Thought cascades - Room for world building?

[Beta_Krogoth]

Hey everyone, i'm very new to scribblehub and my welcome has been warm so thank you all! I've been producing my own worlds and stories since I was kid (i'm reaching that dreaded three zero soon... ugh...) and I got dragged into the furry fandom when I was younger, although I was sensible enough not to get dragged too deeply into it, despite that, being in that sort of environment definitely tilts ones writing and as a result, I did write a lot of smut but generally these days, my appetite for writing that stuff has diminished a lot. I've been writing more actual world buildy stuff recently and decided to post it on here, as it doesn't usually get any attention on other sites - to my surprise - I came back to a couple of comments this morning which was really pleasant!

I'm going to be writing up new details and re-doing some older ones, but do people here enjoy reading about about a world as much as a direct story itself? I've always likened the world itself to a character and i've tried to develop something that is intriguing to think about, with rules and systems that enable complexity, but have defined values to prevent things from running out of control.

If you're interested, the first couple of chapters explain a little about the basic premise of the universe and go into detail regarding anomalous materials, something I hope stirs questions and ideas in you - would love feedback on this one if you do read. I'm considering the idea of commissioning someone to draw up those materials too.

Heavy Weapons – World building

This is a store for all the lore and details regarding my universe, its not a story, more of a collection of systems, details and oddities i've written, detailing what the universe of Heavy Weapons is like. I appreciate that none of my art is on scribblehub so this might...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Zirrboy]

Does a "Heavy Weapons" story exist anywhere or is this a standalone?

 

[Temple]

Oh, it's more like a wiki then? Some authors do go this route like tons of world building first and someday they'll start their book with a fully fleshed out world already. Brandon Sanderson kind of does that.
Although I must say that's hard to read for the average webnovel reader. Much better if you have a main story for this.

 

[Beta_Krogoth]

Does a "Heavy Weapons" story exist anywhere or is this a standalone?

That- thats a good question! "Heavy weapons" in the name of my universe in general, I am currently writing how it all began and how it ended up being the way it is, besides that, i've got the ultra-smutty "Sweet Venom" series that i'm currently re-doing the beginning of and several other smaller stories about other characters and factions but I haven't uploaded these. I don't know if that really answers your question or not though.

Oh, it's more like a wiki then? Some authors do go this route like tons of world building first and someday they'll start their book with a fully fleshed out world already. Brandon Sanderson kind of does that.
Although I must say that's hard to read for the average webnovel reader. Much better if you have a main story for this.

Thats a good way of putting it! I wanted to get the details down in a more digestible format and I wouldn't have a clue how to make an actual wiki.... But yeah, thats quite similar to what i'm doing. I've already got lots of characters and stories within the universe that I need to get into words. I think i'll detail the factions next, then do the full "This is how this universe began, this is how it got to its current state" story, which should be great!

I also appreciate its very conceptual but i've had great feedback already so perhaps there is room for this sort of "thought building" sandbox-esq stuff.

 

[Zirrboy]

That- thats a good question! "Heavy weapons" in the name of my universe in general, I am currently writing how it all began and how it ended up being the way it is, besides that, i've got the ultra-smutty "Sweet Venom" series that i'm currently re-doing the beginning of and several other smaller stories about other characters and factions but I haven't uploaded these. I don't know if that really answers your question or not though.


Thats a good way of putting it! I wanted to get the details down in a more digestible format and I wouldn't have a clue how to make an actual wiki.... But yeah, thats quite similar to what i'm doing. I've already got lots of characters and stories within the universe that I need to get into words. I think i'll detail the factions next, then do the full "This is how this universe began, this is how it got to its current state" story, which should be great!

I also appreciate its very conceptual but i've had great feedback already so perhaps there is room for this sort of "thought building" sandbox-esq stuff.

For making a wiki, perhaps look into fandom?

 

[Beta_Krogoth]

For making a wiki, perhaps look into fandom?

Ohh, thats a good shout, i'll give it a go this weekend, thank you!

