Other Outlets

[Hillsy]

Looking for some input/ideas.

I've finished 2 novels and have 3 "on the go". However, the growing realisation that I am a) not good enough and b) a little too trusting of maths and probabilities and c) too introverted to join/create an network just for sharing, means my attitude of "I do it because I enjoy it" has been eroded by the increasingly coarse certainty it will be a purely private venture.

What I actually enjoy is story-telling. And story-telling requires an audience (even a handful). Writing seems to be the only method I have a modicum of ability with (I'd love to make films, but I don't have a few billion quid lying about unfortuantely), but the huge delay in gratification in novel writing is, well, depressing.

So I was wondering what other outlets for writing there are, or people have used, that are more immediate. I can think of a couple:

Short stories (Alas I don't read them/don't like them/can't write them....which is really annoying as they are kind of perfect!)
Web Serials (I have to dismiss this as well. It''d just be too much like writing a novel in public, which has editting issues)
Web Comics (I can't draw. Articulating exactly how much I want to be able to requires a lot of words and more tears)
Blog (The thought of blogging without a guaranteed audience makes me ask psychological questions of my ego I don't want answered)

Sooo.....What other ideas do you have, know of, or have used do get a little bit of gratification????

[sbs_mjc1]

I'm certainly the ''storytelling'' type, and I was raised in cultures which really value oral history and myth. So if you like the immediate gratification of having an audience reaction, you might want to check out some performance venues, like storytelling events or open mics.

[Mike Dickson]

Have you thought about your local library? In my area they are always looking for people to read different stories to groups. sometimes children sometimes adults. At my local library they just had someone read Edgar Alan Poe. I went to it to learn more about his writing. It was actually pretty fun. Afterwards people hung around and discussed his writing. Their were more writers in the audience then i expected.

[Hillsy]

Interesting. Never really considered writing as a performance media before (maybe because the thought of reading aloud in public does wierd things to my entrails, and that's not even thinking about it being my own stuff). I suspect that would be an excellent medium for, not sure what the genre classification would be, epic narrative?

I do like the idea of stripping storys down to pure narrative, sort of fable or mythology form. I've sketched out a couple of computer games working on the same theory of heavy world building, then a streamlined narrative for players to follow. However, suffered a bit from being unskilled in computer programming, I built the second one in Excel but got bogged down in coding. Even then there's the issue of anyone actually seeing it, and the sheer time needed to invest to get it polished and ready.

[dios4vida]

Hillsy, to me it sounds like you're the creative builder/planner type of person instead of the crafting/prose type of person. You're great at making the plot structures and detailing worlds but you can't really sit and fill in the little pretty parts that makes it fun to read. My husband is the same way - I call him the Plot Master. Whenever I get stuck in my plot he always finds what's wrong and comes up with something awesome to fill it in. I don't know how I would write without him.

Maybe what you need is to find a creative partner - either a writer who would like some help with the bones of a narrative or a computer geek who wants to code a video game but can't come up with a concept. There are a lot of creative "dynamic duos" out there and it sounds like me that you're one part of a dynamic duo. I'd start talking to your friends or people you know who have a creative spirit. Maybe they're in a similar situation, wishing that they could write or do something creative but not knowing where to start!

Good luck, I really hope you find your niche.

[jzweig]

A few years ago I got into LARP (LIve Action Role Play) and some dice games (Mutants and Masterminds) and found that those could be a good way to do some writing. You have to made the setting, build the worlds, its people, but also build the adventures and have to be flexible about what the players come up with. I Think it makes for some interesting storytelling, and if get some great performers, you you'd have some material for a story.

It might be a little longer and a little more involved (these things are not everyone's cup of tea) but just an idea.

I was blogging a weekly series until I was starting the polish on my WIP, so I second the blog/web comic avenue.

[Hillsy]

Dios:
Read my mind. I have thought about getting a creative partner, but predominately for any comic ventures (as much as it would hurt to give up that bit of control over the look of characters and places and such) or indeed a game coder. But at the moment it feels a bit like relying on someone - and I'd be paranoid about letting them down, which would in turn sap the fun out of the whole thing.

Believe it or not I'm very prose heavy. My first MS was 287K and I trimmed that down to 195K (still reckon there's another edit in there somewhere). What I meant by storytelling was the need to have an audience. My friends don't read or don't read SFF. I'm too self conscious too foist it on them, and then demand feedback. Writing groups I'm struggling with because I'm not confident that any feedback I give is correct, and if I can't put quality in, it's not fair to take anything out.....So in short I am looking for someone to write for, the gratification of feedback or interest that a novelist will normally have to wait a year plus for once he first types "THE END"....so I was looking for different types audiences to get a feel of that gratification, so I can prove to myself, in one thing at least, I'm not just writing for an audience of one: Me

jzweig:
I used to do a lot of RP when I was younger....again that self conscious thing kind of scuppered it as I got older. But thinking about it I could offer services writing narrative, characters and world building for groups...I get to go to town and hopefully enrich someone else's game in the process. Be good to get the feedback afterwards too......food for thought - Thanks jzweig