Before Phenom was a tabletop role-playing game, it was a story. Before it was a story, it was an idea. The story itself has been dancing around in my mind for decades. I have a couple of short stories I’ve written and a novel that I’ve been kicking around forever. The world of Telan, the…
Author: Lynn Davis
I am a professional ghostwriter, a freelance writer, and a media critic. I am also the author of The Shulim Cycle: Book of Dahlia & Book of Susan as well as some short stories and novellas.
In addition to my freelance and novels, I have written for Polymancer Magazine, an article titled “I Was Thinking of Making My Character…Evil” and White Wolf Games’ Mage: The Ascension revised (Guide to the Traditions (fiction inserts), Cult of Ecstasy, Bitter Road, and Initiates of the Arts).
Writing has been a passion of mine since I was twelve. I enjoy writing paranormal and fantasy fiction, but have delved into science fiction, romance, and other genres as well. When I’m not writing, I enjoy video games, tabletop roleplaying games, reading, visiting museums, and finding ways to relax and enjoy life.
Phenom Test Play – The Outworlders
I’m releasing a sneak peek into the first Phenom Roleplaying Game test play, The Outworlders. This Isekai scenario lets you enter into the world of Phenom and discover its secrets side by side with your character. I’m putting the final touches on the packet including the beta rules portion and pre-generated characters. The sneak peek…
Silencing the Inner Critic: How to Overcome Perfectionism an Stop Editing While Writing
Now we come to the part of this series that we’ve been working up to: How do you overcome perfectionism in drafting and stop editing as you write? It’s an age-old question, but it is something that we can learn to overcome as writers. It’s not about abandoning our ideals for our writing style and…
Brainstorming Techniques – The Spark that Lights a Story
As a writer, there’s only one thing I dread more than editing: looking at a blank page. Sometimes, I struggle with how to start a story or find it hard to pick up a work in progress to keep going. The struggle is real, and I’ve never met a writer that hasn’t encountered it. Finding…
The Anatomy of Drafting Fiction: How to Write a First Draft
I have about a half dozen (or so) stories that I’ve started and abandoned over the years. You’re looking at me right now and going, “welcome to the club. We have T-shirts.” It’s true; as writers, we get ideas all the time that don’t have legs. I’m talking about a deeper problem than a story…
Phenom Updates
It feels like forever that I’ve been working on Phenom, and the closer I get to finishing, the further away that end point seems. That’s just how creative endeavors go. Anyway, I thought I’d give a comprehensive look at where we are and what’s next. I’ve posted about the State of Phenom over on Patreon….
Behind the Scenes | Lila
Picture if you will. I’m in college, taking a writing workshop course. I’m used to writing stories that belong in genres – fantasy, horror, science fiction. Those were my bread and butter. But our instructor has a rule: no genre fiction. She’s looking for stories that focus on characters and how plot is driven by…
Romantic Subplots & You
You want a romance. But … you don’t want to write a romance story. You just want to add a romantic element to your story. Most stories have them. Science fiction, fantasy, westerns … even mystery and horror aren’t immune to the pull. When you have two people with a certain kind of chemistry, you have the makings for a…
Write What You Know
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Write what you know. I’ve always hated that advice. If you ask me to cite the worst advice to give a writer, it’s that. No hesitation. That is the worst advice I’ll ever hear someone give a writer. I say that because the first time I remember someone…
What Is Genre?
No, really. What is “Genre”? The answer is … //shrug// … ? Hear me out. Genre is one of those aspects of writing that is both easy and hard to define because, with Genre, maybe more than any other writing concept, context matters. We’ll start simple and get a dictionary definition. I went with the Cambridge…