Discussion Do you find yourself having ideas for novels but feel depressed cus you're not a qualified author?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by sheeya, Apr 30, 2021.

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  1. sheeya

    sheeya Well-Known Member

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    So about 1.5 years ago I got into reading web novels and since then I have been unable to stop. I mostly read chinese cultivation novels and unfortunately most of them are just so badly written which leads to me jumping between hundreds of novels after dropping it after a few chapters, a few tens of chapters and in some cases they're entertaining enough to last for a few hundred of chapters. Very few have lasted until caught up with translation, hiatus or end of story for me personally but I still very much enjoy the genre and I'm kind of depressed that it's so difficult to find good stories, my search for new novels is getting longer each time.

    At the same time I feel like I've got these ideas that would make for a much better cultivation novel than what I've read (mostly), taking inspiration from all of them and trying to change it into something that not only works but also makes sense. But at the same time I don't feel like I would qualify as an author, lacking vocabulary & proper writing skills//story telling skills. Now these things can be practiced but I don't know if I'd ever feel the same enjoyment writing a novel as I'd get while reading one, going into it blind and just feel that excitement when you don't know what's going to happen.

    All of these things just makes me feel depressed, I just want my ideas to come to life, to exist for my enjoyment and not knowing what's going to happen next. Does anybody else have any similar thoughts and feelings, especially towards cultivation novels/xianxia where bad troupes are so common and easily improved upon?

    Rather than a discussion this is a bit more of a rant, me just venting some steam.
     
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  2. unsungsilver

    unsungsilver Well-Known Member

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    Rather than whole novels, more like ideas for various scenes, characters or powers. Since i like to think of random stuff when i go to bed or while going out buying groceries, there is not a whole lot of stuff to do than let your thoughts go wild.
     
  3. Shizun

    Shizun 《Jack of all trades》《Artist/Author》《Dao of BLedia》

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    It's not that bad i think. Just find a decent Editor / Proofreader. What difficult is to have the endurance to write, inspiration, motivation and so on.

    Another thing. Mostly BL novels have better plots than the rest so far in my opinion
     
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  4. Bachingchung

    Bachingchung Well-Known Member

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    Just give it a shot. I think QI have an author friendly program for such things. Some even submit their works with just their phones, just believe in yourself. You could ask for help, there are lots of people who have a great command in English language but ain't blessed with ideas.
     
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  5. Sutad Aatma

    Sutad Aatma Well-Known Member

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    Put your mind aside and right with your heart. Don't look back at your words and pen down the scenarios you wish came to life. If you cannot connect the plot points then write them separately. And then continue writing. Don't stop. It's the curse of being a writer. You never stop cause if you do, the flow will stop. Once you are done writing all scenarios you want, try to connect them, no matter how shabby it is. And then, give it to a friend. Ask them to read it and tell them to point out places that can be improved. Work on it. You will be wasting hours mulling over small details but that's okay. It's okay as long as you write.
    And once you somehow reach the end, take a break. Don't look at it for 3-4 days. And send it to someone who can edit. Then open it again and start editing from the top. Because by now you at least have the whole plot in your hand. You just have to smoothen it as much as possible. It is hard but if you are persistent, you will manage to complete a book (no matter how shitty it comes out, this one is from my personal experience)
    I wrote a shitty short story but I am glad I at least managed to complete one story instead of writing countless incomplete ones.
     
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  6. Sabruness

    Sabruness Cultured Yuri Connoisseur

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    i have more ideas than i can poke a stick at but none of them are complete ideas, just bits pieces and chunks of content.
     
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  7. SylviaViolet

    SylviaViolet Toast to the ones that we lost on the way⚓️

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    There's no such thing as an unqualified author. There are only lazy people. Just write what you want to. If you aren't good enough now, you will be soon. No one ever got good by thinking that they're bad and not trying things.

    I agree that writing may not be for everyone but if you want to do it, you should at least give it a try before imagining that you wouldn't like it as much as reading. I'm sure that once you do, you will find a different kind of enjoyment in it compared to reading. Whether you like it or not can be decided then.
     
