The Creatives Corner

[gcninja]

A friend and I joked about fanfic as she reads it a lot a while back and I ended up writing five pages of Cowboy Bebop fanfic <_<. She likes it I hate it (of course). I've had my moments of jotting down 5-10 pages of stuff then losing it and being like "oh well, was crap anyway" but it's been forever. I'm always afraid to go to far because then I start comparing it to other ideas already out it's similar to and then it looks like a carbon copy (though I'm sure it's not (lies it is! (maybe?))). Yep

e: OH GOD THIS IS A NEW PAGE! EVERYBDOY WILL SEE IT! ABONDON THREAD

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I often seem to get the first post of a new page with a post that makes little sense out of context

[Fenrir]

@ Deedles : Ah. Well, I'd be interested to hear how it goes!

@ Duckay : What's the premise of the latter script?

@ MM : I guess? It's possible to have perhaps too broad a range of creative interests. It's not necessarily a bad thing if managed correctly IMO.

@ Ninja : Heh, sounds like we're cut from a similar cloth. Still! You should totally try and write more stuff.

Could always post up some prompts or something here for people to work on. Maybe make it a twice a month thing or something. Y'know, give people a chance to stretch those creative muscles.

[Phailhammer]

I have three main worlds that I have spent time developing.

The first is a sci-fi setting that centres around a Commonwealth (human) planet in the midst of a civil war. The conflict eventually spills out across the entire Commonwealth. I created it a while ago, and, along with a friend, have written a fair bit for it (see link in sig), but unfortunately ran out of steam. We didn't have a clear idea of where we were going with it, so it stagnated. I'm in the process of trying to resurrect it, but it's slow going; inspiration's hard to come by.

The second is a world centred on a region that is basically that world's equivalent of Europe. It's set in a period roughly equivalent, technology-wise, to the late Interbellum period; 1935 is the year I decided on as a comparison for the year in which the first map I drew is set. That one has a bit of backstory, and a few characters, but not as much as the first.

The third is the most recent one, both in creation and setting. A couple of characters and basic story elements existed for a while, but weren't expanded upon until around a year or two ago. This one is set last year in the same area I live, and centres around a few high school students and related characters. This is the one I have the least amount on, story-wise; I originally created a few of these characters for a side story for something a friend was writing (the second link in my sig). I canned that story once I decided I didn't want to relegate those characters to another bloody zombie story.

[keenersmash]

I've been a bit bored at work, and I have an idea for a book.

So I decided to make my own language to use as place names and the such. I've probably spent more time on the language than ideas for the book, but hey, I find this way more interesting.

"Anat prefiya heliojou?
"Do you like oranges?"

or

"Cet vula giacou lopokik hori cet bao locana."
The brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

...

Yeah, I probably should be more productive with my time.

Whoa, this is really cool! I want to create a language (or languages, more like) for one of my stories, but I don't really know where to start. I'm able to come up with alphabets and sounds easily enough, but the rest of it (grammar, syntax, vocab) just seems complex and intimidating. If you don't mind, do you have any advice? Or maybe just giving an idea of your process?

Also hi creative thread, I'm a writer who barely writes but would love to do it for a living one day, I'm just terrible about motivating myself. I've just recently started a local writing group with a few friends, and I'm hoping that will help motivate me. It seems to be working a tiny bit, which is better than nothing, really.

[Jamfalcon]

Well, after taking a couple weeks off due to a new kitten and a cold, I'm slowly getting back into the swing of putting everything in order to sell my book once it's ready. Turns out there are a lot of steps to the process, who would've guessed?

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

@ Lemons : That's cool. Heh, also entirely fair enough that you want to get the structure down etc. first. What's the premise if you don't mind my asking?

Well the story (or at least the draft of it) is an empire split in two and how outside forces are conspiring to get the two halves of the empire fighting so they can sweep in and take some of their land.

So the story follows two bands of people (one from each side of the empire) trying to stop the civil war from starting and figuring out who's causing the trouble.

One story would be more about court intrigue and a person coming of age to take responsibility of the household and the transition from childhood to adulthood. The other will be a more "Lord of the Rings like", as in they have to trek across the countryside, and encountering the more fantasy elements in the world.

