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Russell Smith
AGoodReed
Willix
Treasure Hunter
HeavensDisciples
Carlos Phillips
Reed Benson
AdamCollings
landofzion
jazzact13
Morfinwen
fxruizx
Changer4
Introspect
Jeffrywith1e
mikel.withers
Nathan James Norman
rossmcclure4
Godfixated
bellamoto
tmorrill
disneydreamer20
Dreamerhorwitz
Rickster
45shiro45
DNArington
UKSteve
TheTJ
ComiKate
WhiteBoy
jorowi
hvymtlcowboy
Paeter
Drew.Rub
38 posters

    Introductions

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    Willix


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    Introductions - Page 8 Empty Building a godly business

    Post  Willix February 12th 2021, 10:40 am

    Good Morning All,

    I am a happily married United States Air Force Veteran that loves serving God. Shortly after my service in the military, I contracted a brain injury that prevented me from the entering as an officer once I had my degree. Between my amazing wife who never gave up on me and God, who has shown me that my life still has purpose, I have been able to keep on keeping on. I want to show people that even though they have had traumatic experiences, it doesn't define them. Also when one door closes another one opens. I made a website that is dedicated to spreading Jesus and the Gospel. I also do affiliate marketing on the side with businesses that are aligned with my Mission.

    My Mission is to:
    Share Christ, Encourage others, and Lift those who are going through hard times. To promote products for those businesses aligned with this same Mission and giving back to their communities.

    I have been looking for an audience interested in helping to further God's Kingdom by purchasing the products from the vendors found on my website. My ultimate dream is be able to support my family and Chase God full time. Without having to split my time with a 9 to 5.

    Will you support me in this endeavor?

    My website is promotionhotspot.wordpress.com

    If you find it in a Google search, please click the one that says Gifts Of Faith....


    AGoodReed
    AGoodReed


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    Post  AGoodReed February 14th 2021, 2:47 pm

    Welcome, God bless, and thank you for your service.

    So, am I understanding that, if I click on a link on your site and buy something from the destination's store, you get a kickback from that sale?

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    Willix


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    Post  Willix February 14th 2021, 7:00 pm

    Thank you for the warm welcome and taking the time to comment on my post! You are welcome... God bless you and your family as well!

    That is correct. If you click my links and make a purchase on the destination store I will get a kickback from the sale... Thank you for inquiring....
    Paeter
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    Post  Paeter February 16th 2021, 1:26 pm

    Thanks for introducing yourself, Willix! May God continue to bless and lead you!
    Russell Smith
    Russell Smith


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    Post  Russell Smith August 9th 2021, 11:07 pm

    Hello,

    I am very excited to find this community.  I have been intrigued by the idea of an active online community for Christian geeks for some time and stumbled upon this one as I was searching for interviews with Brent Weeks.  I really enjoy his magic system in the lightbringer series, as well as the biblical themes and allusions.  I think only Brandon Sanderson has created a magic system and world building I have enjoyed more.

    I think my primary field of geek is genre literature though I also enjoy table top games and rpgs (have really missed games nights since COVID).  I play 5e every other week with a group of friends on Roll20 and GM Starfinder there on the off weeks. (We meet from 9 - 11 EST Sunday nights and currently have a couple slots to make a full starship crew if anyone is interested in joining - just let me know Smile )

    God bless,

    Russell Smith
    Paeter
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    Post  Paeter August 10th 2021, 10:25 am

    Good to meet you, Russell! I'm a longtime fan of fantasy, and you've given me one more reason to give Sanderson a second try. (Tried Mistborn over a decade ago and I think I might have just been in the wrong frame of mind about it.) My Favorites have been Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and Brent Weeks (for the Night Angel Trilogy).

    I also love me some tabletop games, although these days I mostly play solo and so was not impacted as much by COVID. But I've rolled my share of d20s in gaming groups over the years and my D&D group is planning to start a Gloomhaven campaign I hope to host and play in.

    I assume Roll20 is an online platform for PnP gaming? How do you like it?

    Welcome!

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    AGoodReed
    AGoodReed


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    Post  AGoodReed August 10th 2021, 12:04 pm

    Welcome, Russell. I'm a comic book and pro wrestling guy rather than a gaming and fantasy book guys, but I'm glad there's a new face on these forums!

