Teagan's Books

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Welcome, all. This is a writing post, but it’s also part of Dan Antion “Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge” (CFFC).  The topic this week is “where, what, when we work.”  That’s the image I’m offering for the challenge above.  The Where I work is basically in my head, so is the What.  The When, is 24/7. I don’t have ideas in the middle of the night very often, but it happens.  Revision-editing ideas often come up when I’m doing something that doesn’t require thought — like scooping the cat litter box.

Velma:   Yummy Human, what in Bastet’s name are you doing.  That thing isn’t a cat picture, and it’s got nothing to do with cats… or with treats.  What the f— um feline?

Daphne:   Velma, if you had been sitting beside her desk and helping, you would know that she was making a writing game… but then she saw a way to show how it was part of the photo challenge.

Velma:  Think you’re smart, don’t you, Daphne…   

Daphne:  Yes.

Scoobies, play nice! 

Yes, I have sort of a writing game.   Now, let me explain.  I’m bringing you into my thought process for writing new stories.  I’m a multi-genre author, but one thing my stories have in common is that their “worlds” aren’t exactly normal.  There are paths I take to creating those places.

A day in the Life of the Protagonist

I have to consider, imagine, and research the things, places, objects and people my main character encounters, in general, in their day.  This is apart from the plot or character development.  It’s just the basic things around them.  That’s what we’re going to do today, as an exercise.  Here are some of the topics I flesh-out. Sometimes these things might not even come into the narrative, but if the author knows them it creates a richer story.  Follow my instructions and when we’re finished, look at the cool world you’re on your way to building.

Ready?  Let’s go.

Home is where the heart character is

I like to give my protagonist an abode that is at least a little out of the ordinary. 

Pick one and save a second one to belong to another important character:

Remodeled church or chapel

Apartment above a library (which they also run)

Old adobe house with a casita in back

Partially remodeled school building

Body of an old airliner (left behind when a vehicle storage area was disbanded)

The basement of an abandoned magic shop (they are also revamping the shop)

Apartment above a pub (which they do NOT own)

Remodeled water tower

First thing they notice when they leave home

Pick one:

The kind of street traffic

A view of the sea, lake, river

Unkempt lawn

Something the neighbors are doing (they’re always doing something odd)

Various people waiting for the elevator

Someone exercising or walking their dog

A tilting/leaning mailbox

A note on their car’s windshield

Friends

Secondary characters come to life when there’s something intriguing about them. Whether it’s a new friend or an established relationship, one way of making them fascinating is to give them an interesting or unusual occupation. Also, knowing what they do can make it easier to develop that character’s personality and how they enteract with the protagonist.  Pick one to three, depending on how many friends your main character has.

Mysterious neighbor

Shop owner

Secretly filthy rich

Professor (retired)

UFO tracker

Palm reader

Baker of unique-shaped cakes

Ice sculptor 

Auto mechanic

Advice columnist

Customer service agent for a dating service (900-number phone operator if you’d rather)

Organic gardener

Weather researcher

Product tester (deals with assortment of products)

Bicycle messenger

Ice cream taster (laboratory type)

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Write down all the options you chose.  Look at them and imagine these places and people that your protagonist sees regularly.  If you want, tell me your choices in a comment.  

Cover Reveal
A Peril in Unseen Frequencies

There’s a new novelettefor the A Medium’s Peril series. Each story is a “different kind of paranormal” with a different look and a different cover style.  This time I made a collage/composite using public domain art from several 1920s ghost story magazines.  I’ll be at Teri Polen‘s Bad Moon Rising to talk about the new novelette on October 8th.

 

Thanks for visiting.   Friendly comments are welcome.  Hugs and purrs from the Scoobies and me.

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Naturally, the obligatory shameless self-promotion must be included.  

Universal Purchase Link

A Medium’s Peril full series link: relinks.me/B0CG2SXX24

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This blog is entirely human-written.  Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.  No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

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Copyright © 2026 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

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