They'd also be a couple of side-stories along the way, or at least that's what I planned.

Whoa, this is really cool! I want to create a language (or languages, more like) for one of my stories, but I don't really know where to start. I'm able to come up with alphabets and sounds easily enough, but the rest of it (grammar, syntax, vocab) just seems complex and intimidating. If you don't mind, do you have any advice? Or maybe just giving an idea of your process?

Hmmm...I would say the best advice is to study other languages, not learn them. But I'm not sure I can really give any good advice, so I'll just explain my process with one of the sentences I did before. It's quite long so I made it collapsible.

Click to Expand

"Anat prefiya heliojou?
"Do you like oranges?"

So for this:
You = Anat - This is taken from the Japanese Anata meaning you. The grammatical structure also operates like Japanese, with the subject being the first thing spoken.

Prefiya= Prefer/Like - This is taken from Preference, shortened to Prefi, then adding on "ya" as an affimtive. Therefore, 'dislike' would be Prefina. Going further to the complexest part about language making, I decided to make most adjectives and verbs have a single root, and the suffix would change the meeting. For example, for 'Prefi' this would be the root word for 'Opinion'. 'A' is mostly used for positive, 'O' mostly for negative.'Ya' or 'Na' are used as indicators. 'Da' or 'Do' are verbs. 'Ga' or 'Go' are adjectives.

Note, the English is a rough translation, not transliteration.

Prefiya- Like
Prefina- Dislike
Prefida- To impress
Prefido- To disappoint
Prefiga- Likeable
Prefigo- Dislikeable

Then I added an extra layer of complexity by having either negative or positive attributes to positive or negative adjectives/verbs.

Prefidaya- Lost for words/Flabbergasted (Positively impressed)
Prefidana- Arrogant (Negatively impressed)
Prefidoya- Tried/Good effort (Positively disappointed)
Prefidona- Pathetic/No effort (Negatively disappointed)
Prefigaya- Loveable (Positive likeable)
Prefigana- Annoyingly popular/Infallible (Negative likeable)
Prefigoya- Good for you/'No pain, no gain' (Positive dislike)
Prefigona- Hatred/Irredeemable (Negative dislike)

This way you only have to think of one new root word, but can get 14 or more words from it.

So...yeah, I've probably made this seem even more daunting then before, but I hope by going through how I did it, it gives you some ideas.


Heliojou= Orange - This means "Sun jewel", I decided to give call fruits 'Tree jewels' or "Abajou" and give most fruits the ending 'jou'. Helio is the Greek (I think) for sun. Therefore most of my nouns are either descriptive or based in Latin (Fox is 'Vula', Bunny is 'Lopo').

So I hope that's helped, but it's hard to explain how I get my inspiration for the language.

[Duckay]

@ Duckay : What's the premise of the latter script?

It's kind of dumb. A group of people get together to attempt to recreate the Philip experiment. Unfortunately the group dynamics make it a clusterfuck (one guy is deliberately dicking with them because he's a skeptic, one guy is only there because he was promised pizza and beer, etc).

It sort of pales in comparison to everyone else's creative endeavours (and certainly it's a bit rich me talking about my "short film scripts" on LoadingReadyRun of all places.)

The one that's complete and needs better audio/acting is also kind of dumb and hard to explain, though. In a nutshell, it's "Girl gets drunk-dialled by the haunting she walked out on".

[RedNightmare]

@Duckay: Heck, the premise of the completed sketch alone made me giggle.

And don't feel bad when comparing your sketches with LRR's. They have 10 years of non-stop experience on us and even they are still improving.

Me and some friends also started making some sketches and they too pale in comparison to what LRR puts out: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbCq4AT28NGRAoCMNIGZkkg

They are all in Dutch, but I did subtitle one.


As for solo projects, I still have a book that I kinda want to write. I got the main plotline and the first few pages, but after that I just end up writing uninteresting drivel. I'll post some of it later anyway

[Amake]

I'm trying to put together this satirical little text, well, you probably get the idea. Some of the more ridiculous unfairnesses to women, presented as a EULA for installing a vagina. Probably will work if I photoshop it up to look like a picture of a regular software EULA.