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    Russell Smith
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    Post  Russell Smith August 10th 2021, 2:28 pm

    Paeter wrote:you've given me one more reason to give Sanderson a second try. (Tried Mistborn over a decade ago and I think I might have just been in the wrong frame of mind about it.)

    I assume Roll20 is an online platform for PnP gaming? How do you like it?

    I've rolled my share of d20s in gaming groups over the years and my D&D group is planning to start a Gloomhaven campaign I hope to host and play in.

    Welcome!

    1. I enjoyed the first trilogy of Mistborn books but can see how they would be more difficult to get into ... an easier entry point (and more fun in my opinion) to that world might actually be his second trilogy the 'Wax and Wayne' books. It takes place hundreds of years after the first set of books and can be read on their own. It has an 1800s level of technology as opposed to middle ages level of technology as a backdrop (though the same magic system) and I really enjoyed them.

    His Stormlight Archive series is even better as far as world building and magic system I think, though two of the three key point of views in the first book got off to a slow start in my opinion ... one of them I actually found myself skipping and coming back to later when I was more invested in the world :p.

    My favourite of his books though is a standalone quick young adult novel called the Rithmatist. I don't claim it is his best written, but I just really loved the idea of a protagonist in a world filled with magic users who was unable to use magic, but who still geeked out over it ... and, without giving too much away, his geeking out pays off in some ways. It can easily be read on it's own and feels complete, though I understand he is planning on writing a sequel sometime soon.

    2. Yes Roll20.net is a free to use role playing platform where you can roll virtually, store character sheets (rolling by clicking on them), and buy content that you can drag and drop into your maps or character sheets from a number of popular gaming systems. It supports video and voice chat as well, though we tend to use Discord for that as some of our members have slower internet and Discord tends to use less bandwidth. My introduction to 5e was there through an ongoing, free to play, 'living world' game called Magrathea that periodically opens up to new players.

    3. Thanks! It's great to see what you have been building here.
    Russell Smith
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    Post  Russell Smith August 10th 2021, 2:38 pm

    AGoodReed wrote:Welcome, Russell. I'm a comic book and pro wrestling guy rather than a gaming and fantasy book guys, but I'm glad there's a new face on these forums!

    Thanks for the welcome Smile  I'm afraid my comic book knowledge is limited to the MCU (which I do enjoy ... I recently got around to watching Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman 1984 and found myself again firmly in the Marvel camp vs DC ... at least as far as movies go ... can't speak to the comic books.  For whatever reason, even though I could appreciate some of the themes in Wonder Woman 1984, I just struggle to suspend my disbelief enough to really enjoy the DC ones.  The Marvel ones seem to have the equivalent of 'magic systems' that I can wrap my head around and appreciate, reasons why the try fail cycles work or don't that I can accept.  The earlier DC ones that I watched felt to me like the hero failed and then just 'tried harder' with the same thing or with unexplained 'superness' that didn't have cost or didn't have consistent limitations and succeeded or failed because the plot needed them too.

    My humble opinion as an attempt to start a comic book discussion without being an actual comic nerd ... genuinely hope I didn't offend.

    Pro wrestling I don't actually know enough about to be able to offer anything :p

    God bless!
    AdamCollings
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    Post  AdamCollings August 10th 2021, 7:04 pm

    G'day Russell.
    Awesome to have a new face on the forums. I'm the resident Aussie (from the amazing Island of Tasmania) and a fellow Sanderson fan.

    So......what order of Knight Radiant are you? I'm a truthwatcher.

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    Russell Smith
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    Post  Russell Smith August 10th 2021, 7:35 pm

    AdamCollings wrote:G'day Russell.
    Awesome to have a new face on the forums. I'm the resident Aussie (from the amazing Island of Tasmania) and a fellow Sanderson fan.

    So......what order of Knight Radiant are you? I'm a truthwatcher.


    Nice, I got to study Down Under in Townsville for a semester of my post secondary education. Really great memories ... I still have to consciously choose to say 'hi' over 'G'day' when meeting new people in Canada due to the great impact it made on me Smile Loved seeing Delirious perform in the Sydney Opera house while I was there, really neat experience.

    According to the official quiz on his site I am an Edgedancer, though Windrunner was a close second Smile
    Russell Smith
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    Post  Russell Smith August 11th 2021, 11:09 am

    AdamCollings wrote:G'day Russell.
    Awesome to have a new face on the forums. I'm the resident Aussie (from the amazing Island of Tasmania) and a fellow Sanderson fan.

