So far in the copius amount of writing I've done, I notice that something about my stories feel off and I end up just really hating my work because of it. I usually just push past it and keep writing to see the story arc through, but it keeps happening and I start to wonder if I am just doing something wrong. To put it simply, everything feels artificial. The conflict, characters, environments. It all feels inorganic, like I'm just throwing things into the story for stuff to happen but it never feels like a real world with real problems. I'm writing a fantasy fiction Novel btw, and I'm putting a lot into the world building part but things still seem the same. Has anyone else felt this way? Or is this just how authors feel with their work given they know everything that happens in the story?
I'm kind of the same, except that I don't do a good job pushing past it. Instead I seem driven to put works aside and start on another story, with the intent to come back and fix whatever the issue was, once I have more experience writing. But considering this is turning into a trend, I doubt that will happen. Can't give you any advice on how to stop feeling this way, since I'd like to know too. But I can say that you are not alone in this feeling.
Question: Is this just your opinion of your work, or have beta readers said the same thing? There's a market for 'plenty good enough'
Have you shown it to someone else? Get a second opinion, maybe you will find it motivating (or they will crush your dreams). I had a project once that I thought was utter crap, but once shown to a few others, it turned out it was excellent. My own opinion blurred reality, and reality was that my work was good.
I've let a couple of people read bits of my novel I have so far. Most of the comments were on world building, the likes of which I'm doubling down on, and the closest critique I got that's similar to what I'm feeling was that my main character tended to be flip floppity (one moment he was a self centered jerk, the other he was supercaring and nice to others).
Well, would you say you're very invested in telling this story? Do you feel enthusiastic about it? I'm asking because the feeling you're describing sounds similar to how I get if I try to write something I'm not especially invested in: It results in narratives that feel somehow lifeless. You may also be attempting to write a story of a type that doesn't suit your natural style, which will have the same effect since attempting to tell such story will be less stimulating to you. What kind of story do you like the most, on an emotional level? How do you form your story concepts? And how do you decide whether or not a story is worth writing in the first place?
Are you totally satisfied with your main character? Do you have a deep understanding of them – who they are, where they came from, what they love, what they fear, and what they want? And if so, are you allowing them to drive the story via their emotions and motivations? It's possible you've prioritized your setting and plot over your main character and character arc.
I feel like this statement here is telling. Whether you build a world for your story or a story for your world is up to you and both ways work, but not for everyone. Personally, the idea of world-first, story-second is utterly non-functional for me. I'm not saying that's what you're doing, but that sentence of yours I quoted feels like maybe possibly, if not exactly world-first, at least world-dominant, story-ancillary? Does that feel like at least some flavor of possible? On a hypothetical level, I feel like if I were to attempt a story that way, world-first, I would absolutely run into the issues you mention. I do not game or RPG or LARP or anything remotely from that arena of entertainment, so I have zero history of working the idea from that direction. The closest I come is extremely amature cartography, and I already know that my adventures in map-making do not ever result in stories. Maybe other people, but defo not me. Without having read your work, and admittedly going off of just the one clue quoted above, perhaps it's a matter of where you are starting in the writing process. Maybe you need to start with a more abstract core reason for wanting to write the story, something that compels you find a world in which to place the story that needs to come out of you, not the other way around. Maybe?
Maybe you answered your own question here? You put a lot into world building. ==> You need to adapt your story and characters to that world. ==> Everything feels artificial. How about putting a lot - even everything - into motivational base of all the main characters, the deep driving forces inside them?
Your tank might just be dry. Do you largely read only fantasy, as well? The feeling is normal for the wide middle slump of some projects, but is otherwise not a good sign. Writing (editing, too) should be a largely satisfying experience. Not necessarily 'fun,' but it should feel good. Take a break. Broaden those horizons. Start a different hobby or come back to an old one. Rediscover what themes strongly resonate and why. Maybe read or write some fiction that is out of your comfort zone, or consume some history. I find that books on commodities such as salt and coal are great for inspiration (mountains of natural conflict there, with undeniably life-like characters).
This remind me a quote from Stephen King, read in On Writing. I don't remember the exact words but sounds like : Good books often start with a good plot but end with characters at the center of the story [...] There is a moment where they will take the lead and you have to sit on the backseat. So, maybe you are too focus on what will happen to them and not enough on them. One trick I use is to put myself into there shoes, start thinking like them (with their way to see the world) and wait until something happens... usually works well (but I'm a realistic writer so maybe it won't work for you).
Honestly in my opinion I feel like we are our own worst critics. Something you find bland or unappealing may have someone else wanting more. I just joined this site but it seems like the perfect place for you to get your work critiqued and see where you can improve. I look forward to reading your work as I wait my 2 weeks to post mine. Good luck buddy
I'm with the people here who are suggesting that perhaps your world-building/plot creating focus is what's making the story seem artificial to you. I don't know if it will seem that way to your readers (you'll need some betas to point that out, if it's true) but I would suggest you focus on only one of your characters. Make sure that character comes to life. PUT them in that world you've created. How do they think and feel? What do they see and do? What is happening around them while they go through their daily lives? Most individual people do not have an overarching view on the entire world they live in. They will only see what's in front of them, and know what they've heard, studied or observed. It sounds as if perhaps you've been thinking too 'big.' Instead of writing a historical/social treatise on an entire society or world, write the story of one human being. (If they're not human, the same principle still applies.) Try to write a few scenes where the characters only know a little bit—or nothing at all—about what's going on elsewhere. Don't try to keep them to a particularly narrow path. That means they might not necessarily 'do' what you think your plot requires, if they are to stay in character. Don't be afraid to change the plot! If there is no way that particular character would actually say or do what you 'need' them to say and do ...then let them say and do something else. And see where this gets you. And good luck.
