There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

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There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Jack Road » Fri May 29, 2015 11:27 am

I have hit a block in my writing for the past few years, as well as in my consumption of media.

I can't come up with a new story.

Sure I can come up with a story you have never read before. If by that you mean characters you have never heard of doing things you have never seen them do.

But when you boil it down it is just tropes all around. Nothing is unique or new. Everything has been done before, the story has been told.

I'm starting to think there are no new stories. I read and I know how the book will go by the first chapter. I watch a show or movie and understand what will happen by the third episode or the twenty minute mark, respectively.

It is frustrating because I remember when I was actually surprised and delighted by stories. They were new and exciting.

I feel like a miner. I hit different ores and follow them through their veins in bedrock until I exhaust them enough to know their continuance.

Don't get me wrong, I still consume voraciously, I just don't have that sense that I am seeing something new, and that sense keeps me from writing.

The last new thing I read was Sandman. And after that I read devoured every "concept as god" media I could find.

But now I am done with it. And I know I could just write a piece of the conversation, and echo of the same things around me. But I have always wanted to be on the frontiers of what is possible in story. And I feel like the frontiers have hit the end of the universe. There is nothing else.

Does anyone else feel this way?
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 11:35 am

It's only natural. Part of human nature really, to feel as you do. Remember mr.Eastman. He took his own life on the presumption there was nothing left invent. have you seen a linear chronological quantitative graph displaying patents lately?
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Jack Road » Fri May 29, 2015 11:38 am

There are plenty of things left to invent, technology wise. Story wise, humanity does not seem to have any new elements to explore.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Marcuse » Fri May 29, 2015 11:50 am

Fiction is exploration of humans. A story of loss is still a story of loss when the loser is a space wizard and the thing taking it away is a gigantic planet-demon the space wizard lives on. You're still exploring human emotions and situations, and we really cannot escape the context of being a human to explore another species' perspective because there isn't another species we can communicate with significantly enough to gain an understanding of their feelings or wants or desires.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Jack Road » Fri May 29, 2015 11:53 am

You are right Marcuse. I often wonder if my own depression and feelings of nihilism are fueling my inability to find new venues in which to express stories. Or even fully enjoy them.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 11:55 am

Exactly that'ts what i mean. I knew i should have added the medicine speech from 1905 in there. Egads. Well to surmise my point, eastman felt there was nothing left to invent, he just perceived it that way. What im trying to say is that you will always feel that way. Because if it is not written yet or has been read,you will not know it until you experiance it. If you try and force creativity nothing will happen. It is all about inspiration. The more you know and the more aptitude you develop the more you will have to rely on random inspiration to spark your novel ideas as opposed to having them given to you. A large aspect is also perception and perspective.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Marcuse » Fri May 29, 2015 12:26 pm

Road wrote:You are right Marcuse. I often wonder if my own depression and feelings of nihilism are fueling my inability to find new venues in which to express stories. Or even fully enjoy them.


Absolutely it does. I know it does for me. I can't relate to people well so I find it hard to write fiction in the first place, because one thing I've learned about fiction is that every thing needs a backstory or reason to exist to be believable, even if that reason is a mystery. I'm learning, but I feel like until I settle myself I'm not going to be able to understand most human interactions.

That said, plenty of authors convert depression and nihilism into creativity. Nietzsche was depressed as fuck and sick most of the time and he wrote some of the most dramatic and florid philosophy I've ever read.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 1:35 pm

Cheer up mates. Depression is a beast. I think the most important thing is allow your self to be vulnurable. You do that by absolutely letting go of all ties to this world but one, your life. Ask yourself this every night. Had an action I have taken improved any ones day today, if so good for you, if not make it a priority. For every time we behoove a member of our fellow terran human race we are bequethed with spiritual gifts tenfold.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Marcuse » Fri May 29, 2015 1:37 pm

Cheer up mates. Depression is a beast.


Most people here have some form of depression or psychological problem. I'd suggest you get used to it, we're not going to overcome long term and deep seated psychological issues because we're told to cheer up. It comes off as pretty insensitive.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 1:42 pm

I'm no stranger to depression or psychological maladaptions. However far be it removed for me to be considered insensitive. That is what i'm getting at. Be sensitive allow those feelings to get felt. Don't deny the emotions. Emotion=energy in motion. The the engine of a film, give you the meaning of life, so your not stuck playing the fine game of nil.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 3:12 pm

I hope I didn't come off as preaching. I was sharing the surmised collective wisdom of the experiances I have attained. I apologize if I disrespected anyone in anyway. You guys have bright bulbs in your heads. I just want to see them in all their luminous splendor.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Marcuse » Fri May 29, 2015 5:12 pm

It's no big deal, I understand you're trying to be supportive. A lot of us have convinced ourselves we're past that, so don't think you've made a mistake or anything. I'm sorry I snapped.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby ghijkmnop » Fri May 29, 2015 5:25 pm

Redacted
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Last edited by ghijkmnop on Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Janusus » Fri May 29, 2015 6:53 pm

Right thanks for that. Have a wunder guten dag.
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Re: There Is Nothing New Under That Star Over There

Postby Tesseracts » Fri May 29, 2015 8:21 pm

As an artist I hit this problem years ago. Basically, I agree with you. There's no original stories or art.

Well...that's not entirely true. But I'd say there's more true to it than untruth. Humanity has been around for quite a while. Every thought that can be thought has pretty much already been thought and expressed.

It's kind of like asking if people can be unique. There's a lot of people out there, chances are at least one of those people has experiences and feelings very similar to yours. At the same time, we ARE all different. Even identical twins aren't exactly the same (although I think it's safe to say they have failed at being original).

I have come to the conclusion that our society places far too much importance on originality. More important than being original, is being GOOD. I have structured my life around my convictions. I've devoted hours to copying artists who have come before me, in an effort to understand their approach and be able to reproduce it as much as possible.

Despite this, I still have a style that nobody else has. I have produced things distinctive to me, even though I've put no effort into being original. Why has this happened? It's because my art is who I am as a person. Every single thing I have ever done is what my art is. It's myself, and I can't not be myself, no matter how hard I try.

The only true path to "originality" is sincerity. The more you discover who you are, the more of yourself will come across in your work. The inexperienced creative may not believe they have any special personality to offer, but they do. The more you try to understand the world, the stronger your point of view becomes. And as a writer, you will try to understand the world.

There's a Howard Pyle quote I wanted to post here, but I can't find it. I guess posting a quote is unoriginal anyway.
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