    So......what order of Knight Radiant are you? I'm a truthwatcher.


    Adam,

    I saw your eight books available on Amazon Kindle. Which are you most proud of? If someone was going to pick one up to see if your style fit with their tastes which would you suggest?

    I am going through the process of becoming a published 'author' myself. The first book of a trilogy I have been working on for a decade or so just got picked up by a small Canadian publisher and I am starting the editing process, they are expecting a Spring release next year. We will see what happens Smile. Incredibly nerve wracking to think it could actually be out there in the 'wide world' soon and I very much still have trouble accepting the title and identity of writer :p
    AdamCollings
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    Post  AdamCollings August 12th 2021, 8:21 am

    Russell Smith wrote:
    Nice, I got to study Down Under in Townsville for a semester of my post secondary education.  Really great memories ... I still have to consciously choose to say 'hi' over 'G'day' when meeting new people in Canada due to the great impact it made on me Smile  Loved seeing Delirious perform in the Sydney Opera house while I was there, really neat experience.

    That's so cool. I've walked around the outside of the Sydney Opera House a few times but never been inside. I did get to see Delerious live in my home town, though.

    Russell Smith wrote:
    According to the official quiz on his site I am an Edgedancer, though Windrunner was a close second Smile
    Nice. Lift makes Edgedancers seem pretty cool. I'm happy with truthwatcher as a fit for my personality, but Windrunners have the coolest power set.

    Russell Smith wrote:
    I saw your eight books available on Amazon Kindle. Which are you most proud of? If someone was going to pick one up to see if your style fit with their tastes which would you suggest?

    I would recommend "Jewel of The Stars Book 1" as a good starting off point. Many of the other books are actually anthologies, in which I have contributed a short story, but Jewel of The Stars is all me.

    Russell Smith wrote:
    I am going through the process of becoming a published 'author' myself. The first book of a trilogy I have been working on for a decade or so just got picked up by a small Canadian publisher and I am starting the editing process, they are expecting a Spring release next year. We will see what happens Smile. Incredibly nerve wracking to think it could actually be out there in the 'wide world' soon and I very much still have trouble accepting the title and identity of writer :p

    That's really exciting. I'd be keen to learn more about your trilogy. Editing is the hardest part for me. Well, that and marketing.
    Wear the title proudly. You are a writer. Smile

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    jorowi
    jorowi
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    Post  jorowi August 18th 2021, 1:12 pm

    Welcome, Russell. Did anyone tell you about the initiation?
    Paeter
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    Post  Paeter August 18th 2021, 5:00 pm

    jorowi wrote:Welcome, Russell. Did anyone tell you about the initiation?

    lol. Oh, I gotta hear what this is...
    Peace and War
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    Post  Peace and War March 23rd 2022, 9:26 pm

    Hello everyone. I'm Peace and War. Don't worry, I promise I'm more the former than the latter and prefer it to the latter, especially as I've naturally matured over the years and admittedly from a couple courses at the school of hard knocks.

    All that to say, I hope not to step on any toes or burn any bridges. I hope to sheath your toes in the armor of sunshine and happiness and to build bridges based off mutual love of the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit and what imperfect things we human beings have made trying to emulate the one true Good, the world one true God as best we are able. Because you cannot spell good without G-O-D, after all.

    To that end, I'd like to know if it's more prudent to write the REALLY long intro I had planned in a follow up post on this thread or another. I would have put it here in this prologue intro, but I did sign up and get accepted late in the day where I'm at and I need my sleepy-weepies. I'm sorry if it's a dumb question, but I feel like a stranger and that's usually a sign for me to ask before I leap and get on someone's nerves.
    AdamCollings
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    Post  AdamCollings March 24th 2022, 3:00 am

    How's it going, Peace and War.
    Paeter is the Admiral around here, but I reckon you can introduce yourself in whichever manner you prefer. People tend to say hello in this thread first, but thinking back to the dim past when I first joined, I think I created my own thread.

    What are your geeky interests?

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    Peace and War
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    Post  Peace and War March 24th 2022, 6:32 am

    AdamCollings wrote:How's it going, Peace and War.
    Paeter is the Admiral around here, but I reckon you can introduce yourself in whichever manner you prefer. People tend to say hello in this thread first, but thinking back to the dim past when I first joined, I think I created my own thread.

    What are your geeky interests?

