I have been lurker on this forum for many weeks, but today decided to make an account. I have been working on two books, alternating between the two for the last few years. One science fiction, the other fantasy fiction. When I started writing The Self Righteous(Science fiction) I just started writing with only a basic outline of where I thought the story would go. Many wonderful characters, plot developments, etc. have stemmed from this but, I often find myself muddled down with inconsistencies in the timeline, plot, and universe in which it is set.
On the flip side, for my fantasy I never actually planned on writing a book, I just started world building. Creating an immense backdrop of governments, races, wildlife, magic, etc. I have spent an unhealthy amount of time building, what I feel, is a living, breathing universe that any number of stories could take place in. Some neat story ideas have come to me but every time I start to lay them out, I veer right back into world building again. My question, who else writes like this, and is there a way to unify the two styles of writing without going overboard in either one? It could be possible though that I am now in "this is why everyone is not a writer" territory. Thanks and if I need to clarify further let me know and I will try.
On the flip side, for my fantasy I never actually planned on writing a book, I just started world building. Creating an immense backdrop of governments, races, wildlife, magic, etc. I have spent an unhealthy amount of time building, what I feel, is a living, breathing universe that any number of stories could take place in. Some neat story ideas have come to me but every time I start to lay them out, I veer right back into world building again. My question, who else writes like this, and is there a way to unify the two styles of writing without going overboard in either one? It could be possible though that I am now in "this is why everyone is not a writer" territory. Thanks and if I need to clarify further let me know and I will try.