Hi, I've working on a story and its setting for a year and two month exactly,lol. I haven't written anything yet. I already know how my main character is going to be. And I have some idea with the plot. The thing is I feel that I'm going into loop when it comes to my setting. I have plenty of different ideas, some that I give up and use again, some that I've completely forget...etc Anyway I feel like I'm not moving forward with my settings, I feel like I'm wasting time. Well it's true that the idea I had for my story at the beginning is dramastically different from what I'm imagining now. At first I wanted to do an intergalactic thingy with many planets (I create 1000 names of planet for that, lol), then I decided to reduce it to only one world that wouldn't be Earth but with an Earth like evolution but now the story is supposed to take place in Earth. I would like to write an urban fantasy story. Where my story was supposed to take place isn't the only thing that changed. At first I created many races and now I'm doing the usual vampire, shapeshifter, gobelin...etc. But in any case, even back then fantasy and magic would have been part of the story. The thing is that as long as I don't have my setting completely figured out, I can't focus on plot, characters and try to write something. My question is how can I create a good, coherent setting without wasting more time? Thank You, Bye
One year and two months? Without writing a single chapter?...That's one year and two months of almost gone to waste, it's okay to write a bit about characters, back story and some world building, but yea... Only you know the setting that would fit to your story, you could look at something or someone that might inspire you and help you figure that out. A lot of writers, new ones mostly, do what you've done and never get around to the writing part. ( I did too ) and well, this and that won't really matter when you write it in a pov of a character, it's not like you're gonna blur out everything. Can't tell you anything but to figure that part out yourself. You can look at others who've done similarly and learn
I started writing more or less seriously since the summer of last year. Before that, I was afraid of writing because I'm far, very far from being a good writer, lol.
You say you feel like you're wasting time. Yes, you *are* wasting time. Choose the setting that best allows you to tell the story you want to tell, and since only you know your story, you'll have to make that decision yourself. Beyond that, stop wasting time and WRITE. When you said you've worked on it for over a year and not written even a single word, you had me rather puzzled. Btw, unless you're Tolkien or trying to be, there's probably almost never a need nor occasion to ever create A THOUSAND planet names! You're focusing on the wrong things. Over a year and you don't even have a finished coherent plot and instead ended up with 1000 planet names that you're not going to use? Yes, definitely wasted time, and you know it. Just WRITE. Stop second guessing yourself and dive in. Above all, enjoy it. Good luck!
I think you are focusing on the wrong things. You recognize you have wasted a bit of time. But you can recover. Characters, setting, sci-fi vs fantasy none of those things are 'story'. Those are the medium you tell the story through. It sounds like you may have a lot of plot ideas but I don't hear anything in your post that says you have a story idea. An urban fantasy has a slim chance of being fun. But more than likely it will read as flat unless the reader is invested in the character's dilemmas and goals. A protagonist can tackle all the hurdles the writer throws in front of her, but the reader will lost interest if those hurdles are not steps to a larger inner growth, or failure to grow. Definitely stop planning and start writing, but think about the story, not just the plot.
Setting is merely the stage upon which your story plays out. I agree with everyone else, and would take it a step further. Scrap your setting. It's a distraction that has taken too much of your energy already. Start with the story you want to tell, and the characters that make the story come to life. That will lead to what your setting needs to be to support the story. Implement that minimum setting, as if you are the art director of a play on a shoestring budget.
The requirements of your story will dictate the setting. If the entire thing happens inside a single room then at most you will need a single street. Even LOTR didn't require more than one planet. Outline your story, if only mentally and then work out the setting where your characters will be at the start of the story. If half way through you decide to include Lensman style space action, well at least your have the first 1000 planets already worked out You are telling a story, not creating the opening scene of a film that has a wide shot of the entire empire/planet/galaxy.
