If you’ve ventured onto my blog, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll tell you straight away that I am an artist and writer, and my genres include suspense, horror, and science fiction. If none of that interests to you, I’m afraid you’ve entered the wrong room. Step into the hallway and try the door on the left.

As for the rest of you, I won’t go into a long introduction about myself. If you want to learn a bit more information about me, head to the About page. I’ll give you a short introduction instead: I grew up in a rural Minnesota town, I struggled with social anxiety (do I still?), and I became a creator of worlds. This blog is my way of showing you that you can create them too (despite whatever mental or physical ailments you may have).

What does that mean, to create worlds? asks the lady in the back. Excellent question. It means creating something as small as an ant to as large as a planet and somehow fitting it on paper, or a screen if you will, particularly if you are a digital artist. These are stories, and they can come in many forms, such as film, plays, and music. My specialties are fiction and illustrative art.

Now that you’ve got an understanding of that–any more questions?–I suppose I better get to the meat of things. This blog means to shed some light on creative processes and techniques, all in the realm of fiction writing and illustration. I’ll talk a bit about my stories and characters too, because I think that’ll serve as inspiration to you. I’ll share recommendations about writers and artists I absolutely love. I’ll also get to the business side of things. It’s not my favorite topic, but it’s necessary if you want your created worlds to go beyond a hobby and become something you can make money with. Side note: making money should never be your primary goal. It’ll suck your passion away until you’re a wrinkled, stale, flesh-eating walker. (The Walking Dead fans, anyone?)

That’s enough chatter. From me, not from you. You’ve been a very attentive audience. Where’s the beef? Right here:

Creative Processes

These posts are going to get into how I (and you) can create worlds. There’s a lot that goes into it, but it’s probably the most exciting part of creating. I’ll show you how to get ideas, how to get inspired, and most importantly, how to buckle down and get those ideas on paper or screen.

I’ll also show you how I look at the world–the real world–in these posts. Because how you look at the world determines how you get your ideas. You don’t have to look at it the same way I do. But it is important to broaden your mind. Our stories are a way of sharing what we see, in hopes of making the world better, and empathy is the first step towards that.

Techniques

These posts are going to go into detail about various techniques for good writing and art. In terms of writing, think plotting, characterization, setting, worldbuilding, writing style, and anything else along the lines of that. Basically how-to’s, but with more flare.

On the art side of things, I’m going to share more how-to’s, but in the realm of drawing and painting. Think color picking, shading, anatomy, shapes, line weight, and on and on and on. Character design, environment art, and stylization are going to be of special importance to some of you.

My Stories and Characters

As I mentioned earlier, I plan on telling you a bit about my stories and characters: how I came up with them, what worked, what didn’t, and how their final versions differ from their originals. This includes character profiles, concept art, first drafts to final drafts, and base art to finalized art.

These are purely for your inspiration. I find that when my brain is clogged, and that writer’s/artist’s block has stumped me, it’s because I haven’t been mingling with other creators in a while. Sometimes we get so focused on our own work, we forget about the extraordinary creations of others. And those creations are important, for they inspire us to keep creating more.

Recommendations

My own stories aren’t enough for your inspiration (I suppose I need some humility to say this). I believe you should have inspiration from several different artists and writers, so I will create posts from time to time about some of my favorites.

Some will be fiction books (you’ll hear a lot about Stephen King), and others will be books, blogs, and YouTubers about the writing craft (I have another great recommendation by Stephen King, but I’ll dedicate a whole post to that, don’t you worry). I’ll share my favorite artists and artwork. Off the top of my head, I can think of Alpay Efe, Ergojosh, and RA:IN. And much like my writing recommendations, I’ll share with you books, blogs, and YouTubers dedicated to teaching the art craft.

Business

You’ve heard me complain about it earlier. Business isn’t my favorite topic. But should you have an interest in making money from your creations, then business is a subject I’m going to have to address. From marketing to accounting, to planning to products and services, to website design to blogging–everything I know I’ll share with you.

I should tell you I’m not an expert. I’ve never had a job in marketing, accounting (I would rather die), website design, or content writing. What makes me a professional source then is having found success with my strategies. However, if you disagree, you most certainly don’t need to read any of my business posts. I won’t hold that against you.

That’s All, Folks

In case you need a recap–that was a lot of information, after all–I’ll remind you the purpose of this blog is to inspire and teach you to bring your worlds to life. Only in fiction storytelling and illustration, I’m afraid, so if you’re a musician or a filmmaker, I can’t help you.

But what I can help you with are creative processes, techniques, inspiration, recommendations, and business. From getting ideas to planning your work, from inspiring stories to creating a website. And most importantly, I’ll be helping you get your work down on paper or screen. Making it real, making it tangible.

This isn’t just a blog. It’s a community. Comments will be open on every post. If you have a question, ask. If you have a statement, make it. If you have a suggestion, suggest away. Reply to other users. Get into a discussion. Share ideas, share what you’re working on, inspire others. Creators are often lonely, but we don’t have to be.

I seem to have rambled myself into a corner. In cases like this, I find it best to say “Adieu.” See you on the flip side, or whatever it is cool people say. We’ll meet again next Friday.