    As broadly speaking as possible without giving away too crucial bits of the chapter 1 of my introduction I'll post later today, I have strong genre preferences for sci-fi and fantasy.

    Strong sub-genres are action, adventure, and whatever slice of life character building is called sub-genre wise though overall I do much prefer fiction to be more serialized than episodic with consequences from past events coming to show their ugly head at least every beginning, midway, and ending of a season as it were.

    Strong sub-sub genres are the superhero, space-opera/planetary romance, and the high fantasy/urban fantasy sub-genres in order from greatest loved to least loved typically. Which is ironic because the two shows I love the most fall somewhere in the high fantasy/urban fantasy genre or at least are closest to it. Funny how things work out ain't it?
    Paeter
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    Post  Paeter March 24th 2022, 5:32 pm

    Peace and War wrote:

    Strong sub-genres are action, adventure, and whatever slice of life character building is called sub-genre wise though overall I do much prefer fiction to be more serialized than episodic with consequences from past events coming to show their ugly head at least every beginning, midway, and ending of a season as it were.

    Me likey! Ever since shows started becoming more serialized I've become less tolerant of when they are not. And serialized character-driven geek shows? Sign me up!

    Thanks for introducing yourself and welcome!
    Peace and War
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    Post  Peace and War March 24th 2022, 6:44 pm

    Paeter wrote:
    Peace and War wrote:

    Strong sub-genres are action, adventure, and whatever slice of life character building is called sub-genre wise though overall I do much prefer fiction to be more serialized than episodic with consequences from past events coming to show their ugly head at least every beginning, midway, and ending of a season as it were.

    Me likey! Ever since shows started becoming more serialized I've become less tolerant of when they are not. And serialized character-driven geek shows? Sign me up!

    Thanks for introducing yourself and welcome!

    Thanks. Still working on the extended intro and the intro to the big project I need help with, but I'm glad to see even this paltry pittance didn't mess anything up!
    Peace and War
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    Introductions - Page 8 Empty Incredibly Long-Winded Extended Intro!

    Post  Peace and War March 29th 2022, 6:05 pm

    Hello. I am Peace and War here with a terribly long introduction so that everyone understands me, where I’m coming from, and hopefully agrees and can render aid where possible. Since I was a little boy of about six or so, I always knew I wanted to get into storytelling somehow, someplace–someplace where a warm hand waits for mine to reference the famous Heart of Ice episode of Batman The Animated Series. One of the greatest animated things ever and definitely a top ten contender for greatest animated superhero shows of all time by the way.

    h t t p s://youtu.be/7EtHfr0eBA4?t=22

    I heart stories. I love stories. So much. So many stories have made me feel the emotions in the immediately following links that if I listed all such tales and not just the most important ones I can think of off the top of my head, we’d be here till the return of the King.

    h t t p s://youtu.be/mZIuBVhDAtc?t=2157

    h t t p s://youtu.be/gV7fi9Ayze4?t=1920


    I love stories more than most real people even, which I know is sad, but is a bitter truth for someone with my personality profile and with the stroke of aspergers I have. Sometimes I love stories more than real people I actually know and who I consider very staunch family and allies I wish the best for and who I would seize the world for if I had the capacity.

    I am literally on the verge of crying pretty much everyday now thinking about how hollyweird has not only ruined so many stories but has even gone so far as to try and retroactively alter my fond memories of stories often by retroactively changing the context. Especially with stories that are supposed to be fun, innocent, light, happy, and healthy and especially such stories heavily aimed at kids.

    But I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to me knowing my life’s purpose was to write because I heart-loved stories with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns.

    Thing was, despite me knowing what my calling was, I was lazy and even slower in realizing it let alone fixing it. I’m talking snails mixed with sloths mixed with koalas mixed with pandas mixed with tortoises here. So, I spent a sad chunk of my early life where I should have already written reams and ream of stuff, even if it did read like it was written by someone at whatever age I happened to be, sitting around and just absorbing stories like a good little couch potato and taking the classic Disney route of just wishing upon a star to become a director and later on game designer.

    High School and College reality soon disabused me of this notion since being either a director or game designer means you have to have great technical expertise in things I found mad boring, especially with game designing requiring extensive game programming knowledge. Plus you have to play the intra and extra political game of currying favor with people I personally and politically could not and will not and will never stand.

