Building and writing block

[alphafalcon541]

I've kinda run into a brick wall. Everyday I will try and build something and all I have to say about it is,"This fucking sucks, I can't build." I am reaching that stage I guess in life when people go into their dark ages where they can't build at all. Anyone else have this problem, or know how to get out of it? I have tried building something and all it looks like to me is a shitty pile of blocks. I can barely write either. I'm probably the best writer in my grade as many people tell me. But whenever I read my writing it's the same as my lego creations. It either sounds bad, or sucks.

[Colette]

I've kinda run into a brick wall. Everyday I will try and build something and all I have to say about it is,"This fucking sucks, I can't build." I am reaching that stage I guess in life when people go into their dark ages where they can't build at all. Anyone else have this problem, or know how to get out of it? I have tried building something and all it looks like to me is a shitty pile of blocks. I can barely write either. I'm probably the best writer in my grade as many people tell me. But whenever I read my writing it's the same as my lego creations. It either sounds bad, or sucks.

Post some of your writing, ask people for advice to get better. That could work.

As for building, make random rainbow creations and then destroy them hilariously in a battle- you'll feel a lot better.

[alphafalcon541]

Tried the writing and got no comments or anything. With building rainbow creations and destroying them. I have no one to play brikwars with. All my friends except Payton think legos are stupid and laughable.

[Quantumsurfer]

I might suggest repetition. Pretty much everything everyone writes ever sucks. Who said, 90% of everything sucks? It's true anyway. It sounds trite but its probably some of the best writing advice I've ever gotten. Write a lot, write anything at all, every single day. Eventually the creative flow will return and you'll have a lot to work from. If you can't find the motivation, consider that writing may be nothing more than an idle hobby for you. Or it may not be your thing at all. It was pretty difficult for me to make that realization, that I didn't have the drive to be a career writer and that it was only something I occasionally enjoyed engaging in. If that's the case, consider other media forms as an expression of your creativity. I have several friends who branched into music and some who branched into making videos, for example. Sometimes, its helpful when suffering writer's block to simply explore those alternatives anyway. Doing so opens you up to new experiences, maybe even giving you a new hobby, and can really inspire you to create in your main form, possibly in your case either writing or building.

[Quantumsurfer]

Also:

All my friends except Payton think legos are stupid and laughable.

Get new friends.

[alphafalcon541]

The fact is I love to write maybe I just need to move away from my norm and try something different in writing thanks you two

[Natalya]

Do Lego on your own, don't talk about it with normal friends. Try to build more advanced stuff that you don't understand.

[IVhorseman]

Go online and look at cool MOCs for inspiration. Take apart some of your older things.

How old are you? Eventually you get to the point where your friends think LEGOs are nostalgic instead of stupid. Till then, ignore them and look for better friends.

[mgb519]

While if anyone today tried to call me a bad writer, I would be laughably surprised. This is because it hasn't happened yet. But If I were to say that I am and have always been a flawless writer, then I would have to punch myself in the face for brazen lying. I have tried and failed to write dozens many more stories than I have actually gotten anywhere with, and even today I am plenty capable of writing something that I can look back on and say, "this just isn't any good." It's not a sign of being a bad writer, it's just showing you that you're human.

My recommendation is to try to write something relatively short and complete, and then look back and find out what you did wrong, and what you did right. Learn to adjust your writing style to accentuate the good and minimize the bad, and then change the story you wrote. Repeat as necessary.This is how I came up with Crimson Eclipse: you see, I actually had the idea back in middle school. But compared to what I have today, it was predictable, flat, lacked both character and story depth. In fact,the original concept has been warped, changed, altered, bent, or otherwise rewritten so much that it went to something completely different AND BACK. I am in fact happy with the story so far right now.
Also, you'll probably just start writing better as you get older.

[alphafalcon541]

I'm almost fifteen. So my friends (except for Payton) are going through the Lego is stupid phase. I have noticed it started about the time when they started dating, however I see they have new builds scattered across the floor. When I mention it all they say is that's old crap. Thanks for the tips on writing. I do like writing and I know I'm great at it I just need something to write about.

[Keldoclock]

While if anyone today tried to call me a bad writer, I would be laughably surprised. This is because it hasn't happened yet.

I call you a bad writer all the time!

[mgb519]

Mr. Clock, Let me tell you something.

Spoiler: show

This is Chewbacca. Now why would a wookie-an eight foot tall wookie-want to live on endor with a bunch of two foot tall ewoks. That does not make sense. But more importantly, you have to ask yourself, "What does that have to do with whether or not I told Michael his writing sucks?" Nothing. Mr Clock, it has nothing to do with this concern. If Chewbacca lives on Endor then you must be wrong.

[stubby]

My recommendation is to try to write something relatively short and complete, and then look back and find out what you did wrong, and what you did right.

That's all right, but you can only rate yourself on the stuff that you yourself know. Self-taught people (in any field) tend to get very, very good at a very, very narrow range of skills, while missing out on a bunch of basic fundamentals that they never even knew they were missing. And then in later life when someone with a broader picture calls them on it, they use the one or two skills they're good at to compensate for their insufficiencies, rather than focus on fixing the omissions. It is very easy to self-teach yourself into a corner you can't get back out of again.

Long story short, self-teaching can take you a certain distance, but if you want to find out what you don't even realize you're missing, make an early effort to seek out people who know more than you do and get their criticism.

[Quantumsurfer]

I tend to agree. I would argue that people who've mentally backed themselves into a corner are useless anyway, however. If someone legitimately better than you comes along (which is ALWAYS going to happen) and you have the opportunity to learn from them, broadening your fundamental knowledge base, and you choose not to...well, honestly, I can't think of many things more pathetic and downright stupid. Such a person should probably put the thing down and back away quickly.

I think as long as you try to maintain an open mind, learning from others doesn't have to be restricted to an early learning experience. It's certainly more difficult to learn later, after you've already developed a specific way to get by, but it isn't impossible.

[stubby]

The main takeaway is that it's rare for anyone who recognizes the full scope of a broad craft like writing to make claims about being good at it. The only way for someone to think they're good at writing is if they're bad at writing.