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  8. TamaSaga

    TamaSaga Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately, nearly all writers don't create hits just by putting pen to paper. What they've really done is write small amounts over a large period of time to practice their craft before finally spinning out the work that entertains many.
     
  9. Fluffums

    Fluffums 【R-18 Researcher】【Seeker of Moe】

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    Read Invisible Dragon.

    Then ask yourself: "Am I really unqualified?"

    I've read a lot of author's notes, afterwords, interviews, where the author says "I didn't know that was going to happen until I wrote it" - in essence, as long as you don't force yourself to make the story happen according to your original plans, it's very likely that as you get to know the characters, they will start to act on their own and the story will feel like it's writing itself.

    At any rate, you won't know how it feels to write until you try writing, so... put some of your ideas down on paper or in a text document and when you have some free time to write, go for it! You might surprise yourself.
     
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  10. SylviaViolet

    SylviaViolet Toast to the ones that we lost on the way⚓️

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    I agree that it's terrible but the fact that the author continued to write despite getting so much shit on the comments is very commendable! 11/10 for mentality.
     
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  11. AliceShiki

    AliceShiki 『Ms. Tree』『Magical Girl of Love and Justice』

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    Writing is fun, you should give it a shot if you want to~

    Like, sure, it's not as brainless of an activity as reading, but it's still pretty fun alright.
     
  12. Mr. Tired

    Mr. Tired Professional Idiot

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    All the really good advice and genuine support here make me love this community even more. :bloblove:
    Especially as someone who really wants to write, but hasn't written any piece of a story for half a year for multiple reasons.
     
  13. Agentt

    Agentt Loves cats and pats and my wife

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    On august 2019, I had a dream where I had a beautiful wife.
    Ever since that day, I want to write that dream, but whenever I try to, I fail...
    Pain peko
     
  14. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

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    I feel unnecessarily called out.
     
  15. Nimroth

    Nimroth Someone

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    I can definitely empathize with liking the idea of a genre but not liking a lot of the common tropes used in it, especially when they are so common that people unironically claim that they are an essential part of the genre, even though they are not.
    Xianxia in particular is a genre that in theory I would like to read, but the number of stories I've properly enjoyed from it can probably be counted on one hand.
     
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  16. God slayer

    God slayer Retired God Slayer

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    Nah... I know I'm not good at that so I don't think bout em and just enjoy others writing......
     
  17. mir

    mir Well-Known Member

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    I do feel this sometimes: I have ideas, but I don't want to be a writer or write them. I just want them to exist so I can read them.

    And yes, it makes me feel sad too.
     
  18. zetsuen_dark

    zetsuen_dark [blue is the color of distance]⚓️

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    you're probably my soulmate brother.
     
  19. Saorihirai

    Saorihirai Well-Known Member

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    Lol this is the vast majority of people. Ideas are a dime in a dozen. Everyone has an idea but not everyone has a story for that idea. And then even few stories have good books representing them.

    Anyway, doesn't hurt to try. Go for it, who's stopping you? I wrote tons of horrible stuff when I was younger and put my best effort into them. It may not have been the best writing or even the best story, but it was mine and I loved it. I didn't even finish most of them. But I still went and wrote it, because I wanted to and it was fun. I feel like this may be a thing with age as well. When you're first starting out to write and you're young, (like pre-teens or teen) you don't care about how your story turns out, because you know you're not the best writer out there. You know you aren't gonna impress a million people, and you know it's probably not gonna be the best out there. But it doesn't matter because you don't really care. It's not like you're a professional author right? You just wanna write and have fun. I feel like when you grow older, this mentality is sort of lost.

    It's not like you're setting out to write the masterpiece of the century you know. If people didn't write because they were afraid of their skills, then no book would ever be written. (y)
     
  20. bvngtn

    bvngtn Well-Known Member

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    All the time! I've had the habit of just scribbling down this bits and pieces of scenes and ideas that I come up with ever since I was in elementary school. Some of them are connected to each other and some are completely unrelatated - I do it to vent some steam since I know I don't have the drive nor the attention to detail required to become a competent author :blobpopcorn:
     
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