I will rewrite it to make the language more biting when I've had more caffeine, but I'm certain I'm forgetting several essential items that should be on there. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

Secret blue liquid periodically?
Or is that too much of an obscure joke?

This might help: (Visually NSFW due to colour association. RED. SO MUCH RED)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EufLuiy2ANc

[Garwulf]

Is it possible to be, too creative?
As in have stupidly broad creative interests?

Speaking as somebody who's been in the field for around 15 years or so, I'd have to say "no." Most of the professional writers, authors, etc., who I've talked to have a similar experience to mine - what I call the "bombardment of ideas." I've sometimes wondered if it's a low-level form of autism, where the thing you can't filter out are creative impulses and ideas. But, "bombardment" is the correct term.

What can happen, though, is a lack of focus when it comes to developing skill. I believe to this day that talent is something that you are born with, but skill is something that is learned. In order for the talent to translate into good creative works, the skill has to have been developed, and that happens through practice and training. I guess you could say that the skill is the conduit for the talent to come forth.

For example, I once decided to learn how to play the violin. Part of this was to find out if I actually could play music, as opposed to just playing the notes...and there is a difference. As it turns out, I could - but I started so late in life that I have not been able to develop the skill in any substantial way. So, you can hear the music when I'm just improvising, but if I try to play off sheet music, it's a disaster that would probably violate the Geneva Convention regarding cruel and unusual punishment if I ever played for an audience.

So, broad-based creativity is never a bad thing, I think. In order to get somewhere, though, you have to develop the skills. I may not be able to play the violin to save my life, but I can make the music, so if I ever developed the skills properly, I'd probably be pretty decent. On the other hand, I've been writing since grade school, and professionally since 1998 - I can make the written word do amazing things. That's where my skills were developed.

Now, if only I had the time to work on my own projects...

But anyway, to summarize, lots of creativity is quite good. But, it can amount to very little if you don't develop the skills with sufficient focus to allow it to come out in a meaningful way.

Best regards to all,

Robert Marks

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

Is it possible to be, too creative?
As in have stupidly broad creative interests?

Speaking as somebody who's been in the field for around 15 years or so, I'd have to say "no."

(insightful text cut out to make smaller the quote box)

But anyway, to summarize, lots of creativity is quite good. But, it can amount to very little if you don't develop the skills with sufficient focus to allow it to come out in a meaningful way.

Best regards to all,

Robert Marks

Thank you for assuring me.

I find... I need variety. I can spend 10 hours straight on a project (which I do regarding RollerCoaster Tycoon 3), but I need to spend time doing some other activity in the mean time.

My creative interests are:
Drawing.
Painting.
Sculpture.
Crafts:- Sewing, Lace Making, Weaving etc..
Carving.
Playing the Violin.
Tinkering on the Piano to pass the time.
Baking breads and cakes.
Mixing drinks at informal social gatherings (try Elderflower and Apricot if you ever get the chance).
Digital Creation with programmes such as Minecraft or RollerCoaster Tycoon (where you're building a 3D environment with premade assets and you're simply building a world and you can experience what you've made real-time)
-
I'm also studying to be a plumber.
I'm teaching myself Video Editing which also now includes creating static 2D Title cards for my videos in Photoshop.

I've had tastings of Glass Fusing and Clay Sculpture work which I really want to pursuit when I can afford a kiln.

The reason why I asked is that you have these well-known personalities that are amazing musicians/painters/crafters but you don't hear much about their other interests. And I wonder, "How on earth can you stand every waking moment doing one single activity?" It made me insecure momentarily about my own interests. I had always felt like a "Jack of Trades Master of None" type person, and it began to feel like a negative quality. But I need to vary what I do.

In RPG type games I either play a Hybrid class or I switch between characters quite often. (The switching can be bad, because if I haven't sufficiently learnt to play a character, I forget how to play it well. I have to dedicate time to fully learn it before I can switch away.)

So that made me worry about being too spread interest-wise.

Thank you for reassuring that there isn't anything inherently wrong with having a broad spectrum of creative interests.

I am Dyspraxic if that gives any insight?

