Quests

Interrupting the Story

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Now, I love to write, as anyone reading this blog would know, and the idea of writing something that would be really useful to someone else is a bit seductive.  That’s probably why I started this blog.  Imagine how seductive it must be to write for Wikipedia then.  There’s only one big problem, and it’s a doozy.  Anything you write can be changed or outright deleted by someone who very possibly has not not even finished high school yet.  Most of the people running around submitting articles for deletion (and arguing until they get deleted) obviously have not done a day of research in their life.  They have very little knowledge about how to write and how to cite, and their defense is the wikipedia policies and guidelines that have obviously been written for a more intelligent and educated crew.  They, however, love the power of being able to bludgeon people with their misinterpretations and ridiculous logic that would never fly in any kind of an academic setting.

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Defeating writer’s block can be harder than downing a 40-man raid boss, and it definitely takes more creativity.  My first step always is to take a break and not try to force the issue.  I go off and do something that is mind-numbing such as chopping celery or playing a few rounds of Chuzzle.  Repetative action soothes me and allows my brain to rest.  I can usually go back to writing after taking a short break.

If that does not work, I resort to more serious measures.  Try either changing the space in which you write or changing the medium in which you write.  So, if you always write on paper, try typing.  If you type, try getting out the old pen and notebook.  If that doesn’t work, move.  If you always work at home on your computer, pick up and head to a bookstore, a coffee shop, or the library.  If you always work at a bookstore, head to the park or a cemetery.

These are just a few steps I take to keep writing.  I encounter writer’s block fairly frequently probably due to the massive amounts of text I have to create daily.  I’ll post more tips at a later date!

My latest contribution can be found on Bright Hub.  I’ve been writing about creating cultures in a virtual world.  This process can also be applied to creating races and such, so check it out!

Creating Cultures for Online Virtual Worlds

I also just wanted to show off my wonderful and expansionist Spore creatures.  Aren’t they cute?

Passive voice:

The sprig of Serith’s whiskers is being picked by the crafter.

Active voice:

 The crafter picke a sprig of Serith’s whiskers.

The active voice often takes up far less space than passive voice, which is very handy when writing descriptions with a limited number of characters and lines.  With just a bit of concious effort and practice, writing in the active voice will become second nature.

Whenever I create anything from scratch, I still try to make sure that it is grounded in reality.  That way, people who know anything about the gems will not be jarred out of their suspension of disbelief.  One of the best gem resources I have found online is Treasure Hunting: Searching America for Hidden Secrets, a blog written by Kalilea.  There are gorgeous pictures to peruse, and there’s a lot of facts about actually finding gems.  Check it out if you need some good, solid gem facts.

The children’s book, A Home on the Coral Reef, is a great place to start researching.  It’s simply written, pack with interesting tidbits, and  covers the basics of the biome.

Obviously, I’m still practicing in my free time, which is a pretty rare commodity.  I’ve added the Spore Widget to my blog so that people can download what they want or just see what I’ve made.  (Again, notice how easy they made it to share my Spores!)

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