I toss off stylish junk too?
I know what you mean. Bioware games are my favorite - I've played all their big titles and I'm always in awe at some of the stories in their games. However, a few things about writing video games is that there is a team of writers working on it - so it's not just one individual, and that novel writing is a lot more difficult than writing a video game...or not difficult, but really different. I usually get more discouraged after reading really good books as compared to films or games, as their process of writing and thinking is a lot different than writing a novel or short story.
This is true to the same degree of any art form. When you watch a movie or read a book you are working within the confines out what the filmmaker or author has presented. You can use your own mind to extend beyond those, but that holds true for games as well. It is one thing if you feel that your own ability to create a story is the only thing of significant artistic value, but you appear in your first post to put books written by others and films made by others on a higher plane, despite the fact that the world of an other has been created for you (and limits you). What exactly is the distinction you are making?
