The Writing Process of an Author and Game Designer by Jon Cohn

Writing has always been an important part of my life, ever since I was a teenager inventing worlds in which to play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. I’ve always been a storyteller, though over the years that has taken many different shapes. One question I’m often asked as someone who both writes horror novels and designs boardgames professionally is if there are any similarities between the two.

The answer is an emphatic yes! I’m often surprised just how much my career as a game designer prepared me to become a novelist. In fact, my entire writing process is based around many of the rules I’ve established over the years making games. My goal in designing board games is to create a scaffolding of storytelling that allows the players to come up with their own story, using the tools I’ve created for them. It takes an immense amount of planning, which was an instrumental trait in teaching me how to properly build the universes in my novels, and the characters that inhabit it.

When writing a book, I’m not big on outlining every single plot point. Instead, I approach it the same way I build games, or D&D campaigns. I spend months working out every detail of the universe, building massive character trees describing each character's background; their hopes, fears, strengths and weaknesses. I want all of them to feel as real as possible, so that when the time comes to sit down and actually write out the narrative, I’ve created this incredibly defined sandbox in which I can let my characters explore.

Of course I have many of the main story beats already figured out by this point, but I find it’s much more rewarding when the characters in the story find themselves in a situation, and instead of inventing a way for them to behave, or determining how the world reacts to their actions, I’ve already got all of that stuff figured out. That way, I can focus on making sure the story unfolds organically, allowing my characters to react in ways that feel realistic, because I already know them so well. The result is that these characters have arcs that feel genuine. Their beliefs, conflicts, and opportunities to learn from each other happen out of circumstance, rather than having to find a way to shove points A, B, and C into the story.

For example, Slashtag is the story of seven celebrities trapped in a haunted hotel filled to the brim with horrifying traps and puzzles. I have multiple maps featuring at least a dozen traps that never made it into the book, because once I let those characters into the hotel, I left it up to them to figure out their path. At that point my job was mostly to nudge them in the right direction so that they could all take their own journey of growth, and for many of them, their eventual demise.

Slashtag

by Jon Cohn

4/26/23
Horror
Publisher: Deadbolt Books

Welcome to Slashtag, the most immersive horror reality competition series in history! Tag along as seven of America's favorite celebrities step into the infamous Propitius Hotel, home to one of the most prolific serial killers in history - Arthur Wilson.

Arthur built and operated the Propitius Hotel from 1905 until 1928 when dozens of bodies were found in his hotel, along with countless hidden torture rooms throughout the hotel. Arthur disappeared, seemingly never to be caught. He then returned - nearly 40 years later - under the guise of a priest leading a congregation of 100 people back to his hotel, where he once again committed mass murder.

Enter Tawny Howlett - a top-tier lifestyle influencer who is in the midst of the crappiest week of her life. Her brand new health drink turned out to be tainted, and now thousands of her followers want nothing more than to see her social media empire crumble. In order to rehabilitate her image, she's agreed to take part in "Slashtag: The Ultimate Horror Experience".

At first it's all fun and games, until the team of seven celebs discover that the ghost is very real, and out for blood. In order to survive the three-day live-streamed event, Tawny and her fellow contestants must band together to try and send the spirit of Arthur Wilson straight to hell.

"I suddenly wish that I were just crazy. A hallucination would mean my brain is broken, which is something I’ve spent my entire adult life attempting to accept. If we’re both seeing this, it means the world is broken in a way my brain is not prepared to confront."

While Tawny has her hands full trying to survive a weekend at the Propitius Hotel, it's up to her younger sister April to work from the outside to try and find a way to save her sister, and uncover the dark truth behind the TV network that continues to air the deaths of some of America's top talent.

Together these seven doomed souls must solve the puzzles hidden within the hotel in order to vanquish the spirit of Arthur Wilson.

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About the Author

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JON COHN IS A WRITER and professional board game designer based out of San Diego, California. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joncohnauthor.

He would also love to give you free stuff like stories, audiobooks, and games by signing up for his mailing list at www.joncohnauthor.com.

Book Tour

July 10 - Matters That Count - Excerpt

July 11 - BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog - Spotlight

July 12 - I Smell Sheep - Spotlight

July 13 - On A Reading Bender - Review

July 14 - Our Town Book Reviews - Excerpt

July 15 - Liliyana Shadowlyn - Spotlight

July 16 - The Avid Reader - Interview

July 17 - Guatemala Paula Loves to Read - Review

July 18 - Momma Says to Read or Not to Read - Spotlight

July 19 - Buffy Kennedy - Excerpt

July 20 - Jazzy Book Reviews - Review

July 21 - Books Blog - Spotlight

July 21 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up

Ink Well--One writer’s process explained for the reader with horror author Jaydeep Shah + giveaway

One of the most frequently asked questions is how you get ideas for a story. What is something that inspires you and helps you to write a story?