Yes, I have the same issue. One way I have found that helps me is not to tackle the main story immediately. Go to the Flash Fiction and Short Story Contest threads and look at the themes. Grab a dozen or so that sound interesting and then write either flash fiction(under 500 words) or short stories(under 5000 words) using those themes based in your world. This has helped me develop the groups and cultures in my world and figure out how they interact without it becoming overwhelming. It also allows me at address any(or at least some) major glaring issues before I get 40k words into story and realize I've written myself into a corner that I cannot get out of without a serious deux ex machina ass pull. IF I later decide to do a longer story set in the world, I already have the ground work built.
If you feel your story is contrived then there's two possibilities: 1. it is contrived and the situation would never have occurred naturally. To find this out write the ghost to your plot, the ghost is the stuff that happened before your story begins that sets up the whole situation between your characters. So, for example - a kid is under the care of someone who regularly catfishes people to bring them home, murder them and make their bodies into furniture. This child is never allowed to leave the house or watch tv or be on the Internet so the child grows up thinking this is a normal and okay behaviour. Eventually the adult starts to train the child in how to recognise and obtain victims. Once the adult dies the child takes on their work but they're still young and inexperienced and people are starting to notice things. The slip ups get the attention of the authorities who have been investigating the frequent disappearances in the area for some time. The story from this ghost is a murder mystery in which the cops have been circling the case for some time and the kids inexperience is their downfall. Things never just happen. There's always a reason or five about why things turned out the way they did. There's a natural progression of cause and effect it sounds like you're missing. 2. you've spent too long going over and over and over the story without a break and need to step back to get a fresh look at it in a month or so. The longer you work on something without a break the less perspective you have. Take a step back from the world building and the story progression and go do something else. Come back to it in a couple weeks, read it over, see what you think. If you still think it's contrived then it probably is and you just need to figure out how things got to the point they were that kicked off your story as it is or alter the story to fit a ghost. If you don't think it's contrived then problem solved. It may also be that there's a hundred tiny holes you see but are ignoring in favour of pushing ahead. If it's not working where you are now then the problem isn't where you are right now, it's way way back somewhere in what came before.
It could be a lot of things. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on since we haven't read the work or know you personally. I think a lot of the above points are valid opinions. However, I think you need to take some time to analyze why it isn't working. We can all give our remedies, but we also don't totally understand the affliction. I would guess that a lot the opinions, including mine, are drawing on personal experience. Take some time to reflect on your work and analyze what the problems might be. Here are some thoughts: 1. You may need to restart from the beginning and revise or cut some elements. Killing your darlings is the hardest but most helpful thing to do in some scenarios. Sometimes we include ideas that we are in love with, but they do nothing for the story. Maybe you have included a character that you are in love with, but they don't belong in this story. In addition, maybe you just need to trust what you "gut" is telling you. We always know whether an idea is working or not, but we don't always want to give up on it. I know I've had that problem. We love our ideas and quitting feels like failure, but we have to remember to fail forward and learn from the things that didn't work. This will make your writing better and improve your overall skills as a writer. 2. I once recieved good advice from someone that said there are creators who work on one project for too long and, in some cases, need to stop working on that specific project because it just doesn't work. For instance, if you have been working on the same project with little project for an extended period of time, you may need to rethink working on the project all together. Sometimes an idea just doesn't work when you flesh it out, or maybe it is the wrong time in your life to be working on that project. Maybe you're not experienced enough yet to tackle the idea. And please don't take this as "quit if you've been working on it for a year." You need to figure out when too long is too long. Unfortunately, I can't answer that for you. 3. Maybe you just need a break. Use the old Hemingway method and take a break from your writing. When you come back to it you will notice things you didn't see before. 4. Sometimes you need reader to give honest feedback because we get too close to our projects to see the problems. However, other people will notice problems right away. 5. It's also possible that you have been working on that project so long that it's no longer "shiny." Have you ever heard of the "Shiny New Idea Syndrome"? It's "a disease or affliction in which a writer is unable to focus on their current book or short story without being distracted by another project." In this case, maybe the idea has just lost it's luster. It may be a perfectly great idea still. 6. Are you a pantser or plotter? If you are a pantser and free-writing your way through the story, you may feel "inorganic" because you're still working your way through to the end. Even a pantser has to revise their work at some point. You can't pants forever. Could you be taking the wrong approach in how your writing? If you are a pantser, you could try plotting and seeing if that clears up your feelings towards the project. 7. It could be a personality issue. Are you an overthinking or worrier? It could just be you getting in your own head. Every writer has struggles similar to what you're feeling. Writing is not easy. It is hard work. As writers, we enjoy writing, but writing won't always be fun. I think the way you're feeling is normal, but you need to figure out if it's the story isn't working or if you're just getting inside your own head.
