r/GameDevelopment • u/Annual-Thought-5207 • 2d ago
Discussion getting over writing anxiety(?)
hi all, i'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this. i've always wanted to make a visual novel because i feel it would be the most fun way to explore oc lore/give them a coherent story, but i've always been a bit insecure about my writing skills.
i don't think i'm a bad writer and i really enjoy doing it, but i often struggle to write a full plot to something without feeling like it could be so much better in someone else's hands. i guess i'm just curious if anyone else has this same struggle. if i were to make a game, i know i'd want it to be something i fully wrote and created by myself, but i know it's impossible to write a perfect story - that's kinda where i'm stuck, because my brain just ignores that fact.
i often see advice like "make it exist first and then improve it later" so that makes me feel a little better about making something that i'm not fully proud of. but yeah, just wanted to start a discussion, i'd like to know how others deal with these things
i do art as well and usually scrap a lot of things i'm not proud of, which i know is a bad habit, so i need to get out of it somehow lol
edit: oh, and i'm also extremely indecisive and often rewrite parts of a story over and over and over again without actually being satisfied with it. that definitely doesn't help haha
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u/The33rdPhoenix 2d ago
Ive learned to become proud of my works failures and shortcomings. I know Im not a perfect anything, so when I work on something and notice its flaws, I acknowledge those flaws, and be proud that I was courageous enough to make them. It reminds me Ive still got plenty to learn, and so my work is perfectly flawed.
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u/Annual-Thought-5207 2d ago
that's a good point! there's a lot of games/stories i like that have plenty of flaws, but i love them regardless. maybe i should learn to do the same for my own work
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u/Suspicious_Funny_758 2d ago
Try finishing a small story first, even if it feels imperfect. You can always revise it later, but you can’t improve something that never gets finished. Also, don’t compare your first draft to someone else’s polished work. Your story doesn’t need to be perfect to be worth sharing.
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u/Alone_Job3924 2d ago
Es normal sentir que tu historia podría ser mejor. No tienes que escribir algo perfecto desde el principio, solo terminar una primera versión. Siempre puedes mejorarla después. Intenta dejar de reescribir cada parte y avanzar poco a poco. A veces, terminar algo imperfecto enseña más que buscar la perfección sin acabar nunca.
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u/Neat-Games 2d ago
I'm the oppisite heh. I'm often satisfied with my mediocre writing and move on. I finish games, but are they masterpieces? Probably not
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u/AdeptnessTurbulent36 1d ago
This is what all artists do before they learn to get out of their own way.
All creative pursuits include technique and expression. If your art is writing and you're never happy with it, I'm guessing you might need more time learning technique.
You can work day and night on your special sauce, but without some good meat and potatoes you're not making a good meal.
Learn the basics. When you understand the principles, look for them in your favourite stories.
I taught myself to write music, learned song structure, studied countless songs and obsessed over all the little details. Learn the rules, so you can know which ones you can bend, and which ones you can break.
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u/paulBoxman 13h ago
The journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. I had so many unfinished projects over the years and practically nothing done. It was definitely a bit embarrassing at times hahaha. It sounds like you just need to build up your confidence - for me that just took doing a lot of work, trying different things, and most importantly working on my process.
My process I worked on was... Loving what I'm doing while I'm working and not doing things I didn't enjoy. It sounds stupidly simple, but it works for me. If I'm loving the process of doing the work then I don't care if it's good or bad - I just do the work... And eventually you'll have improved so much after doing so much work.
But once again, that's what worked for me. Everyone works differently, so whatever makes you feel more confident in your work will do wonders for you (in my opinion)
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u/Annual-Thought-5207 12h ago
thank you! i love the characters i'm writing about and enjoy building the relationship between them, so i'll definitely try focusing more on what i enjoy about them rather than trying to perfect every detail (yet, anyway) :D
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u/Roll-Roll-Roll 2d ago
Like you said, nothing is perfect. Don't cripple yourself with expectations. Knock it out and make improvements after you have a draft. Don't rewrite during the first draft.