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Brenna Vancheyson

Fantasy Author and Blogger

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- “The Time-Comber’s Sketchbook” Flash Fantasy Series
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- “Revvel’s Tomb” (Archaeological Fiction)
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Recent Posts

On “Life is What You Make It”
“The Time-Comber’s Sketchbook, #5: Paris 1924, Vintage Rain” (Flash Fiction Series)
Historical & Retro Winter Character Styles

Short Story: Archaeological Fiction

Hello! Do you like fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction…anything not in “the here and now”? You’ve come to the right place! Here you’ll find:

Fables for Adults
Character Concepts
Flash Fiction
Short stories

My pen name is Brenna Vancheyson, and I hope you’ll stay a while and join us for fun and insights through fantasy, other fiction and blog posts on this site.

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Authenticity AzaleasDolls carousel carousel horse Characters English degree Fantasy fear Flash Fiction Historical Fiction Life Stuff lightworkers Micro-Stories Microfiction originalbybp Reality Retro Fiction Science Fiction Wisdom Writing

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Point of view and overall situation matter a lot in any given story — whether true or fiction. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you live somewhere that you can even fathom life being "what you make it," you are lucky. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There are multiple ways of looking at this, though, none more right or wrong than the others. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For those living in places of some type of oppression, there's no choice to "make" life what you want. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ However, for those living elsewhere, it may be living without something (or someone). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In any case, you may still have to trudge through the thorny bushes every day. You can't act like they're not there — and you're still going to feel them if they cut you. To suggest that you can make deep cuts go away easily is to suggest that the cuts don't matter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you've been cut deeply enough, you know that they do — and that being told “life is what you make it” is just a band-aid that doesn't even to cover a gruesome wound. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And it certainly doesn't help to heal it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So yes: Let's always try to make lemons into lemonade — but let's also empathize and try to avoid rubbing lemons on someone else's wounds. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ From "On 'Life is What You Make It'" by Brenna Vancheyson ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ More at BrennaVancheyson.com (link in bio). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #flashfiction #microfiction #microstory #amwriting #writersofinstagram #writersofig #writingcommunity #wordporn #authorcommunityofig #writerscommunity #writercommunityofig #authorsofig #sciencefiction #dystopian ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

"The Time-Comber's Sketchbook, Entry 5: Paris 1924, Vintage Rain" by Brenna Vancheyson ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I always wanted to go to Paris in a past life--and my time travels did take me there, to my great excitement, even though it was nighttime and raining. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Then I saw the Parisian woman. She dressed, of course, in the style of her day: what would later be called "art deco" era. But she was crying. And she simply ran in the rain--with no umbrella--out to a lonely bench. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Invisible, as always, I yet remained still and at a distance. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ She sobbed and sobbed. I felt her sadness--her mourning or yearning for something--more like waves smothering me than the rain that was actually lightly falling. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sometimes, people seek out rain because it's the only thing they can identify with. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *** ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Artwork: Original acrylic painting ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For more, see link in bio. :) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *** ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #spiritualfiction #lightworkers #flashfiction #scifi #fantasy #lightworker #lightworkersofinstagram #lightworkersunite #flashfiction #microstory #microfiction #sadness #rain

Half the fun of writing, reading or being transported to other times is in the fashion! Putting together characters for different times and different places is a great creative exercise. Here is a gallery of some historical and retro winter characters. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Intro image: Enrique Meseguer/Pixabay.com All other characters: Put together on AzaleasDolls.com ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1. Intro 2. Winter warrior 3. Viking and Roman lady 4. Winter French maiden 5. Winter southern belle 6. 40's and 50's winter looks 7. 70's and 80's winter looks ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #characters #azaleasdolls #historicalfiction #fantasy #fantasyfiction

Words can be very subtle — and often the subtleties cause issues when put together with hasty ideas. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For example, people are too quick to label something as “fear." People confuse caution and fear — which can be two very different things. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You may doubt something (or someone) because you have facts that add up to something not working out. You may be cautious because of similar situations that don't pan out. There are any number of actual reasons for caution — which makes it not a fear-based reaction but a rational train of thought that simply doesn't lead to a good end. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So yes, fear can be dangerous if it paralyzes us for no reason — but when there's a reason, it may be more a healthy dose of caution than anything else. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ From "Not Afraid...'Cautious'" by Brenna Pierson ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ More at link in bio. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #flashfiction #microfiction #microstory #fantasy #unicorn #fear #wednesdaywisdom #writerwednesday

Something that drives every English major crazy while going through school is the question "What are you going to do with an English degree?" ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ At one point, while working through college, I overheard a former supervisor saying, "She's getting an English degree. You can't do anything with that!" ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And I was happy for the irony when, after graduating, I turned in my notice and mentioned I was going to work at a publishing office. When that very supervisor asked how I got the job, I responded, "I just got my English degree." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ While print publishers are not doing as well as they used to, there are still plenty of opportunities for English majors. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ First… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There's a good reason for English majors to hate the idea that there is nothing they can do with their degree — and not just out of defensiveness. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If someone's a biology and chemistry major, do they actually have the title of "biologist" or "chemist"? Sometimes, but other times, people simply make the connection between a biologist and someone getting into the medical field, or between a chemist and someone involved in pharmaceutical work or product development of some kind. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And while everyone has heard of editors, proofreaders and the like, seemingly no one makes the connection between those jobs and people with English degrees. Most of the general public just automatically goes with the stereotype that there is nothing you can do with this degree. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Way more on this topic: link in bio or direct link at https://wp.me/pbcfsJ-5R ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ From "What She Will Do with an English Degree" (aka "She Showed Them!")* by Brenna Pierson ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *Blog entry republished from my old blog. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ **While most of the micro-stories here are not generally based on true stories, this one is. :) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #writerwednesday #englishdegree #englishmajor #microstory #flashfiction #microfiction #tinytale #amwriting #visualarts

"The Time-Comber’s Sketchbook, Entry 4: Depth of Heart at a 1940’s Fairground” 🎠 A beautiful fairground in the 1940’s….I was floating through my current destination very slowly, taking in all the colors, sights and sounds. In the back, among wrapped-up carousel horses, likely back-ups for the merry-go-round’s usual horses, was an artist standing with all sorts of glorious paint colors. In front of him stood a “blank” carousel horse — completely white, with only molding showing where the details would go. And I felt, from that artist, a heavy heart…perhaps from something someone said to him, something that happened to him. It was the heart with an invisible stab wound. And here he was, supposed to make something beautiful — something awe-inspiring — when he felt anything but inspired in his harsh world. But I knew he would do it. Being a person of light is hard. You can mistrust everyone. You can question everything. But in the end, you do it…because there’s nothing else for you to do that fits. 🎠 The image is from an original acrylic painting. Pic 2 shows the painting itself, and the video shows the progress. #spiritualfiction #lightworkers #flashfiction #scifi #fantasy #lightworker #lightworkersofinstagram #lightworkersunite #microstory #microfiction #fantasy #amwriting #writingcommunityofinstagram #storycrafter #amwritingfantasy #carousel #carouselhorse #painting #acrylicpainting #amwriting #writingcommunityofinstagram #storycrafter #amwritingfantasy

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Header images: Background by Stefan Keller/Pixabay.com, warrior by Barroa Artworks/Pixabay.com. Subscribe moon by Iván Tamás/Pixabay.com. Avatar from AvatarMaker.com.

Images credited to original artist or photographer; unmarked images are by the author, unless otherwise noted.

Written works are ©Brenna Vancheyson.