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Hey there!
My name is Reagan, and I currently own and run Kingdom Pen. I figured I should probably reintroduce myself since it’s been years since I’ve posted here or on Kingdom Pen.
Kingdom Pen was officially started by an old friend of mine who now goes by Logan Ryles back when he and I were on the OYAN forum. He started it as an eMag/PDF that contained articles, short stories, and poems, and he emailed it out to a list of subscribers.
I joined him as co-owner and then I built the Kingdom Pen website. I believe this was back in 2011 when I was a teen myself.
I was inspired after hearing a John Stonestreet talk at a homeschooling convention about taking back the culture through stories and art, and I wanted to create a place to help encourage other young people to join in that fight.
God’s will be done. His kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Partnering with God to help bring heaven to earth through writing.
I wanted Kingdom Pen to be a terrorist training camp to destroy the works of the devil through story and community.
KP has come close to dying so many times, but it’s so cool to see it still has a following, and I’m hoping one day in the near future I’ll be able to devote a lot more time and resources into growing and improving KP again.
Oh, I also met a beautiful young woman through KP that I ended up marrying and we now have 5 children together whom we homeschool. Not saying you’re going to find you’re soulmate here…but I’m also not saying you’re not going to.
We’ve been through hell the last few years and we’re not out of the woods yet, but it’s helped us to seek God and grow closer to Jesus.
Random things about me:
- I currently run my own business teaching home music production and I make electronic synthwave music.
- I used to teach creative writing and novel writing to middle schoolers and high schoolers at a local Christian private school
- My wife and I are also in the middle of starting a ministry to help bring the true gospel and healing to those who have been traumatized or grown up in abusive homes, especially those who have been survivors of religious abuse.
What brought you to Kingdom Pen, and what would you like to see improved? Where would you like to see Kingdom Pen go in over the next few years?
My Music:
YouTube: @andromedacoastmusic
Learn Music production: https://www.orpheusuniversity.com/Hi! It’s good to meet you again. I am so excited to see KP running like I remember it when I first joined five years ago. But even more, I’m looking forward to how this will grow as it serves a new “generation” of KeePers. This world is in desperate need of more lights set on a hill.
To introduce myself, because that feels vaguely needed: I’m Elishavet around here, a young writer and artist currently pursuing an illustrating career and a bachelors in Theology. My writing varies from poetry to nonfiction (mostly essays) to short stories and on to several longer WIPs that are dear to my heart. I want my writing to be a word of encouragement to young people growing up in a dark world. Our scars are beautiful, our hope is eternal, and there is no darkness that can take away the Light forever.
I came to KP because a sibling was talking about it and I thought it would be a great way to grow as a writer and have a blast doing it. I’m grateful I did!
I would like to see a little more privacy options if possible. I know that is probably a strange thing to ask (except that I’m not the only one asking it). It just bugs me that we don’t have any part of the site that is closed to the public. Some of my questions are very niche, and sharing them where strangers/ai can easily go through them is disconserting. I like that most of the forum is available for people to learn what we’re like, but it often brings up concerns, especially in sharing writing.
Also! I miss having new articles on the blog and the weekly questions. A quarterly article/topic focus would be so helpful!
Other than that, I really like the ideas that are getting implemented. As I get older and realize how much farther I have to go with my writing journey, the possibility of a more active “mentorship” is incredible. This community is a haven for creativity. I’m ready to see it flourish.
Still a ChaosGremlin™ on the inside.
Hi @Elishavet Elroi !
So cool you’re pursuing an illustrating career and theology! What kinds of essays do you write?
We’ll look into the privacy option. Actually, the original reason we had it public was for safety.
I used to be a member of a private creative writing forum, and it allowed for some people to prey on members of the community. That’s also why we don’t DMs here. We thought making everything open would actually protect members better. But we can explore that, or maybe we have a different space for asking those more niche questions.
I don’t think there is any stopping or slowing down AI from getting a hold of everything though.
We have thought about potentially launching a membership site in the future that, in addition to courses and coaching, would have a private community/forum.
My Music:
YouTube: @andromedacoastmusic
Learn Music production: https://www.orpheusuniversity.com/OH MY WORD YOU’RE ALIVE
I’m Sara! I’ve been on here for about 4 years, but the last two years I haven’t been very active. I currently open KP once like every two months lol
I’ve also been working on the same novel since my freshman year (now I’m a senior) and I have yet to finish a single draft. Just ask the other people on here, I change my story every week 😂
But yeah hahaha looking forward to seeing what you do with KP!