    So, I decided to become a published author for novels, novellas, and other things just involving plain old boring pros but with the bent that whatever I wrote was going to be heavily narrative driven and character focussed like an ongoing comic book series–western or eastern–or like the many, many hours of television I grew up watching.

    In fact, my big goal in life since about 2013-ish has basically been to make the world’s best and greatest, most exciting, atmospheric, and insightful saturday morning cartoons for boys in a similar manner to how My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is the ultimate saturday morning cartoon for girls. Except in a literary medium with the operating paradigms being that I keep things as clean and good and true and beautiful and kid friendly as I possibly can. Which is a lot. Certainly more so than what hollyweird even then was permitting before completely going off the deep end in recent years. After being saved and finally putting all my faith in Christ for my salvation after a long, long journey in early 2019, my zeal has steeled to basically be what Disney, Hasbro, Warner Bros, and so many other companies should.

    I have not been successful, for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being that in years past I just could not write even a first draft to save my life. The only novel length first draft I ever wrote was in 2016 and the only novella length first draft was in 2017. Aside from that, I completed the first act of a novel earlier in 2017 than the aforesaid novella, but everything has just been a giant wash.

    A big reason for this is that while my laziness in cranking out lots and lots of text quickly enough has vastly improved since I was a kid, as everyone rolling their eyes reading this long-winded post doubtlessly agrees, text with substance, a point, and well executed and bigly efficient was ever elusive as was my muse.

    Plus, ever since 2020, I’m still recovering from a big accident I got into that has left me physically and mentally incapable of engaging in writing the way I used to. Still got shaky, achy hands from all that and I do prefer pencil and pen on paper when writing my work and then converting it to 1’s and 0’s by typing, which hurts by activating different pain receptors than traditional writing does.

    However, thank the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–the Blessed Trinity–I am recovering and I do believe that sooner rather than later I’ll have it in me to not only finish a first draft, but all subsequent drafts and even publish my first ever novel.

    But, before I do, given my mixed and muddled memories of what going through the writing process was like, I’ve realized that if I ever want to achieve my goals, especially after taking the hit I did, I need a gameplan. A blueprint for success. A pre-story schematic covering plotting, characters, setting, and even more nebulous ideas like just what to include and not include and how to keep things consistent and exciting and integrated and moral and ethical with other stories in the same verse or otherwise operating under the same basic rules just expanded or even contracted in some cases.

    In other words, I need help getting organized and assembling the totally comprehensive instructions I need to follow to build the house built of the material I want and built on the type of stone I want before I go actually building it, lest I end up building it of graham crackers on sand somewhere in yellowstone when the big one finally erupts and erases north america as we know it.

    So, to the people of this board, I ask, please help me if you can. Please help me to make good, clean, work like what we grew up with and remember growing up with and somehow find the way to make it ever better and even stand up the test of time better.

    If you don’t understand what it is I’m trying to emulate while also bringing it in line even further with Christ as much as I can, here is the post I made on one of the videos on the Christian Geek Central youtube channel after a recent event gave me the catalyst I needed to finally find like minded people to render aid:

    “Hey Christian geek central, I have a problem and I think you can help. Basically, I want to know how to pull off making a series with characters that are just as fun and interesting in peace time as they are in war but are still kid friendly and biblical in both instances as well as really genuine and endearing and heartfelt. Basically, think the mane six from MLP:FIM but in a setting with superheroes on the eve of a big supervillain resurgence that eventually leads to a big geopolitical nightmare that leads to wars and rumors of wars. High concept I know. Difficult I know. But I just can't right anything that gets ugly without the backdrop of beauty and fun and innocence and cleanliness and righteousness and godliness. As much as I am able, anyways.”

    If you still don’t understand what it is I’m trying to emulate while also bringing it in line even further with Christ as much as I can, here is the list of tales I alluded to earlier–I think–of very formative, generally very good shows and just things I grew up watching that got me into storytelling to begin with.

    In no particular order:

    1. Batman the Animated Series

      Superman the Animated Series

      Batman Beyond

      Static Shock

      Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

      Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

      Gargoyles (even if it was kind of meandering even by my standards, and yes, it was like that BEFORE the Goliath Chronicles)

      Spectacular Spider-Man

      X-Men the Animated Series

      Spider-Man the Animated Series

      Teen Titans (not Go. NEVER Go!)

