Inaugural Post // Canon Fodder!

Who I am, What our goal is here, and various other shenanigans.

Hello and welcome!

My name is Bobby and I’ve been building worlds in some capacity for most of my life - only thing is, I kind of just now realized it.

I want to build worlds with you! What I’d like to do here is just muse a little about writing prompts, worldbuilding for the #ttrpg scene, and fun or different ways to approach tropes in fantasy writing. But here’s the catch - I want YOU (yes, YOU, dear reader!) to chime in and help. If one person walks away from these convos with an idea or lightbulb moment or that little tiny bit of inspiration - then we’ve done our job well.

Everything we write together is fair game - you wanna use the idea in your novel? Great! You wanna set your next D&D campaign in a city we build together? Go for it! Need a setting or scene for your comic? Take it.

Thus the cheesy name - we’re writing fodder for YOUR canon. Get it? (you’ll learn quickly that I am not afraid of bad jokes :) )

A few ground rules here,

and I intend to follow them as well:

1. For the love of all that is holy/unholy in this world - be nice to each other (and me, please)! I won’t tolerate any hate towards literally anyone in any convo hosted through my channels. No racism - casual or explicit, no sexism, ableism, bashing or shit talking. And humor does not always count as a free pass for being shitty. Be Nice!

2. See #1 - everything else grows from there.

3. Credit where credit is due - if you see some writing in our convos that you wanna pinch, you don’t have to ask to pinch it…but you should say thanks or credit the person who gave you the inspiration somehow. Gods know I like a little pat on the back every now and again, don’t you? That shit feels good, man!

4. Foul language is going to happen here, sorry/notsorry. What should not happen here is explicitly harmful, demeaning, or potentially triggering language. Consider using Content Warnings in our convos if you think something you simply must say could cause someone grief. Like, really - take the 5 seconds and think through it. It doesn’t hurt. And I’ll say it clearly: If you think your ‘hot take’ is gonna get folks riled up - just don’t, please. We’re here to imagine and write like proper nerds ;)

5. For the time being - and honestly, because I’m just starting out - these posts/ramblings will be free. If the community grows, we’ll talk about paid subscriptions if they become necessary. Who knows, maybe we’ll be famous! ;)

And, lastly, about me

Yep, you are following a total stranger - maybe even having a conversation with one! - and that’s weird; I get it. Here’s a little bit about me, maybe that’ll break the ice :)

• #BlackLivesMatter - full stop. Pretty simple stuff.

• #TransRights are critical, as are all LGBTQ+ rights.

• I am a white, cis, hetero male (‘cause we needed another one writing about fantasy, right?!). I try my damnedest to prevent those from being the only lenses I communicate through.

• I am 100% addicted to Mt. Dew Zero. Like, it’s a real problem.

• I am a southern boy (born in NC), but I am based in Chicago, because…

• …I am married to a delightful City Witch whom I met there.

• I am Dad to two shaggy-haired boys (currently 9 & 3) whom I will refer to as V (9) and M (3).

• I truly enjoy all TTRPG games (and board, too!). I cut my teeth on D&D, but am always open to learn a new system or lore. In fact, I am actively attempting to learn new game systems on the regular. Currently, I’m digging in to Troika!, Pathfinder, and Yokai Hunters Society. Yes, I bought the Bundle for Racial Justice & Equality, too. :)

• I make handmade maps for use as TTRPG props or artwork on your walls. I like flexing my art-school degree (honestly, when else can you?!) to push the boundaries of how a map could - or should - look in order to convey juuuuust enough information to spark creativity.

• I am clearly a fan of run-on sentences, but am too stubborn to correct them.

• I type fast, but not always well - if you see a typo, tell me! :)

• I am totally an improv kind of guy - very “Yes, and…” - so, tell me if you wanna hold for a second on the current topic.

• If you’re into personality profiles, I’m an ENTP (Meyers-Briggs), an ISdc (DiSC), and a Ravencl….you know, scratch that last one.

• In case you haven’t guessed it by now, I am a Liberal, leaning more towards the Progressive/Socialist side, but I have no intentions of leveraging or even discussing that, frankly. Again, we’re here to write and worldbuild! Politics of made up cities are, honestly, more interesting.

• Orcs and Drow are not inherently evil - PLEASE be better writers than those before us.

• Oh - I am not a published, accredited, or even qualified writer. Worth (and hurts) saying out loud, eh? I’m just here to carry the convo, herd the cats, and toss out some inspiration every now and again (I hope!).

• I am a graphic designer, so if you wanna nerd out about layouts, we can do that too :).

• I am playing Skyrim for the 1,635th playthrough.

Tell me about yourself if you wanna!

Homework

And, what would the Inaugural Post of Canon Fodder! be with out a creativity prompt?! Garbage, that’s what.

Let me know - through any of my channels, by using the hashtag #CanonFodder (that’s 1 ‘n’ in the middle there) - your thoughts on:

Why might a city (town, settlement, etc) have a regime change? What happens to the those still devoted to the old regime? How is the population affected?

Remember, all genres are open here, so don’t feel restricted to swords & boards!

Thanks for reading, and if you can think of a better story - then go write it :)

[just working on some closing taglines there. just puttin’ it all on the dance floor for you, in real time. no biggie. no anxiety at all, nope.]

[awkwardly tries hand at adding a subscribe button here:]

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B. Lively
my sites || bdotlively.carrd.co / bdotlively.substack.com
twitter || @bdotlively
instagram || @blively79
email || bobbylively@gmail.com
linkedin || get outta here with that shit