#MakeNahimTakeABreak
(the real ones will know)Currently I write a lot of Biblical topics since my essays are school related. I love them but also don’t since there’s the added stress of a grade to contend with. I also write the occasional Chesterton/Lewis style short essay-rant on whatever is on my mind. Usually art, absolute truth, or the beauty of writing true fiction.
Ah. That makes a lot of sense. I think the biggest thing has been a way to share docs for alpha/beta reading in a way that doesn’t leave a link to one’s email accessable to the general public. There may be better ways to go about that anyway.
That would be epic!
Still a ChaosGremlin™ on the inside.
I am that beautiful woman you met, so I’ve already been introduced to you, but I’ll answer your questions. 😉
What brought you to Kingdom Pen, and what would you like to see improved?
What brought me to Kingdom Pen many moons ago when I was just a teen was the mission to change the culture through writing. I was very isolated and a lonely teen writer at the time and when I found this site I was BEYOND excited.
I would like for the mobile site to be more mobile friendly. I’d LOVE for there to be an app for the forum. I think that would be amazing.Where would you like to see Kingdom Pen go in over the next few years? I’d love to see it become a huge hub for Christian artists of all kinds. I know this is a big goal, but I like insane goals and dreaming big. Maybe get some workshops going, even if they are just digital at first.
Hi! I’m The Ducktator/Abby! I write mostly fantasy, but I have another few WIPs as well. I came to KP to meet other Christian teen writers, and also because it’s free! XD I would second the privacy concerns regarding sharing my email over the internet. I’d love to see a return of Topic of the Week. We’ve tried to restart it a couple times, but it’s always fizzled out. I miss the articles as well. An article about writing death scenes is how I discovered KP.
Don't throw sodium chloride at people. That's a salt.
Hi! It’s been so long since we’ve had one of you around! The last one was Kathleen and that was somewhere nearing 1-2 years ago I believe.
Something you should know about KP culture now. All website bugs are the fault of KP’s very own digital ghost named Wyoh. She’s an evil white bunny who takes joy in her habit of wire-chomping. Do NOT provoke her under any circumstances or you will not be able to upload images for a week.
What brought you to Kingdom Pen?
When I was 13-14, I joined Story Ember’s community. Not long after, they announced their shut-down of that to focus on their blog more (now the entire site is vacant to my dismay) and under the announcement post, people dropped recommendations for other Christian Writing Communities. KP was the only one that clicked with me at the time (and still honestly. I do have other places, but I keep returning to here.) I apparently got my account October 5th, 2023. It feels like longer than that, but I guess it’s only been 3 years.
And what would you like to see improved?
Omitting general bug fixes, I think Elishavet and the Duck Empress both said things I’d love to see. I might come back with another thing to consider, but for now my mind is blank because I have been thinking about hallucinations, what a person’s true insanity would reveal about them, and considering making questionable google searches. I’m sure you’re familiar with the strange minds of writers and the midnight spiral.
I have 12 years and 9 months before I turn 30. If I remember correctly, 30 is when a member is technically “too old” for KP. Whether that’s still in place or not, by the time I’m 30, I’d love to still see the memories being made that I had with all my new friends here, just with a new generation of young writers.
The memories I’ve made here about swiss cheese, dragon and Buck Wild pictures, Wyoh, Sebster Gangster, and #MakeNahimTakeABreak are things I will keep forever. Btw, 3 of those 5 things are all from one RP. @savannah_grace2009 was my partner in crime.
Omitting the happy and funny moments of joking forever about my charries, naming a ghost to blame for all the site bugs, and spamming pictures to annoy a guy, I’ve also had some life-changing moments in my life and my KP friend’s ones.
From struggling with mental health to family death, we’ve been close to each other through a lot.
I’ve made a lot of progress in my writing here, but besides that, this place has grown me as a person and has led me to friends I can rely on for anything from giving feedback on a draft to praying that a blood test comes back with good news.
That’s something I wish for all girls like me and like I was. Young and struggling to find a place to call home where she can learn to write what He has put in her heart.
I don’t have many direct suggestions for what to exactly do besides what has been said (again, currently in a midnight spiral…well, more like a 3AM one…) I just want it to continue at very least as it has. Limping along with what it’s got no matter what.
Obviously, still would love updates. I believe you understand that I’m talking more the spirit of KP than the actual physical site. No matter what updates, if any, are made to KP, it’s the members who will keep it going if they choose. As we have.
And I want that spirit still flickering even a decade from now if that’s possible. But hey, it’s survived over a decade and a half already.
Pfp drawn by Surpent on Unvale. I'm a little obsessed so it's over here now.
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