Austin Bridges
30 years old in Louisville, KY. Aspiring writer and author. I like gardening, music (listening to and playing), reading, movies, a little bit of TV, mindlessly browsing the internet. I value compassion, empathy, honesty, striving for clear communication, introspectation, self-evaluation. I generally find myself in the role of mediator or attempting to build bridges between disparate viewpoints. I am drawn to (armchair) philosophy, developmental theories, meditation, and pinpointing the benefits and pitfalls of spirituality. More than anything, I like having a good laugh and a deep conversation with friends.
My strongest skills fall within the realms of communication and computers, and those are the two types of skills I'm hoping to improve.
Potentiator.net
This website is intended to be a blog of sorts. My hope is to write about the things I enjoy with the goal of trying to figure out exactly why I enjoy them, hopefully informing my own writing and storytelling. It is also a general outlet for things that I write, from articles and essays on stories and relevant issues.
I love stories and storytelling and want to learn more about what makes a story resonate. I'm far from an expert on the history and philosophy of storytelling, so anything you read on this site is from a very personal and amature viewpoint. It really doesn't amount to much more than my personal outlet for navel-gazing, but I hope that this will be interesting to at least a few people out there. Even if it's not, it will still be an exercize for both writing and self-discovery for me.
The name Potentiator comes from the word "potentiate," which means to energize, to enhance, or to endow with power. I chose the word for its relationship to inspiration and creativity. Why do certain things instill passion in us? Why are we drawn to themes, story tropes, and archetypes? What is happening when a person resonates with a story? What is it that calls to us, and why do we respond? The answer to these questions seems to lie in the realm of the unconscious, and I'm hoping to dip my toes in those waters.
Mainly, though, it seemed like a pretty cool word. And let's face it--by this point, all of the good domains are taken. (Of course austinbridges.com is taken by some do-good non-profit in Austin, TX.)
Current Projects
Red Rising Book Club
Knocking out a shorter book club for Red Rising by Pierce Brown before I start hunkering down for NaNoWriMo.
This Website
Various features, tweaks, and things to polish.
Godstone #1 - Preliminary Planning
A fantasy book I'm working on and nearing the stage of first draft. I'm finding a deep well of inspiration for building the world, the characters, and plot. I will write a self-contained novel without plans of continuing a series, but the scope of the world and story are begging to be part of a larger series.
Regulus Project - First Draft
I have fleshed out the ideas, plot, and characters for a sci fi thriller that uses a first contact story that explores themes of identity, belonging, and deception. I'm in the process of penning the first draft. This will be my project for NaNoWriMo 2017.
