I’m a bit of a Michael Kirkbride fan, and a bit of a Tolkien fan (same as everyone). MK’s work on the Elder Scrolls series sets the bar for how original, offbeat, and deep I want my work to be. I want to be able to say I wrote a world from the ground up and filled it with dynamism, surprise, mystery, and drama. Unlike Tolkien, I’ll never be one for conlangs. I wouldn’t know where to start, but more importantly I wouldn’t know why to start. Tolkien came to storytelling via conlangs, and that’s just not me, so I tend to imitate MK instead.
You’re writing a world. Did you set out with a scope in mind? What sparked the desire? Are you, like me, writing lore instead of constructing an actual narrative because it’s just more fun (at least for now)? Who/what do you admire for worldbuilding?
I’m an enjoyer more than a creator of world building, but I can’t ever see myself writing or making a narrative. Maybe after I learn a lot more about that side, but mostly it feels fun to just play around with ideas and expand them into worlds. (Since I’m not an author) it doesn’t have to be profitable or timely.
Well put! I like to create just for its own sake, tending my little garden as it were. I want to live like Neil Gaiman, only writing a little every day.