(I think what does fuel my spread interest is me trying to succeed in being a creative professional. The more arms I have throwing objects at a wall, the greater chance something might stick and then I can pelt full force into that vein. If I keep throwing the same ball at the wall repeatedly, it may never stick, and then I would have been wasting that time. Also there are limiting factors [primarily due to finance, the irony] that restrict how far I can pursuit a certain thing)

[Garwulf]

(I think what does fuel my spread interest is me trying to succeed in being a creative professional. The more arms I have throwing objects at a wall, the greater chance something might stick and then I can pelt full force into that vein. If I keep throwing the same ball at the wall repeatedly, it may never stick, and then I would have been wasting that time. Also there are limiting factors [primarily due to finance, the irony] that restrict how far I can pursuit a certain thing)

First, you're very welcome for the reassurance, and I'm glad I could help.

Second, it's a hard struggle to get to the point where you're established. I'm now around 15-16 years into my professional career, and I think I've been able to support myself with it for perhaps the last 4 or 5. The entire first decade was spent struggling to keep a roof over my head, develop my skills, while not being driven crazy by what was necessary along the way. I think I've had everything knocked down and had to start over from scratch at least 3 times (among other things, the Lord of the Rings movies helped kill my fiction career - after those movies came out, the publishers glutted themselves on fantasy novels, and if you were on the wrong side of the glut, as I ended up due to a couple of agent problems at the time, you ended up in the wilderness). Today, I can say that I've found a niche in which I can operate and be established...which allows me next to no time for my own projects (guess what my next career goal is...).

The thing of it is...even though to this day when something good happens to me I'm still waiting for the "other shoe to drop," as we say over here, it has been one HELL of a ride. I've got three universities degrees now, become a trained historian (MA level, not Ph.D. level), and even done some minor communications research for the military in the war against terrorism. I even get to work as a spokesman and communications director for a sword company, so "free swords" are something I actually have in my life. So, all that struggle...so long as you keep at it, it pays off, big time, and often in ways you never expected.

I know that sometimes it feels like a long tunnel, but there is a light at the end of it. Just try to enjoy the ride as best you can when you're in the middle of it...

Best regards to all,

Robert Marks

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I do find that my artwork, whilst unique, is the wrong sort of artwork for the field I'm interesting in. I'm really into fantasy... but the sort of artwork that's popular or considered "good" are either:
Anime,
Comic/Cartoon,
High Fantasy Illustration/Generic fantasy style.

I think that puts me at a disadvantage. I don't really have a style. Having a style when you're young (under 50 years of age) is dangerous, you're likely to get stuck in a ditch. But the work I produce has a Quentin Blake quality to them, which really doesn't fit with the mass opinion of Art in the Geek world. I've entered many contests with my artwork, and I have never received anything (even traffic or comments). The work that gains anything are Anime/Comic/Generic Fantasy work.

The only thing I've gained from a contest is 6 Branded Stress Balls from Deviant Art.

But yeah, it's frustrating as I am not actually able to produce the work I want. I want to paint big pictures, but I have no space to do it comfortably. I can do it in my house, but it'd wreck my back. I would ruin the carpet of where I worked. Working outside would eliminate the mess, but I would still have troubles with physical damage to myself.

I can make a tiny income from selling cards, but I am producing them myself. I print out images of my work and carefully mount them on a plane greetings card. I really don't enjoy doing this as it's tedious and I am not a neat person, but I fuss about mess. I haven't set it up so it doesn't hurt me to do this activity for long periods of time. The solution is to print these cards at a printer's.
The issue is that I am having to compete with commercially produced cards by more established people. They are safely able to commission 100s of their designs with a very likely financial return. Therefore my price point is high, but never really sell any. Or have it low and having to sell a lot more product to get a return.
I researched quotes for card manufacturers, and if I order 100 cards, I would have to sell 65 to break even. I've only sold 30 cards in total ever.

But yeah, I do have to hold tight. Await the light someday and try to enjoy the ride. I just wished I have a periscope which I could use to spy around the corner, so I could make more dynamic decisions.

At my age, I'm expected to "Live Life" and go to Sweden and look for creative jobs there because I am young and I should take leap of faiths. I am not that sort of person. I want to make educated decisions.

Yeah, I have frustrations and a slight amount of bitterness. Oh well!

