Character #AtoZChallenge 2025 fantasy

[Writing Process post]

I generally make a character sheet for anyone who isn't a Tertiary character. Though sometimes more elaborate, it basically looks like this:

(Tomorrow, the actual story will begin.)

Character Name:

Nickname:

Character Role:  (https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-all-the-types-of-characters-in-literature examples and explanations)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS

Jewel color:  (Vital in this story only.)

Eye & Hair color/ style:

Build:

Style of dress:

Characteristics/ Mannerisms:

PERSONALITY TRAITS:

BACKGROUND:

INTERNAL CONFLICTS:

EXTERNAL CONFLICTS:

OCCUPATION/ EDUCATION:  (mostly irrelevant in this story) 

Personality Contradiction (cruel but funny, sexy celibate) :

MISC NOTES:

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Key dramatic question that will take whole story to answer:

Could Belp have prevented all this death, how, and if so-- why didn't he?

And what led Jaildarn to become the cause of such annihilation? 

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QUESTION -- Do you create character sheets when writing? Could you fill such a sheet out for yourself? 

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My A to Z 2025 theme is a fantasy story. (And some of the process of writing it as well.) 🕮

- J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website.

Background #AtoZChallenge 2025 fantasy and #IWSG

[Writing Process post]

Some of the background information I had to create before I started writing.

Specialties of the Jewels:

Red- Masters of the spiritual  

Pink- Masters of the desert 

Orange- Masters of the jungles and wetlands

Yellow- Masters of the plains and farming

Green- Masters of the forests

Blue- Masters of water (rivers, ice, ocean, etc)

Purple- Masters of societal order 

Brown- Masters of mountains

Colorless- Masters of nutrition and food preparation 

Turquoise- Masters of necessities  

Opal- Masters of new life
Black Onyx- Master healers

Gold- Masters of travel and discovery

Silver- Masters of portals, allegedly 

Darterra is a moon world. Xeata-Lidoffad is the planet it orbits. Ospinevarn is the name of their sun, or nearest star. 

Life-cycle of Darterrans:

Babies are level 1. (They come from the Birth Place. The people are not mammals of live births, nor do they hatch from eggs.)

When there are new babies, the children advance to level 2.

Puberty advances young people to level 3.

Tests allow people to become elders, level 4.

Death moves most people to the spiritual realm, level 5.

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QUESTION: Do you compile background information before you write?

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InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre!

April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

I'll pick one fantasy book per suggestion from the question, plus a bonus. Click titles for links to books.

1. The Existence series (by J Lenni Dorner) - 🍻 I'd drink beer with Heath.
   
2. Fragile Remedy (by Maria Ingrande Mora) - 💫 I'd quest with Nate.
3. Magic at Midnight (by Ronel Janse van Vuuren) -  💗 I'd fly with Amy and her pegasi
4. The Kingkiller Chronicles (by Patrick Rothfuss) - 🍷 I'd drink wine while Kvothe played 🎻 the "lute."
5.  Red Queen series (by Victoria Aveyard) - 🥊 I'd try to fight Maven. I'd lose, of course, as there's no special power in my blood, but I'd try.

Looking forward to the answers others wrote!

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My A to Z 2025 theme is a fantasy story. (And some of the process of writing it as well.) 🕮

- J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge

[No one caught my April Fools prank of labeling my posts as "2026"]

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website.

An Idea #AtoZChallenge 2025 fantasy

[Writing Process post] 

I started with an idea. 

Story Idea:

Fantasy story. A world where people are born with a lit jewel at their suprasternal, or jugular, notch. The jewel determines the specialty of the person. Generally, people of the same region have the same color jewel. 

There are exceptions, such as the Purple jewels, which became the specialty known as Order. Long ago, Purples formed societies and created a code of morals and a set of laws. Another exception is the Red jewels, which are connected to the spiritual world. 