      My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (till season 5. Never could get past that into six and later and honestly I don’t think I could)

      Ben 10

      Danny Phantom

      Generator Rex

      Life and Times of Juniper Lee

      Code Lyoko

      Totally Spies

      American Dragon: Jake Long

      The Power Puff Girls

      Dexter’s Lab

      Kim Possible

      Young Justice (before Weissman and company went off the deep-end when the series got its revival on streaming services. Seriously, while there’s a lot to love, it goes so far off the deep end it’s basically a parody at some points, and not a good or wanted one either. Just really violent and vulgar).

      Jimmy Neutron

      Fairly Oddparents

      Spongebob

      He-Man (2002 series, though I have watched a little of the original as well)

      Samurai Jack

      Megas XLR

      Codename Kid’s Next Door

      Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

      Jackie Chan Adventures

      Xiaolin Showdown

      New Adventures of Johnny Quest (also watched some of the original, but this one is the one that sticks most in my mind even though both theme songs are about the same in the awesomeness department, which is very awesome indeed).

      Sonic SATAM

      SWAT Kats

      Courage the Cowardly Dog

      DuckTales (original)

      New Adventures of Whinnie the Pooh

      Lilo and Stitch the Series

      The Proud Family

      Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

      Recess

      Doug (both the nick and disney versions)

      Lloyd in Space

      Hercules the animated series

      Tarzan the animated series

      Aladdin the animated series

      Goof Troop

      Pepper Anne

      Catdog

      Rugrats

      The Angry Beavers

      Rocko’s Modern Life

      Hey Arnold

      Rocket Power

      The Wild Thornberrys

      ChalkZone

      My Life as a Teenage Robot

      Ed, Edd, and Eddy

      Johnny Bravo

      Scooby-Doo (various)

      Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

      Star Wars: Clone Wars (Original 2003 mini-series)

      Hi Hi Puffy Amy/Yumi

      Camp Lazlo

      My Gym Partner’s a Monkey

      Squirrel Boy

      Class of 3000

      The Incredible Hulk the animated series

      The Batman

      Dragon Ball

      Dragon Ball Z

      Dragon Ball GT

      Zoids (Chaotic Century and New Century)

      Pokemon (various)

      Kirby Right Back At Ya!

      Yu Yu Hakusho!

      Fighting Food-Ons

      Ultimate Muscle

      X-Men: Evolutions

      Yugi-Oh!

      Duel Masters

      Godzilla the animated series

      Kong the animated series

      Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

      Sonic X

      Shaman King

      Stargate Infinity

      Atomic Betty

      Mucha Lucha

      Krypto the superdog

      Duck Dodgers

      Baby Looney Tunes

      Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers

      Talespin

      Bonkers

      Mighty Ducks the animated series

      PB&J Otter

      Blues Clues


    And last, but certainly not least because it’s actually objectively the best of the list, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Korra is a non-starter for me. And a total, living, breathing, series wide non-sequitur.

    Sorry for sounding way more dramatic than I intended, but ironically, despite being autistic, I feel very strong emotions for what I love and can’t help wearing them on my sleeves. I especially feel strongly when things that I love go down the wrong path because I expect better out of what I love and want the best out of them and for them. Looking at you MLP and Young Justice and the broader Avatar franchise to name a few.

    Keep in mind, these are just animated television programs. If we expanded to live-action tv or other mediums entirely like film or video-games or comics or books, the list of things I love I’d like to take inspiration from or emulate would be much, much, MUCH larger.

    Yes, I watched a lot, played a lot, and read a lot as a kid. It’s almost like I was a couch potato who wanted to create himself one of these days like I’ve repeated way too much in this post, dontchya think? ;P

    Ironically, I always find writing essays a lot easier than making narrative pros for the purposes of enjoyment and this is the most I’ve written at all in the longest time.

    Again, sorry!
    Paeter
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    Post  Paeter March 30th 2022, 5:53 pm

    Thanks for sharing your dreams with us here! A couple sections stood out that I consider to be the core of your question:

    "I’ve realized that if I ever want to achieve my goals, especially after taking the hit I did, I need a gameplan. A blueprint for success. A pre-story schematic covering plotting, characters, setting, and even more nebulous ideas... In other words, I need help getting organized and assembling the totally comprehensive instructions I need to follow to build the house built of the material I want and built on the type of stone I want before I go actually building it"

    So there is a lot there that's worth distilling down into something more pure and focused. It sounds a bit like you are seeing the massive amount of work required to pursue what you're envisioning, and its overwhelming to the point of not knowing where to begin. Does that sound like an accurate description of where you're at right now?

