So We're Doing a Thing
First steps can be scary, but I'm ready to start walking so I can someday run.
Another day, another attempt.
Hey, you. Thanks for being here, reading these words from my brain to your eyeballs.
I have had many interests throughout my 30-odd years on this earth, and I have pursued several of them, I am blessed to say, to a point of being complimented and occasionally compensated for them. But none of those interests compare to my passion, to the one thing I have wanted to do since I was a little kid more than anything else but have been too afraid of.
I wanna be a writer.
I want to craft worlds, carve out characters, and breath life into them like my Creator breathed life into me. I want to share their stories with others, make readers feel so deeply about them that they go on to create art of their own.
But I have long procrastinated in this area. Blame it on fear, laziness, inexperience, whatever. It doesn’t change the bottom line that I have spent my 30-odd years not writing when I really want to write.
But I’m writing now.
The writing bug has bitten me with building intensity over the last few years, and I am proud to say that I finally have some works to show for it. Not a lot by any measure, but more that I once had (which was hot nothing). I’ve joined writers’ groups, participated in NaNoWriMo, and submitted to online magazines.
I’m finally taking this journey seriously.
So what the heck is going on here?
Glad you asked! Let’s cut through the vague ramblings and get to the meat of the matter.
This Substack will be a place of fantasy, horror, and random musings. Specifically, this is what I have planned:
Epic Fantasies - Snippets and lore from my main works-in-progress. Do you enjoy worldbuilding? Are you a nerd for fantasy settings and mythology? Then you’re in the right place. I have crafted an original fantasy setting with its own magic, mythology, and more, but it’s difficult to get all that stuff into a novel without it becoming dry and stalling out the action. I’ll be posting here the nitty gritty details of the world that aren’t 100% necessary to the plot of the books but will enrich the experience nonetheless!
Horror Short Stories - Clean yet creepy is the aim. I have long been inspired by the likes of Poe, Lovecraft, King, and Peretti. I write with the goal of bringing spooky vibes without the objectionable material one finds in much of horror.
TTRPG Materials - This one is a dream at the moment, but an achievable one. I love tabletop games, and I aspire to adapting some of my stories and settings into materials for others to use in their home games. More to come on this!
Blogposts Aplenty - Some people talk incessantly because of a love for their own voices. Others, like myself, talk incessantly because we want to be heard. I feel no greater love than when someone not only listens to but remembers what I have said. What does this have to do with my Substack? Not sure, but it sounded pretty in my head, and that kind of reasoning is going to be the main source of material for my blogposts. Life, faith, and nerd culture are all fair game.
Whaddya think?
Are you curious what this average smo has up his sleeves? Then sign up for the free stuff!
Do you like what you see and want to help an aspiring writer get rid of that pesky “aspiring” part? Consider becoming a full subscriber (but no pressure because it feels really weird marketing myself like I’m panhandling on the sidewalks of the internet so again absolutely no pressure at all to sign up this feels so weird).
In all seriousness, I am so excited to launch into this next branch of the life God has granted me. All glory to Him, and many blessings to you.
- S.M. Osborne