Onto Paper

I actually am really excited to have a place to talk about Onto Paper! I get asked what it is, or rather will be, pretty often. So having somewhere to direct everyone (other than our website that is just a placeholder right now!) is a great feeling!

It all started out when the husband and I realized we wanted somewhere quiet to write, and share ideas with people. We looked around (in San Antonio, because that's where we are at the moment) but didn't find anything we liked. We found a writer's guild, but they meet once a month, and are almost all already published authors. Which we are not. We found an arcade we LOVE (RikRic OtakuCafe in San Antonio) and even held a couple of meetings at it for NaNoWriMo 2015, but in the end, it can get crowded for gaming (duh!) and often is louder than we'd like. So while it was a fun gathering place, it wasn't really what we wanted either.

So the wheels in our brains got turning, and a bunch of research went in. We threw ideas back and forth, what did we want? Who are we, in the creative sense? Writers, artists... We needed a place that people like us, could just hang out with us, and create!

Creative lounges exist in various forms, I came across a neat one that also doubles as a bar. I've been to a paint-along type place, where a painting is done, and you're supposed to copy it. (I deviated from the design, I'm a troublemaker. That's how I failed Art class, though, heh.) But we want something more us...

So Onto Paper has been rolling for a few months now. We intended on opening it up in San Antonio, but my health took a major dive, and eventually I wound up in the hospital. We'll be going back home (for me) near Niagara Falls, soon, and opening it up there, where I'll have "free" healthcare.

But despite my illness, we haven't given up on it.

We know we want to invite writers of all levels to come together, and write together. To be offered prompts, writing sprints, theme nights, contests... as well as a small bookstore, to sell their published works, keeping it all local.

We know we want to have artists be able to not only have space to create, but show off their creations, whether by selling original works, or prints, or whatever may have you. A mini art gallery, of sorts.

Over time, we've also decided to showcase crafters, selling items that most people these days only sell online through sites like Etsy, or every so often at a Farmers Market or the like. People who don't want a full brick-and-mortar store, but still deserve to get noticed.

For brainstorming time, we intend on having board games and card games at the ready. We're big nerds, and love all sorts of gaming, but opening an arcade isn't part of our plan, sorry to say! We really are trying to get back to basics, making things that are going out of style thanks to electronics, and giving them a platform at the ready.

So yeah! I'll be posting our milestones along the way here. When we get a space, when we start decorating, when we actually open for business (obviously a lot of this will go on the official site, but here you can get more detailed, behind the scenes stuff, oooohhh fancy, hahaha!)