    If that's the case (and keep in mind, I've written and published several audio dramas but do NOT consider writing my strength), then I would just start writing. Whether that's an outline, or a scene that just naturally materializes in your imagination, or the background lore...whatever. You will very likely go through a bunch of re-writing over and over again(both minor and drastic), or maybe even abandoning the project as the work itself inspires you to change directions entirely to an even better idea. I think all of that is often part of the overarching creative process and should be expected rather than seen as failure.

    And then throughout the process, I'd recommend being a part of a writing group, where you read and provide feedback on each other's work. I think this would have been such a help to me and my work if I'd been willing to do it.

    But bottom line, I'd just say to start writing and plan on the unexpected, and having your vision for the project change over time.
    AdamCollings
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    Post  AdamCollings March 31st 2022, 12:28 am

    I agree with what Paeter said, and think I can expand on it a bit.

    First of all, there is no shortcut in writing. It's going to take hard work. A lot of hard work. (but if you love stories then that hard work can be a joy)

    In order to become a successful writer you need to do two things.
    1) Learn the craft.
    2) Write a lot of words.

    To learn writing you need to practice. Write a book. then write another. Then write another.
    Don't be afraid to write "bad stuff". Few people ever publish their first book. I wrote 2.5 novels before I published anything.  You will improve as you go. Think of it like an RPG. Every time you flail with your sword at an enemy you are gaining XP. Eventually, you will level up.
    And don't forget to read. Take in inspiration from other storytellers. (you can do this with TV and film as well. It looks like you already have a massive library of inspiration, which is great).

    But all of this practice won't help you grow unless you also learn the craft.

    Here's a list of vital skills and knowledge I would suggest you develop, and some resources to help you get there.

    * Writers general fall into one of two camps. Plotters, who like to pre-plan their story, develop detailed outlines, and figure it all out before they write. Pantsers who "write by the seat of their pants" making it up as they go along (pantsers tend to need to do more work on their editing, going back to inject foreshadowing and making sure everything is consistent. Both of these (or any combination thereof) is valid and acceptable. You just need to decide what works for you. The best way to figure that out is to try both.

    * Having a good understanding of Point of View is essential. Generally speaking, publishers and readers prefer a close limited point of view in either third person or first person. The biggest mark of an amateur writer is getting point of view wrong, which tends to be known as "head hopping"
    Check out this article by Jerry Jenkins: [url=%C2%A0https://jerryjenkins.com/point-of-view/] https://jerryjenkins.com/point-of-view/[/url]
    I'd also highly recommend the book Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13602354-rivet-your-readers-with-deep-point-of-view)

    * Story Structure. I'm kind of passionate about this one, but whether you're a plotter or a pantser, you need an understanding of the important moments in story structure.
    K.M. Weiland has some fantastic teaching on this subject. She's written a book, but you can learn it all from her free blog series.
    https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/secrets-story-structure-complete-series/

    * Character arcs
    Character arc actually ties quite closely with story structure. K.M. Weiland has again some great teaching on this. https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/write-character-arcs/


    when you're reading, get a professional editor to go over your work. Their feedback might be a little hard to read but you'll learn so much!

    I hope that is helpful. It might all look a bit overwhelming, but just focus on learning one thing at a time, and in the meantime, just keep writing. Give yourself grace. It doesn't need to be perfect.

    Most important of all - have fun.
    Peace and War
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    Post  Peace and War March 31st 2022, 6:50 am

    AdamCollings wrote:I agree with what Paeter said, and think I can expand on it a bit.

    First of all, there is no shortcut in writing. It's going to take hard work. A lot of hard work. (but if you love stories then that hard work can be a joy)

    In order to become a successful writer you need to do two things.
    1) Learn the craft.
    2) Write a lot of words.

    To learn writing you need to practice. Write a book. then write another. Then write another.
    Don't be afraid to write "bad stuff". Few people ever publish their first book. I wrote 2.5 novels before I published anything.  You will improve as you go. Think of it like an RPG. Every time you flail with your sword at an enemy you are gaining XP. Eventually, you will level up.
    And don't forget to read. Take in inspiration from other storytellers. (you can do this with TV and film as well. It looks like you already have a massive library of inspiration, which is great).

    But all of this practice won't help you grow unless you also learn the craft.

