Harry Potter RPG

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Yes. I have created a Harry Potter Role Playing Game.

I combined Dungeons and Dragons, World of Darkness, Mouse Guard, and my own stubbornness to stick to canon to produce an RPG system that will knock Dobby’s socks off.

The system revolves around Hogwarts, so you can play in Harry’s time, the Marauders’ time, Tom Riddle’s time, Albus Severus’ (hahaha stupid name) time, or what have you!

I’ve been wanting to run a campaign for a while, but I didn’t feel like reading up on the endless rules and items for any of the games my friends play, so I thought – why not create my own? (Note: this may not have been the smartest course of action, but it worked out in the end thanks to several very kind and talented friends.)

Eventually, once I’m sure all the kinks have been hexed out, I’ll post the rules here. That way you can go forth and role play in the world of Harry Potter.

And to all you Animagi fans out there, I’ve made it very difficult to become an Animagus. Otherwise everyone would do it!

Our first ever campaign will be in August, and it’s going to be awesome. Stay tuned for Campaign Stories!

Bombadil Blather

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Whaaaaaat?

“This is named after the random musical number sung by a big-lipped alligator towards the end of the film All Dogs Go To Heaven. A scene that comes right the [bleeped] outta nowhere, has little to no bearing whatsoever on the plot, is way over the top in terms of ridiculousness even in the context of the movie, and after it happens, no one ever speaks of it again.”
— Nostalgia Chick, explaining the term after using it to describe the singing iguana scene from Fern Gully

If you’re a TVTropes sleuth, you may have run across the Big Lipped Alligator Moment trope, as defined above.

I believe the phrase you are looking for is “wtf.”

And in case you think these sorts of scenes are limited to animated movies, think again. Any story can have them, including classic literature.

The Fellowship of the Ring has the most random scene with Tom Bombadil. I have never understood why Tolkien put him in. He serves no purpose, not for the plot, not even for humor. He just pops up out of nowhere, does his little song and dance, and disappears, never to be heard from again (thank goodness).

Thankfully, Peter Jackson was wise enough to leave the dude out of the movie.

Please. I’m begging you. Take a page out of Jackson’s book. Do not put any Big Lipped Alligator Moments in your stories. If it doesn’t advance the plot or character development, cut it. I don’t care if you think it’s the most brilliant thing you’ve ever written.

Snip snip.

Mini Update 2

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I’ve made a lot of progress lately on The Narrator, over half-way revised! And every week, I’m sending out chapters to my writing group for critiques.

Progress is slow, but good!

Writing Group Benefits

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After little over a week, my writing group is in full swing. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to have this group.

Not only do I get a chance to have people read The Narrator and have them tell me what they think and make suggestions, but I get to read their stuff!

Great writers all, it’s fun to read through my friends’ own NaNoWriMo novels or scenes. It’s also educational. As I see how they write, I see how I can improve my own writing.

If you write, and haven’t joined a group yet, I strongly urge you to do so. You’ll be glad you did!

The Paper-Boat

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Sorry for the late post. Last night was my brother’s graduation (CONGRATS CHRIS!!!) and then I had to drive out of state for work again. So, here’s another foray into my poetry writing.

The Paper-Boat

When the children you’ve left behind
Leave you to sog away,
It’s then your real adventure starts,
Amidst the “ocean’s” spray.

If you’re set upon a stream
Where currents pull you down,
The rocks will surely capsize you
And all your shipmates drown.

But if you’re set upon the lake
To catch the cares of winds,
You’ll find yourself in deeper ends
Before the waves begin.

You’ll sail away beyond the reeds,
Where pirates tend to lurk,
And fish the size of whales swim
Within the water’s murk.

But all adventures have to end,
This you must concede.
You’ll melt away, you’ll slowly sink,
You’ll fall at drifting speed.

Your paper mast begins to fold,
Your paper sail unfurls,
Your paper cargo’s soaked right through,
Your paper hull’s in curls.

The children return an hour hence
But you’ve disappeared from sight.
Only the fish can see you now,
Forsaken to your watery plight.

Expanding Your Story

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Have you ever received the comment, “you need to expand this?”

Sometimes it’s a good reminder. When you’re writing, your mind flies so much faster than your hand. You might have left out sentences that could help the reader follow the action.

But sometimes you feel that you have nothing to expand. Maybe you wrote twice as much description as you normally do, or you wrote every thought your character had. What’s left to expand?

Part of my revision this time around is focused on expanding what I already have. Mostly this involves adding new scenes and extending old ones.

I like to write concisely, so expanding can be a difficult task for me.

How do you expand your story?

How to Critique

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My writing group’s writing our first critiques this week. In honor of that, I thought I’d review what goes into a useful critique.

Critiques are tricky things to write. A good one will help the author whose work you’re revising to improve both their piece and their writing in general. A bad one will, at best, be useless, and at worst, make them feel like utter crap.

What to include in a good critique:

1. Positive feedback.
This isn’t just to cushion any blows you might have up your sleeve. You need to make sure to mark what you like so that the author knows what works. Also, you don’t want to see good stuff get edited out by accident.

2. Constructive criticism.
Don’t just say you don’t like something. Suggest a way to fix it, or improve it. This is much more useful to the author than a stuffy opinion. But let them know what doesn’t work.

3. Basic edits.
Authors can read through their work ten times and not catch all the grammar or spelling typos. Help them out, fix what you spot.

Budgeting

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Where has the time gone?

I feel like I’m constantly budgeting my time. Naturally, the less important stuff gets shunted to the side. Usually that includes my writing.

So here’s some advice I need to heed, and may also help those who also keep putting off your writing:

Write every day.

I know, easier said than done. But you don’t have to write a chapter. Heck, you don’t even have to write a page. Just write something.

A neat trick is to set a small goal. Say, 250 – 500 words. That’s a snap! A decent paragraph or two. If you’re having a particularly stressful day, you can write 250 words and call it quits. But if you get on a roll, and write a whole page – wow! Those 500 words are way behind you. Look how much you’ve accomplished!

Aren’t you glad you wrote today?

Advice Just for You

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I’ve finally gotten into the revising groove. So instead of coming up with a half-baked post, I’ll tell you to check out this cool resource.


The Write Network puts together articles from many different blogs. They have advice on writing, revising, publishing, the works! So go forth and read!

Writing Corners

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I’ve written myself into a corner.

Stupid corner.

I’m turning to you, my readers, for help. Here’s the sitch:

As you may know, Prince Calder, the main character of The Narrator, is trying to rescue a princess. The narrator doesn’t want him to. He wants the prince to stay in this town to deal with some ghosts. Refusing, Calder tries to leave town.

Originally, I was going to have people come up to him begging for help, and a torrential storm, and so on. Then I remembered: I’d basically turned the guy into a ghost! So if people saw him, they definitely wouldn’t be begging for help, and a storm couldn’t possibly hurt him.

Hello Corner. How are you?

So readers, what do you think? What obstacles could try to stop a “ghost” from leaving town? No idea is too stupid!

Next Page →

  • Welcome

    new haircut

    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

    You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or email me at:
    jennifer.a.johnson7 at gmail dot com

  • Official Progress


    4/21 segments

    A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.

    Status: Second revision



    1,639/70,000 words
    A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.

    Status: First draft



    1,087/70,000 words
    When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?

    Status: First draft





  • All writing, unless otherwise specified, is the property of
    Jennifer Johnson © 2010