 

[Jemini]

Hey everyone, i'm very new to scribblehub and my welcome has been warm so thank you all! I've been producing my own worlds and stories since I was kid (i'm reaching that dreaded three zero soon... ugh...) and I got dragged into the furry fandom when I was younger, although I was sensible enough not to get dragged too deeply into it, despite that, being in that sort of environment definitely tilts ones writing and as a result, I did write a lot of smut but generally these days, my appetite for writing that stuff has diminished a lot. I've been writing more actual world buildy stuff recently and decided to post it on here, as it doesn't usually get any attention on other sites - to my surprise - I came back to a couple of comments this morning which was really pleasant!

I'm going to be writing up new details and re-doing some older ones, but do people here enjoy reading about about a world as much as a direct story itself? I've always likened the world itself to a character and i've tried to develop something that is intriguing to think about, with rules and systems that enable complexity, but have defined values to prevent things from running out of control.

If you're interested, the first couple of chapters explain a little about the basic premise of the universe and go into detail regarding anomalous materials, something I hope stirs questions and ideas in you - would love feedback on this one if you do read. I'm considering the idea of commissioning someone to draw up those materials too.

Heavy Weapons – World building

This is a store for all the lore and details regarding my universe, its not a story, more of a collection of systems, details and oddities i've written, detailing what the universe of Heavy Weapons is like. I appreciate that none of my art is on scribblehub so this might...

www.scribblehub.com

I am strongly of the opinion that writing smut is the best way to improve your writing capability. It teaches so many essential writing skills that people seem to otherwise struggle with.

1st skill: Realism with human motivations. Sexuality is connected to almost everything a person does, and failing to acknowledge that or otherwise being clumsy with it when you do acknowledge it can severely harm your story. When you write smut, you delve fully into that head-space and that allows you to take a more mature view on the subject when you later dial it back to represent someone who, like everyone, has sex on their brain but puts it deep under wraps so they can function in polite society. (Because they know that any potential sexual partners will be turned off if they come off too strong, or go chasing after every potential mate.)

2nd skill: acknowledgement of human failings. People who started their writing in smut seem to do a far better job at portraying people as the weak and dirty creatures that they are, just struggling to make something of themselves.

Both of these things contribute a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT to your ability to write well. Even after you've gotten it out of your system and want to write good all-ages stories (or at least tone it down to an R-15 level,) the lessons you learned while writing the NSFW stuff will never leave you and you will be able to keep it up even when all the characters keep their clothes on.

Also, the fact that you are dedicating yourself to world building is a good start as well. Now you just have to put a story to it.

I've been writing my own story for a while, but it is only just recently I went to the effort of putting out a world bible. Most people don't even have that. Anyway, you can take a look at mine as well if you like. As you will see, I started with a top-down approach, beginning from the creation myth and bringing it on down to the level of individual cultures and civilizations.

(In world building, the divine level and the fundamental forces of the world are considered "top," the towns and nations and cultures and civilizations are considered "middle." The various metals and plants and animal species of the world are considered "bottom." A good world builder will always have their own place within these three where they like to start. I do top-down. By the sounds of your starting comments, it sounds like you like to do bottom-up.)

Key to the Void: World Bible

Hello everyone. I have finally gotten around to putting some serious effort into developing the world bible for my Key to the Void series. The kinds of information I have since started coming up with have turned out a little too thick and heavy for the occasional casual lore chapter...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Beta_Krogoth]

I am strongly of the opinion that writing smut is the best way to improve your writing capability.

Heh, I should be pretty good then! I've written enough both for my own stories and i've done some paid commissions too which were pretty good. You're not wrong though, the biggest issue with writing like that is the audience limitation, at least when it comes to more exotic tastes. There are only so many people that want to read about massive alien harems and... yeah... i won't go into it here.

 

[Jemini]

Heh, I should be pretty good then! I've written enough both for my own stories and i've done some paid commissions too which were pretty good. You're not wrong though, the biggest issue with writing like that is the audience limitation, at least when it comes to more exotic tastes. There are only so many people that want to read about massive alien harems and... yeah... i won't go into it here.

Oh yes, spot on. You write smut to get yourself started. The audience for smut is somewhat niche, but they will give you a great deal of validation if you're any good at all. That validation will help you keep going. It will also, at the same time, improve your skills in all the exact areas that are most important for a writer.

Then, once you have all of that polished up, you can tone it down into the all-audiences range. This will expand your audience as you take your skills into the realm of more conventional writing.