Ideas, Snippets, & Things That Spark Imagination

Or, if you're looking for craft lingo: Outlines, Hooks, and Seeding Scenes

The all-important technical gear :)

Occasionally, you'll find that I will write some blog entries about process. Boring, I know — but writing it down helps me think. It's okay if those posts aren't your thing. Most won't be interested, and that's fine, because there will be plenty of other things here too: character bios and backstory that need to live somewhere before I lose them; playlists of the music I listen to when I write that get me into the Mythic Sons mindset; random Vadura world side pieces that might not be fully formed scenes yet, but still need a home. So all of that will live here alongside the occasional process piece that helps me center my thinking and get organized.

Today I'll show you how I write.

To begin, I need all my main life To-Do's handled first. Work projects up to date, home life in order — house cleaned, groceries picked up, maybe a meal plan on the fridge for the week. Ideally, I've also taken a long walk at the park or the lake to connect with nature and feel refreshed. Unfortunately, we've had a cold snap recently, so I swapped the long walk for a gin and tonic last night after the Avs game, then wrote late into the night. Strong cup of coffee this morning, notebook and playlist at hand. No regrets.

Some days I write late. Others, early is my jam. I write when I have the space and a thought that really needs to get out of my head. If I'm at work or otherwise occupied, I keep my notebook handy to jot down inspiration that I later transfer into my Inspirations doc on the computer. I can come back to those notes, make sense of them, add them to appropriate scenes, or leave them for later.

The cats — aka my writing managers — keep me in line and make sure I'm not lonely. And my husband and kids, who selflessly act as my beta readers.

And that's my process. The thing that has been working for me so far.

What's going on outside while mom is writing?

I first got the idea for my beloved Xac when I created a bard character for a D&D game (Dungeon of the Mad Mage, DMed by my husband, Hi Chad!). I decided it would be funny if he were a bard who had once been in a famous boy band — but the band was now defunct, so Xac had to adventure for money. He kept his stage bling and his larger-than-life frontman ego, though.

Interestingly, through the writing process, I'm getting to know the real Xac, and I'm loving how deep his emotional intelligence actually runs. He isn't egotistical at all — he simply knows his strengths, one of which is his magnetism on stage. He is deeply caring, especially for his found family (the band), so it's devastating to know that I've decided to open the novel with the band's final performance. So much to learn there. But I really do love the Xac that is emerging on the page.

The mini I created for Xac on Hero Forge (isn't he just the best?!)

The rest of the band emerged through the same D&D character-creation process. I knew their names, their genealogy, and from that, the name MYTHIC SONS just shouted itself at me. I've been in love with these ideas for a while. We've been playing Mad Mage — a typical dungeon crawl campaign — on and off for a couple of years, but I always had Xac and his story living somewhere in the back of my mind.

It wasn't until we sat down and streamed K-pop Demon Hunters (on recommendation from my coworkers) that everything kind of hit. That story made me think harder about my bard and his band — what situations they might find themselves in, especially given Xac's very sentient and very ancient lyre, Lirien. That was it. I knew I had to write these stories down, even if just for myself.

So here I am, rediscovering my love for writing. In my twenties, I did a lot of it — academic writing, poetry, and some fun stuff online. If I were a little younger, I could easily have seen myself diving headfirst into fanfic. I got to enjoy that world through my youngest, who is also a genuinely talented writer in his own right. Both my kids are incredible writers and wickedly smart (proud mom brag, fully earned).

But that's my journey so far. I'm so excited to be here and to be learning more about myself through the creation process.