My roadblocks are:

Having a space to produce artwork and/or Buying a good sturdy easel which would allow me to work outside.

Having a kiln (this is something I'd expect to resolve when I am 65).

Having a float of money to invest in Sourced Printed Cards of my designs to save me having to manually create them.

Owning a Nintendo 3DS Capture Card so I can exploit the opening of Pokemon Ar Academy and produce "Lets Draws" with that game. I can combine my love of Pokemon with my Art Training. Downside is there is no knowing how long the buzz of interest would last.

Owning a more powerful Computer System which would allow me to have more freedom when creating video content.

[Deedles]

Finished the map, still writing on setting info (which includes general fluff about the world, named Acacia, and info about the various kingdoms, capitols, and other outstanding locations.)

[Fenrir]

So much awesome going on! Shall make a proper response once I'm a little more with it than I am right now. Wanted to say two things though : 1) Welcome, Mr Marks! Glad to have you in thread. & 2) That map looks pretty good, Deedles!

Technical question : Where's the best place to look up general geographic information when creating world maps (or even region maps)? Trying to throw one together for my piece and don't want to miss out anything particularly vital.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

On what scale? Because I could ask my Dad where you can find online resources for maps of land ownership, biomes, habitats, flora and fauna diversity etc...

[RedNightmare]

So after accidently draining the sink while I was still using it, I ask out loud. "Brain, what the hell!?" Following that train of thought lead me to scribble down this:

Click to Expand

Me: Hello brain, Roger speaking here.

Brain: Yes this is brain, go ahead.

Me: What the fuck brain! You had one job, one job. Not say anything stupid. And this is what you do!?

Brain: Look, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Me: How did dead baby jokes seem like a good idea? In what universe was that ever a good idea at this point in time?!

Penis: SEX!!

Brain: Shut up penis. Look, she had a quirky sense of humor. Besides, she started it.

Me: She started with a Nazi joke. A Nazi joke! Nazi’s are accepted! They are up there with lawyers in that you can do horrible things to them without people minding.

Brain: Oh, thanks for us reminding. We also know a very good dead baby lawyer joke. Mouth, hello?

Mount: Mouth here, speak to me.

Me: DON’T YOU DARE BRAIN!

Brain: Calm down man, Jesus. Mouth, belay that order

Mouth: Ok, shutting up.

Penis: SEX!!

Me: Shut up penis. Look, maybe we can salvage this. Brain, give me a complement.

Brain: Right! “You have very pretty eyes you know”

Me: SHE’S BLIND!

Brain: So, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have pretty eyes. Come on, look at them

Eyes: Agreed. Even we are a little jealous down here.

Me: I know that, but I think that might she might be a bit more sensitive after shocking her like that.

Brain: What, you got something better?

Me: We could say something about her hair.

Brain: Ok, and what do you want to say about her hair, uh.

Me: It’s… very wavy?

Brain: Riiiiiight. Why not just admit you are trying to change the subject.

Me: Look, I don’t like it either, but we need to say something.

Ears: Damn it people, she’s starting to ask why we aren’t saying anything.

Brain: Oh shit, oh shit. Euhm, wait… No…

Me: Hurry, hurry!

Brain: Don’t push me, don’t fucking push me!! You know I don’t work under pressure!

Me: We gotta do something say anything. I don’t mind. Just anything!

Mouth: You want me to say something?

Brain: I… I just… I’m trying to…

Penis: SEX!!!

Mouth: Got it “SEX!!!”

Brain: Shut up penis! Wait… did we just…?

Me: Yeah, I think we did.

Ears: We can confirm that we did.

Me: Shit! Shit!! Shit, shit, shit!!

Brain: ABORT!! ABORT!! ABORT!!

Me: We need to get out of here.

Legs: Aye, Aye captain. Full steam ahead!!

Ears: We are hearing cutlery falling sir.

Me: Forget them, just run!

Brain: ABORT!! ABORT!! ABORT!!

Penis: SEX!!

Everyone: SHUT UP PENIS!!!

I'm sorry, kinda.