    Here's a list of vital skills and knowledge I would suggest you develop, and some resources to help you get there.

    * Writers general fall into one of two camps. Plotters, who like to pre-plan their story, develop detailed outlines, and figure it all out before they write. Pantsers who "write by the seat of their pants" making it up as they go along (pantsers tend to need to do more work on their editing, going back to inject foreshadowing and making sure everything is consistent. Both of these (or any combination thereof) is valid and acceptable. You just need to decide what works for you. The best way to figure that out is to try both.

    * Having a good understanding of Point of View is essential. Generally speaking, publishers and readers prefer a close limited point of view in either third person or first person. The biggest mark of an amateur writer is getting point of view wrong, which tends to be known as "head hopping"
    Check out this article by Jerry Jenkins: [url=%C2%A0https://jerryjenkins.com/point-of-view/] https://jerryjenkins.com/point-of-view/[/url]
    I'd also highly recommend the book Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13602354-rivet-your-readers-with-deep-point-of-view)

    * Story Structure. I'm kind of passionate about this one, but whether you're a plotter or a pantser, you need an understanding of the important moments in story structure.
    K.M. Weiland has some fantastic teaching on this subject. She's written a book, but you can learn it all from her free blog series.
    https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/secrets-story-structure-complete-series/

    * Character arcs
    Character arc actually ties quite closely with story structure. K.M. Weiland has again some great teaching on this. https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/write-character-arcs/


    when you're reading, get a professional editor to go over your work. Their feedback might be a little hard to read but you'll learn so much!

    I hope that is helpful. It might all look a bit overwhelming, but just focus on learning one thing at a time, and in the meantime, just keep writing. Give yourself grace. It doesn't need to be perfect.

    Most important of all - have fun.

    Because I made the mistake of replying to both you and Pete direct from my Gmail and then looked at other stuff on my phone before I finished my response leading to my response being deleted twice, I'm really angry right now so I'll try and be as brief as possible to save myself any future aggravation in case somehow my response via this proper browser is somehow deleted too.

    1. Thank you both for your kindness and well words.

    2. Unfortunately, no. Being a gardener is absolutely, one hundred  percent unacceptable for me. I know it's obviously the more natural fit considering my rambly nature just leaps off the page, but playing to type like this is kind of why I'm a giant mess in the writing department in the first place. In fact, the perfect analogy for the effect bring a gardener has had on my writing life is in fact that fact that I literally just spent twenty minutes for both of the original responses I was going to make to you guys only for it to not matter in the end because no one ever saw them or ever would. Granted for my novels the reason is a little different, but the end effect is the same: I end up with nothing or having to start all over again.

    I NEED, one hundred percent, to become an Architect, not a gardener. Especially when I'm not writing one-shots, but novels that are supposed to be in a serialized series. That's literally how it worked and works for various animated series I mentioned, especially the better and more self interconnected ones. Granted, there's a lot more design by committee that went and goes on in those shows just as there is with the construction of any building and sometimes it didn't work out for an episode or sometimes a more episodic episode snuck in, but in general they had a plan and they stuck with it to the end building episodes to specification with a the work of where to go, where not to go, and what to do being done well in advance


    So please, if anyone here knows how to build those specifications, how to get a good pre-production habit before going into production proper, I would literally pay you a hundred dollars to learn your secret at this point because I am so wretchedly tired of spending months of my life putting my heart and soul into something only to have to go back and try and make it make sense. I'd rather fron load all of the editing as it were then commit than commit and have to push it off and go back only to take a hatchet and add growth formula later.

    You cannot make a lot of at least decent material as quickly as I want being a gardener. Unless you're like a genius who can keep it all cohesive, which I'm as far removed from as Apocalypse is from most normal mutants.
    AdamCollings
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    Post  AdamCollings April 5th 2022, 2:44 am

    Cool. Sounds like you very much know what kind of writer you are / need to be.

    I'm also an architect/plotter. And I agree it is a much better fit for serialised storytelling.

    My book series is structured like a modern TV series. Each book (30,00 word novella) is an episode. There will be 6 episodes per season and I'm planning 4 seasons. I've only published two so far, but have the entire first season drafted, and the third episode close to being publishable.

    I'll try to collect my thoughts to see what advice I might be able to offer you based on my experience so far. I don't know how valuable it'll be, but I'll give it a shot.
    Stay tuned...

    Peace and War likes this post


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