what aspired you to be a interactive story writer/narrative designer and what specific pathway of education did you choose to be so? (waddup its the aspiring-to-be-a-writer-like-aasim-anon here)
Hi! So, I answered an ask similar to this a whhhille ago, so I’m going to reuse parts of it here and hopefully it’ll be of some use! :)
Here’s a simplified version of my journey, and hopefully it helps!
So, I had just gotten into Walking Dead S1 when I was in my senior year of high school [2011/ 12ish?] and I wanted to be a writer very badly. I’d basically been writing my whole life (on forums / in my free time, etc.) but had no idea how to take it the next level past my personal fiction.
Here’s what I found to be effective:
- Show your work to people and get feedback (even when it’s scary). Not every piece of critique should be taken as gospel, but all of it is valuable. Be open to the advice and thoughts of others, even if you don’t always agree.
- Practice branching narrative (Twine is a wonderful tool).
- Make games! One of the best things I ever did was make tiny experimental games with my friends. It helps you learn what makes things FUN, and find natural ways for story to blend smoothly into that.
- Play / Read / Discover : there are so many inspiring things out there, take it all in, and let it influence what you create.
- Do what you’re doing now! Ask for advice, reach out to people who’ve done it. People want to help you. We’re all just trying to make cool things together. I still find myself occasionally getting nervous reaching out to my idols, but it’s always worth it, and never actually scary.
- As far as education, I went to an arts high school/ college for writing and grad school for game production. However, I really don’t believe you need any of that to become a writer. In my opinion, doing the above is much more valuable. (School is great for helping you build a portfolio and find people to create with, FOR SURE, but don’t feel intimidated or defeated if you didn’t go to school for writing or can’t!)
The key thing to keep in mind is: everyone’s journey is different, so don’t feel pressure to follow anyone else’s path. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Practice, improve, repeat. As someone who was in your shoes not too long ago, trust me: dreams are worth pursuing, just give yourself the time YOU need. Thanks again for reaching out, and I can’t wait to see everything you achieve!
blakekathryn
dailybridgerton
romaincrisis
baratheonpilled
