SavaTheAggie wrote:It's because of the lack of Ikros updates- Ikros is the center of all things LEGO Fantasy stories. In it's heyday, Ikros shared the vast global interweb with countless active LEGO stories, and now that Ikros has fell silent, so, too, has its' comrades. The circumstantial evidence is simpy irrefutable.
Classic
I wasn't aware that you were updating your site, PI, but I am glad to see that you're still working away at it. It was also a nice surprise to see your posts over at CW
CW has always been more of a small club of authors and fans of LEGO castle stories, so the membership has always been quite modest yet constant - although Maedhros is right - the CWRPG (credit to TheOrk there), among other things, has led to a bit of a revival recently.
Tower of Iron Will wrote:
Could it be that to have the combination of funds for the bricks, the space to build and store MOCs, the time to build the MOCs, time to write/compose a story, proper cameras to shoot good pics, and the confidence to post the result is a rare combination. Maybe a given person may have one or more of the above but not all? Maybe its less complicated then I portray but I can develop a story but do not have the space or bricks to show them. Time, unfortunately I have but not a decent camera or enough money(but who does Wink ). Just a couple of cents here.
I understand your two cents here, and I think I may have used one or two myself in the past, but with all the respect I can muster I must "debunk" these reasons as mere excuses.
One thing about Ikros that is so nice even now is that Tony says something along the lines of "I've lost inspiration". Which is the best answer in my mind. It is very refreshing and truthful amidst the possible whines and excuses of "My room is too small!"
I think that the real reason many don't write or finish their stories is because they simply lose inspiration - which is fine, as long as they can communicate that to their readers.
Now, we all get busy - a chapter delayed a month or two is one thing, a chapter delayed 3 years is quite another... seriously... there are people I spoke with in 2004 who are still adamant that once they get that one thing, they'll finish the story... just admit it's not important!
Everyone will still love you and hope you'll read their own story and give some feedback, as a fellow Castle LEGO story-lover.
When I first built the first two books of Legelot's "Tomes of Chiron", I had many of the challenges you listed.
the combination of funds for the bricks
Book 1 and 2 use 3 Clone sets and 3 castle sets... along with about 20 figs. It doesn't look that way because of the way I took the pics, but even the buildings were nothing more than one wall, standing on it's own.
the space to build and store MOCs
The room I did book 1 and 2 in was about the size of a large bathroom.
the time to build the MOCs
I'm a bit confused by this one, since people build MOCs and Vigs all the time (and beautiful ones too)
time to write/compose a story
If the time it takes to write a story is too much, then I think it's fair to say that it's not the time to write a story that is a problem, simply the desire to make a story that is the problem (which is fine by the way, but like I said, I'd rather someone just admits it)
proper cameras to shoot good pics
I had no digital camera of my own for Legelot - I borrowed my parents camera, my sisters camera, and my friends camera (and made sure all the LEGO pics were deleted before giving it back!
)
the confidence to post the result is a rare combination
Come now, since when was "lack of confidence" a good excuse for any failure - we must all grow up, no?
I want to stress that I don't mean to attack anyone, and that I certainly have used these excuses in the past, and that I understand the desire to use them.
But lets all just be honest.
I think I might sound a bit like a "story Nazi" in this post, but I don't mean to! I just get a bit tired of the same list of excuses. Perhaps some will be inspired to write after this post, or perhaps just read someone else's story and give them some feedback.