I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons fairly consistently since 2016. I've played a few different characters in my time, with several different people, but one thing has remained constant: a good D&D session gets my creativity flowing.
The principles and themes of D&D permeate the world of Summer Twilight. I've talked about this a little bit before, and I'll get into more detail in future posts, too. Today, I want to focus on how it all starts: why I find D&D a source of inspiration. For any creator, no matter your medium, there will be things in life that help you create. I hated AP Literature. Not because I didn't like English class - I loved it - but because I detested symbolism. I dreaded the long discussions about the meaning of the green light in The Great Gatsby or the the Mississippi River in Huckleberry Finn. It seemed like a weak excuse to continue studying works of "great American literature" because, for some reason, schools seem determined to only teach books published 75+ years ago.
The question why are the curtains blue? is emblematic of this struggle for me. I used to tell my mom that an English teacher would say the curtains were blue to represent the sadness the character felt at their unrequited love, the inner peace the poet found, or the endless toil toward freedom bound to subsume society. Asked about those very same curtains, I joked, it was likely that the author would say "I like blue curtains". As an author, I'm going to make 15-year-old Bridget hate me, and say honestly that the curtains are blue for a reason. I get it. Since about 6th grade, people have been telling you to write down your ideas, in order, before you actually start writing a draft. This advice applies for any kind of writing: essays, articles, blogs (ahem, perhaps why mine wander a little - busted!), books....you name it, you can (and should) probably outline it.
When I was little, my absolute favorite activity was curling up on my bed under my purple tube lights with a book. I would spend hours on end exploring other worlds, meeting new people, and going on wonderful adventures.
As personal websites became more mainstream (WOW I feel old just typing that sentence), I loved looking up my favorite authors, eagerly exploring the burgeoning interwebs in an effort to learn now things about the books I loved so much. I would dive deep into website archives, search for blog posts and internet articles, and watch interviews. I devoured all of it. It wasn't about the authors themselves (sorry, Tamora Pierce), but rather about the world they had created, the stories I had lived over and over in my many re-readings. I thirsted to know more, to expand my understanding of this alternate universe I had discovered. Now, as I prepare to publish my first book, I have done a lot of things - and dedicated a lot of time - to being true to that thirst for knowledge I had as a child. I have designed my own website to be user friendly, a landing page for people interested in learning more about the characters and the world. Once the book is published, I have a really exciting plan to build out the site and community even more, with new exciting resources for any and all who are interested. |
AuthorBridget is the author of Summer Twilight, available for purchase now! Categories
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