[My pseudonym is Ix]

That was goddamn hilarious

[Duckay]

This seems a good place to ask this. That short film I mentioned above, I'm still not happy with it and while we (the "crew" as it were) all agree it needs work, we have been unable to decide what it needs exactly (do we replace the audio? Reshoot some scenes? Reshoot the lot? Roll it out as is?) I'd love a second opinion from someone I can trust not to just praise it no matter what, or to trash it on principle, but I'd rather not put it out in public until I'm happier with it. Advice, anyone?

[Fenrir]

This seems a good place to ask this. That short film I mentioned above, I'm still not happy with it and while we (the "crew" as it were) all agree it needs work, we have been unable to decide what it needs exactly (do we replace the audio? Reshoot some scenes? Reshoot the lot? Roll it out as is?) I'd love a second opinion from someone I can trust not to just praise it no matter what, or to trash it on principle, but I'd rather not put it out in public until I'm happier with it. Advice, anyone?

Perhaps a closed group viewing. Select a few people, get them to agree to an NDA and then have them watch it / give feedback.

[RedNightmare]

I'd be prepared to give it a look. I don't mind giving honest feedback.

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

So here's a little bit of the story I was writing. Can I have some feedback on things like style/grammar/intrestingness etc. : )

Click to Expand

There is an old saying in the Empire, "A bird can choose not to learn to fly, but it knows at some point it must." This saying was weighing heavily on a young woman's mind, soon to become the head of her household; she did not want to learn to fly just yet, but she knew that she would plummet out of the sky is she did not. This women was called Elusia (Forest Spring) from the Grand House of Argayamtat (Sliver Mountains). You may notice the language of the People of Deitnanama (Middle Land or Midland) is rather long winded; due to the fact that the Dietnanamaams (Midland People) love being descriptive. Why saying something with one word, when it can be said with three? This can lead to some rather long and difficult to pronounce words for non-native speakers, and sometimes for native speakers as well. Take the capital of the Northern Dietnanama Empire for example, it's name is Yammiponmoxipois (Small mountain big river city). The name is very apt, seeing that it is on the side of a small mountain that with a large river running by it, but it can be a mouthful for most foreigners who have ended up shortening the name to 'Ponmoxi', something that irks the locals who consider the uncouth nature of outsiders for their inability at pronouncing the name.

At this point in time, Elusia's mind was too troubled by the forthcoming transference of household duties to her. The Argayamtat family was rich, mainly from mining operations of sliver, hence the name, and various trade enterprises they had stake-holdings in. Eulsia would not run the household on her own, but she would make the decisions and the status of the house would be direct reflection on her, she in a sense would become the household. She was not unprepared for this, to the contrary her whole life had been in training for this. Being the eldest child of the household, as the Deitnanama did not care for gender, meant she was always going to take charge when her father reached an age where his judgement would start to fail.

She did not want this, she wanted to be out in the world, not stuck in an office proving seals. She was a warrior by heart, feeling more comfortable in armour than in a gown, with a sword in her hand rather than suitor's. Elusia was slightly larger than average for a lady of her age, that being 25 years, with scarlet hair that was cropped short above her neck. Soft brown eyes viewed the scene from her bedroom's balcony.

Looking over the tiled rooftops of Yammiponmoxipois, Elusia wondered when she would again be able to enjoy the view of the small houses with their chimneys pots puffing merrily in the mild autumn morning. She may be an old lady before this scene is one of tranquillity, rather than a herald for a hectic day ahead.

She stared at the scene for as long as she could, hoping to ingrain it in her mind, wishing for it not to end. Apple trees in the park swayed gently side to side with the light breeze. A couple of wood pigeons cooed softly in the mansion's garden as they prospected for worms. In the square the local merchants were setting up their stalls for the day's trade, and wagons from the fisherman delivered the morning's early catch.

Today looked to be a fine sunny day, abet slightly cool from the northern wins, but Eulsia felt far from sunny. To her, she felt as grey and gloomy as the oncoming autumn rains.

So yeah, I hope you enjoyed!

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

Just sat here with a big dictionary like Excel spreadsheet open detailing my language.

I sat back and thought, "I'm really putting WAAAY more effort into this than I really need to, just to write a book."

But then, I'm finding making a language oddly fascinating, and now I can't stop!