Sometimes I get ideas naturally. I know what I want to write about. The type of setting for a story. How I want the characters to act toward their goals. I just need some more time to modify the setting and the characters slightly to make the story gripping. However, it’s not always the same case, especially not when writing a novel.

The point to be noted: whether I get ideas naturally for a story or endeavor to plot a story, I follow a distinct writing process. This writing process includes four steps:

Prewriting

Drafting

Revising

Proofreading

* * *

Before I continue explaining these four steps, I’d like to answer the most frequently asked question: how do I get ideas for a story?

When traveling, I observe the nature. I work as a front desk agent in a hotel. There, I have learned a lot of things about various cultures. I have seen people going through their happiest moments of life and even the worse troubles.

When talking to someone, if I find something interesting, I take note of it. I even take notes about how I feel when I’m hiking and also when I’m traveling in a city with friends and family. All these help me get ideas to write a story. Every kind word that comes my way about me and my work and every artist out there inspires me to keep focusing on my writing career and continue doing work hard enough to achieve my goals.

* * *

If you want to have a salable story, always follow this writing process. Believe me, this process has helped me gain more readers.

Prewriting
· Prewriting is all about thinking and deciding.
· Here you choose a genre you enjoy the most, a topic you want to write about.
· At this stage, you brainstorm and outline your ideas.
· Create the world you think readers will love.
· You research, talk to other people and take notes.
· You gather all the information you think will help you write a story.

Drafting
· At this stage, you start writing your story.
· You turn your outline into a manuscript.
· You don’t focus on any type of errors.
· You write, write, and write to complete the first draft of your story.

Revising
· This is the most important stage of the writing process.
· Here you focus on solving all the grammatical, developmental, syntax, mechanical, and any other minor and major errors.
· You make sure the plot runs smoothly.
· You perform line edits to make the story reader-friendly.
· If needed, you even rewrite the entire story.

Proofreading
· The last stage of the writing process where you make sure the story is reader-friendly.
· No more errors in the story. Everything is correct.
· It’s all about checking your work is free of errors.

Finally, you have a story worth sharing with the world. Now you can choose a route to share your story with the world: Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing.

The Haunting of Black River Forest (A Horror Adventure Short Story)
by Jaydeep Shah
12/14/2021
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Jaydeep Shah
ISBN: 978-1-7349826-3-3
ASIN: B08V4ZY7QY
Number of pages: 86
Word Count: 8611
Cover Artist: Jaydeep Shah
A spine-chilling story in which adventurers struggle to survive on the land of a cold-blooded psychopath who enjoys slashing humans.

A forest of blood and corpses. The land of a cold-blooded psychopath.

In Black River Forest, it’s best not to wander too far off the beaten track. There’s no telling what you might find.

Mia and Oliver have long wanted to explore the forest, and one cold, rainy October day, a week before their fifth anniversary of the day they met, they finally make the trip.

But they’ve heard the rumors as well. The haunting. A psychopath hidden somewhere amidst the towering trees. Too many missing. Too few answers.

It’s only rumors, though. Stories. And stories can’t hurt you. Yet as Mia and Oliver venture deeper into the Black River Forest, they’ll soon discover that there’s more haunting this quiet woodland than hikers and bears.

The psychopath is very real. And he’s excited to meet them.

From Jaydeep Shah, author of Tribulation, the first book of the Cops Planet series, “The Haunting of Black River Forest” is a bloody, spine-chilling story best read with the lights on.

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Excerpt:

Oliver looked around in terror, believing the bear had attacked someone nearby and that they once again would be in danger.

“What the hell was that?” he asked.

“The scream came from that way,” said Mia, pointing to the right.

They slowly walked to the trees alongside the path. They saw the ground sloped down to the valley. Mia tried to take one more step forward to have a clear look, but Oliver pulled her back before she could slip.

The three of them stood by the trees and looked around to find the source of the scream.

A few seconds later, what they saw made their hair raise in horror.

Mia’s hands flew to her mouth as a scream tried to make its way out. She was looking at a man thrusting a machete in a teenage boy’s gut and dragging it horizontally to the right and then to the left with all of his force.

“So, the psychopath story is real?” said Mia.

The boy’s severed body lay on the ground beside the bank. Next to him lay a girl’s body. Blood was streaming from her stomach.

“Yes. The psychopath is real,” said Oliver. “I hope we return safe and alive.”

