I’ve spent the last week reading the notes and stories I’ve written over the years. I’ve also sketched out my new concept and researched a few ways to twist some existing ideas into something unique and different. As I began typing, I realized that I could launch my story into the looking glass from either … Continue reading Listen to Your Characters
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun I decided to go back and take a look at some of my old fan fiction to see how I can use those ideas as springboards into something new and improved. So, I spent the better part of the week writing the background for that concept. I had a sense of … Continue reading Idea Mash-Up
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunNotebooks detailing the Adaran continent. Twelve or so years ago, I began outlining the antagonists for my unfinished story. I pulled old issues of Dragon magazine off my shelf and pored through the pages. I searched for the “perfect” plot devices for the half-orc twins that were to be the ultimate challenge … Continue reading Worldbuilding, Part VI
Creative words are hard these days. Practically every post or story I try to write morphs into a commentary on the world of today, along with the challenges we are all facing. So, I’ll start there. As I’ve said before, I live in a very rural area. The closest grocery is about 45 minutes away, … Continue reading Finding Normal
(C) 2020, JJ Shaun For the past week, I’ve been busily building my D&D campaign on my imaginary fantasy continent, Adaran. I’ve decided the size of the staff of the Happy Harpy, my imaginary outpost between two major trade cities. So far, I’ve fleshed out about seven of the more prominent non-player characters (NPCs), and … Continue reading Building a New World
(C) 2020, JJ ShaunThe Happy Harpy Where do you start when a story comes to mind? For me, it almost always begins with a character or two, sometimes with a place. My latest endeavor starts with a little of both. So, where did this idea come from, and how has it been germinating in my … Continue reading Story Creation, Part I
Writing has been hard for the last few weeks. With the holidays looming and First Reader still recovering, I’ve had a hard time staying motivated. I’m not a big fan of winter, I’m a summer baby. I prefer long, warm days over long, cold nights. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer living in a region … Continue reading Writing and the Winter Blues
Sometimes it’s hard to home in on a story to tell. The Vignette Many times, what comes to my mind is a vignette rather than a story. A vignette is defined as “a short descriptive literary sketch” or a “brief incident or scene (as in a play or movie)”. If you have studied any languages, … Continue reading Finding Stories
What sparks a story for you? A scene in a movie? The lyrics to a song? A person or event you saw on the street? A newspaper article? An old photograph? The inspiration for my novel began as a vivid dream that I had a whole lotta years ago. The idea sat dormant until recent … Continue reading Kickstarting Your Imagination
Aye, and begorrah, here ‘tis, Saint Paddy's Day! As you can tell, I took last week off from posting for several reasons. The first of which being that last Sunday was The Morning After the Night Before(TM). And I will admit to bleeding from the eyes a little that morning. Mostly, though, I couldn't focus—my … Continue reading Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
A piece of my scattered mind.
Tavern Tales
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
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50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
J.J. Shaun 