ATTENTION: The Difference Between Writers Block And World Building

...Because you lot seem to not give a damn. I even addressed this a few months back when it got out of hand. It seemed to fix itself for a little while, but now I gotta clean up this freaking mess.

Let's differentiate, shall we? Get rid of this damn clutter?

WORLD BUILDING: You make threads here to discuss the more specific details of a fictional work, usually speculative fiction. You want an opinion on your ideas for races, settings, technologies, etc? Go here.

WRITER'S BLOCK: Discussion about more abstract elements of writing. Plots, characters, and dialogue should be the most specific story-centric things discussed here. The focus of Writer's Block seems to be technique. The "How" and "Why" behind writing.

IS THIS UNDERSTOOD!?

So, to sum this up:

WORLD BUILDING: The setting and mythos and all aspects of their jurisdiction. Places, technologies, languages, peoples, cultures, races, whatever.

WRITER'S BLOCK: Story, Plot, Characters, Dialogue, and most importantly, TECHNIQUE.

edited 18th Jul '11 4:03:00 PM by Pyroninja42

Indeed. I think the reason behind is more people prefer looking in Writer's Block than the other forum, and with the vague idea that WB is for anything writing-related - the confusion arises.

I remember a while back, suggesting clearer boundaries — with creative writing/art getting its own section. It seems a lot of work, creating new sections and moving the threads appropriately. This, coupled with the fact some prefer status quo to change..

If someone is willing to make a clearings, I think it's worth it. People will get much more help for each their threads, and they'll have better idea what to ask for.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:11:05 PM by QQQQQ

*snap salute* Sir, yes, sir!

I thought the difference between Writers' Block and World Building was that nobody posts in World Building.

Seriously though, I do have a question. Regarding characters, would a question go in one board if the character's an alien and the other if he's truck driver? Because, uh, that wasn't my impression, and that seems like it'd be a bit strange if it were true.

If you want to ask how the Alien's weirdness affects his relationship, ask in 'Concepts & Ideas'. If you're wondering about the Alien's dialogue quality, I think you'd ask in 'Writer's Block.'

It depends on what aspect of your storywriting you're wondering about. That part I think people scratch their heads on.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:22:26 PM by QQQQQ

Ding, ding. That's why I don't post in World Building.

How about we fix that?

It'll take some effort. First, World Building will need its own pinned threads, events like the Character Development Thread, trends in topics...build a community from scratch.

Oh, another difference. World Building threads usually apply to only the OP, while in Writer's Block, there are threads where other writers can actively discuss their own work.

I would suggest merging World Building into Writer's Block, except that that will make this fora too big.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:30:12 PM by chihuahua0

How about we just use the definition of "World-building": "Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a fictional universe ...It describes ...developing an imaginary setting that is coherent and possesses a history, geography, ecology, and so forth. The process usually involves the creation of maps, listing the back-story of the world and the people of the world, amongst other features. ...The goal of world-building is to create a context for a story. Consistency is an important part of the construction of a world, since the world provides a foundation or baseline to provide the core concept of the setting.".

If that covers what you're posting about, put it in world-building. If it's not, put it in Writer's Block.

Individual character development isn't world-building. Developing the culture a character or group of characters came from is. Naming a character isn't world-building. Inventing a con-lang is.

Since many of the people posting here are either writing fanfic, or at least writing something based on an existing set of works, they generally aren't world-building. The world is already built.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:35:02 PM by Madrugada

@ Q⁵: OK, that makes sense.

Yeah, this does seem like something that needs fixing. Any threads that spring to mind as needing pinning?

I imagine.. you'd have a conga game of developing a world, one poster at a time. People write their "articles" on their take on things like nano-technology, alien worlds, magic. That sort of stuff makes good interest for others to read.

First things, we need a pinned thread of what this forum is all about. Yack fest, OTC and Forum Games have it. Why not W Block and W Building also?

edited 18th Jul '11 3:32:27 PM by QQQQQ

Would threads like "Let's Make a Shonen" be put into World Building, or is it too broad of a topic to be put in there?

That is an iffy thing.. if you'd look at what I'd mentioned about subsection re-adjusting, that might better fit into the hypothetical "Concepts & Ideas" place.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:33:44 PM by QQQQQ

Why hasn't this thread been pinned yet?

Sounds good to me.

Developing a character is not world building.

Should this thread really be pinned? I dunno, I was kind of thinking any "what Writers' Block is about" thread ought to be something a little less ornery. No offence to the OP, I understand the context, but still.

What if for "developing", you're asking what outfit should Ry'leh wear, how many tentacles should he have, and what adopted syntax should he say? That is another iffy part..

edited 18th Jul '11 3:39:49 PM by QQQQQ

Honestly, I'm cool with how it works now. Status Quo is not only God, it's also Allah, Kali, and several other main deities that I can't think of at the moment (if Kali is even a main deity)

edited 18th Jul '11 3:50:21 PM by TheEarthSheep

Even the long-cherished status quo must give way to something better, as in the Industrial Revolution. That is growth and learning.

edited 18th Jul '11 3:51:58 PM by QQQQQ

I see you, like all weak men, tread the path of least resistance.

Collective stupidity in action makes me irritated. I'm not the most organized individual, but this is just absurd. The basic organization is already there, but people are just too stupid to make use of it in the name of "more posts".

edited 18th Jul '11 3:54:22 PM by Pyroninja42

OK, yeah, seriously, tone it down a notch or a dozen.

I don't disagree, but please. Calling people idiots is not helping.

There's nothing "iffy" about it. It's not world-building unless you are developing an entire culture that just happens to apply to Ry'leh.

World-building is about creating the entire world, not one or two characters.

Surely getting the maximum number of quality posts is the point of making a thread?

And you can't get that in world building? I made a thread that got 266 replies.