The killer bent, having finished with the boy, bent down to the girl, and started to take off her clothes. There was an X symbol cut into her stomach and a hole near the belly button. It seemed like the killer first had thrust the knife into her stomach and then carved the X symbol.

The killer checked the girl’s pulse and then held a hand under her nose as if to check for breath.

“Dead bitch!” he said.

He looked around.

The trio was frozen in silence in the trees, hidden from sight. They were lying on the ground, taking a position of concealment just like a sniper as they watched in trauma from the top of the valley.

Oliver grabbed his hair, perhaps feeling some type of pressure in his brain. Trying to stay silent, he walked away, slowly. He stumbled as if he would lose consciousness.

He leant against a tree across the path, bending forward to be sick at its roots.

Petrified, Jany remained lying on the ground, gaping at the killer, who was perhaps preparing himself to have intercourse with the corpse.

Mia stood up, keeping behind a tree to stay hidden. She looked at Oliver and Jany with tears flowing down her cheeks. She tried to speak but couldn’t let the words out of her mouth.

She took a deep breath. Then she cleared her throat.

“Jany!” she said in a croaky voice.

Jany remained the same, unresponsive.

Mia cleared her throat once more.

“Jany,” she said, her voice clear but soft, as she was afraid the killer would hear her, despite him being down in the valley. She bent and gently shook Jany, holding her by the shoulders.

Jany opened her mouth as if about to scream, but Mia swiftly clasped her mouth.

“Don’t! He’ll hear us!” she said.

Jany stared at her for a moment and then nodded. Mia took her hand from her mouth.

“Get up!”

Jany stood up and followed Mia toward Oliver.

“We will die. He will find us,” said Jany. She was speaking too loudly, panicked. “I hope my friends are safe.”

“Be brave, Jany,” said Mia, swallowing the fear. “Think positive. Just stay together, and we will find a way out of the forest.”

All the while, Oliver stood watching them. For a moment his terror had paralyzed him. He had no answer, no solution, only the storm of horrifying thoughts of their death in his mind.

Oliver took a deep breath and removed a water bottle from his backpack. He drank a few sips.

He cleared his throat. Then he said, shifting his look between Mia and Jany, “Mia is right. We can get out of here.” He paused. “We must hurry and try to find a way back to our original path before dusk.”

A silence fell for a bit as the trio exchanged a look, nerves clear on their faces. They looked around them at the different paths.

“Where did we come from?” asked Mia.

“I’m not sure. I was so scared,” said Oliver.

“And everything looks the same to me,” added Jany quickly, looking at the paths on either side, both covered with branches and leaves littered from the storm.

Mia unzipped her backpack and slowly, quietly pulled out her axe, still glancing around for signs of movement. “Alright! Let’s go this way,” she said, adjusting her backpack back on her shoulders.

They set off up the chosen path, but Mia grasping the axe strongly.

Just a few steps on, Jany slipped on some wet leaves. She fell and let out a scream that rang through the air.

Oliver scanned the area in a panic.

Mia swiftly helped Jany back up.

Jany hissed in pain as she stood, clearing the dirt from her scratched elbow while Mia brushed off the dirt from her clothes.

“I hope he hasn’t heard your scream!” said Oliver.

Jany and Mia looked toward the valley, following his eyes.

They waited for a few more seconds in stillness.

The psychopath didn’t appear.

“Keep moving!” said Oliver in a very soft voice, only audible to Jany and Mia.

They resumed their walk.

After a few minutes . . . Mia began to feel that someone was following them. She looked through the corner of her eye, but she could only see trees.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled as her senses still signaled someone’s presence.

She stopped.

All the while, Oliver and Jany kept walking hurriedly without glancing back.

Mia turned around slowly. Still no one, only the emptiness of the forest. When she was sure she couldn’t see anyone, she turned back and strode on to catch up with Oliver and Jany.

About the Author:

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Jaydeep Shah is an avid traveler and the author of gripping horror, thriller, and romance stories. As a bachelor’s degree holder in Creative Writing, he aims to entertain as many as people he can with his stories. He is best known for Tribulation, the first book in the “Cops Planet” series.

In addition to those books, The Shape-Shifting Serpents’ Choice, Jaydeep’s first young adult flash fiction written under his pen name, JD Shah, is published online by Scarlet Leaf Review in their July 2019 issue. Currently, he’s endeavoring to write a debut young adult fantasy novel while working on a sequel to his first apocalyptic thriller, Havoc.

When Shah is not writing, he reads books, tries new restaurants, and goes on adventures.

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A spine-chilling story in which adventurers struggle to survive in the forest of death from a monstrous psychopath who enjoys slashing humans.

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2 $50 Amazon e-gift cards and an ecopy of The Haunting of Black River Forest

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