For the last handful of years, I've spent most of my Friday evenings in the virtual company of a group of like-minded gamers. Now, none of us is too serious about the game that we play, and we tend to argue like siblings, but we (mostly) get the job done. I've mentioned this group before, … Continue reading Friday Night Gamers
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Write That Story
When asked how he writes, author Stephen King answers, "one word at a time." And that is precisely how stories are built—one word at a time. I struggle to stay focused on my writing, partly because I get bored quickly and partly because I spend a lot of my day job staring at words on … Continue reading Write That Story
Introducing: Aeryn Mateyus
Young Aeryn grows up on the island of Trivent in the archipelago called the Dragon's Snout Islands. She is the thirteenth child, and seventh daughter, of a sheep farmer in the Lowlands on the island. A big-boned girl, she is teased and tormented by some of her siblings for her size and strength. Not long … Continue reading Introducing: Aeryn Mateyus
Character Creation
My stories almost always start with character creation. When I create an avatar as I start a game, a persona for that character comes to mind. Sometimes that character is cheeky, sometimes quiet, always interesting—to me at least. When I first started writing my DDO fan fiction story a handful of years ago, I envisioned … Continue reading Character Creation
Worldbuilding III
Honestly, I have no idea whether my worldbuilding process is the right way, the wrong way, or just a way. I do know that Adara is slowly coming into focus as I write stories in the various regions of the continent. Even when I do write stories in other creations such as Eberron or the … Continue reading Worldbuilding III
Worldbuilding, Part II
It took me a while to find a focus for this post. I started out trying to make it about the spiritual and religious life on the continent but realized that the entire ecosphere of a world is intertwined. Economics is tied into politics is tied to religion, is tied to daily life. The economy … Continue reading Worldbuilding, Part II
Building My World
As you have probably guessed, Aeryn doesn't occupy the same fantasy setting as Katra. The gods and goddesses are different, and the landscape is dissimilar. Aeryn is native to a campaign world of my creation. So, how did this world come into being? About fifteen or twenty years ago, I drew a map of the … Continue reading Building My World
Tell Me A Story
The story of Katra Alterian begins on the world of Eberron in the country of Cyre, just as a magical event occurs that wipes out that land. No one knows what caused the incident, just that it happened and now an entire nation no longer exists. The landscape is barren and toxic, slowly warping and … Continue reading Tell Me A Story
Let Me Introduce …
Katra Alterian, the latest character to occupy my mind. As with other characters, she has been telling my imagination her story, and it’s a rather complicated tale at that, but we’ll get to Katra’s story soon. So, how did this new imaginary friend begin to invade my head? My eldest kid (EK) has been running … Continue reading Let Me Introduce …
Now What?
I sit in front of a blank page and ask myself, “now what?” I’ve made a commitment to post to my blog more regularly, but what does that mean, really? To start, I can brainstorm topics and try to glean some sort of order to them, then write a couple thousand words on each, and … Continue reading Now What?
J.J. Shaun 