The Silvers claim to be masters of portals. They believe they are meant to find portals that allow travel between their moon world of Darterra to Xeata-Lidoffad, the planet it orbits. It is alleged that the first Silver accomplished this but chose not to return. 

New jewels have cropped up. There are now people with multiple colors in their jewels. The world divided over what this means. 

The Golds, masters of travel and discovery,  are adamant that multi-colored jewels are bad and the people must be destroyed. The people of Darterra are being segregated and reduced in numbers. Jaildarn, the current Gold leader, is determined to see the people fight and the population diminish. 

How did Jaildarn get this way? That's the real story. 

Told from the perspective of Belp, a Brown, who was once Jaildarn's friend.

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Does this story intrigue you? Are you a fan of fantasy stories? 

If you are an author, how often do you begin by having an idea?

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My A to Z 2025 theme is a fantasy story. (And some of the process of writing it as well.) 🕮

- J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website.

2025 A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal #AtoZChallenge

Please check out the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge
#AtoZChallenge
a-to-zchallenge.com

The theme I intend to do on my blog this year is a fantasy story. Not just the story, but some of the process of writing it as well. I hope you'll drop in to read it!

-J

  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com

If for one day you could be anyone #IWSG

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:

Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

March 5 question -

If for one day you could be anyone or *thing* in the world, what would it be? Describe, tell why, and any themes, goals, or values they/it inspire in you.

I just want to be me. I'd like to be loved and accepted as me, for me. But, that isn't happening in my homeland right now. So maybe I could be a time traveler for a day. Go back to the time when my ancestors ruled this land under my feet. Meet my people. Be a friend to a Lenni-Lenape leader in the time before the invaders. I want to see the world 🌎 as they did, to feel what they felt, to experience the culture, to be ... A Majority for a day. Surrounded by my own people, ones who look like me, value what I value, are what I am. For a day. 

A day wouldn't be enough. Unless it was my last, perhaps. Maybe it is what awaits me in "the beyond"? It would be nice to belong.

Well, anyway, the theme for the A to Z team this year is Community. How blogging unites and supports our community, that sort of idea. Anyone hoping to guest post should reach out to a team member soon. We're trying to schedule our posts so we have more time in April to visit participants.

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 Please follow me on Bluesky. 



Check out the site! Theme Reveal and Sign-up dates are coming this month.

Change published works IWSG

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Joylene Nowell Butler, Louise Barbour, and Tyrean Martinson!

Feb 5 question -

Is there a story or book you've written you want to/wish you could go back and change?
No, not really. 
I'm grateful for anything I finished and published.

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https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/tribal-nations-urge-citizens-to-carry-id-as-ice-raids-increase Indigenous people in the Southwest U.S. have reported being questioned or detained by immigration officers.
My people are not doing well.

Cliffhanger #IWSG and Native American Heritage Day

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:

Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!

Dec 4 question -

Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?

There is a major cliffhanger at the end of Fractions of Existence. There's a minor one at the end of Proof of Existence. (Both of which are on sale. Kindle Countdown!)

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Native American Heritage Day #Sale!

The Existence series is an Urban Fantasy with Myths and Legends, and Paranormal Romance.

Omnipotent beings are trying to save human existence. Only united are they strong enough. If they don't reunite, the human race is doomed.

Sale on Fractions of Existence https://amzn.to/3AWVA8v

Coming soon:

Sale on Proof of Existence https://amzn.to/4fSsO86

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https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social Please follow me on the BlueSky social media site. So many writer, author, and book lover friends of mine have made the switch, I find that I shall too. (X no longer favors links in "tweets," as it is switching focus to training AI with the shares of users. The platform I once used daily no longer interests me.) 



@AtoZchallenge.bsky.social  -  The team also has a handle on the growing Bluesky platform.
https://bsky.app/profile/atozchallenge.bsky.social

Happening at OperationAwesome6.blogspot.com There is a final farewell post. We have shut down. https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com