Site Plan
This site plan gives the outline of what the finished site might look like. Of course, the final look of the site will likely be a vast improvement over these rough sketches, but for now, this is what I'm going with.
Purpose of This Site
This site has a dual purpose.
The first is to create a creative outlet for myself. Soon this site will contain short stories and essays written by myself. I will also post a few of the poems I have written. I also plan to post a forum for each of the works I post so others may comment on them. These forums will allow others to discuss the stories and essays so anyone who frequents this site will be able to post what they think about my stories, essays, and general themes. I hope not only to get some constructive feedback about my work, but also to create a lively and interesting place for others.
This site will also serve as my online portfolio. I will have a designated portfolio section where potential employers can view my resume and some of my technical work.
Audience
My predicted audience will consist of the following list of people and groups.
- Bro. Robertson
- The greatest fan of all! I hope you enjoy this site.
- My potential employers
- If anyone is going to be impressed with this site, I hope it's my potential employers.
- My friends
- Especially my wife Nicole, her brother Jacob and anyone else who might stumble their way here.
- Anyone who is searching for a good short story or essay.
- Most of the people in this group will probably be about college age, or just posess the eternal youth displayed by the general college crowd. (This includes you Bro. Robertson)
What makes this site unique?
This will be the only place for my employers to see my complete portfolio.
This will also be the only place outside magazine subscriptions for my friends to read my writing.
This Site Has a Message!
That message is, "Shayne Jensen gives you fresh new stories and essays every week, as well as friends o discuss them with!
Basic Site Components
This site has basic components.
Domain Name
I thought my name was a fitting name for a site, since I plan on putting my writing on it. This site is also my portfolio, so maybe people who check out my portfolio will see my name in their browser and remember to hire me.
Some of My Favorite Sites / Inspirations
- BrandonSanderson.com
- Brandon is one of the greatest authors I have read. Of course he is finishing The Wheel of Time series--I'm amped to read the rest of the series. Brandon's Mistborn series is also very, very, good. I like Brandon's updates on his current projects. He also has some good blog entries that give a good inside look into the publishing world from the writer's view. The only thing I think Brandon could do better with his site, is to improve the design. Sometimes it gets confusing and sometimes I get lost trying to find what I'm looking for.
- Digital Blasphemy
- This guy creates amazing art. I go to this site whenever I need a background, and I think some of you might also enjoy it. I really like the art on this site. I also like how the simple design of the site allows the art to take the focus. Like Brandon's site, I think this site could incorporate a slightly better design. I also think this site would look killer with some of the artist's work integrated into some of the site's buttons and borders.
- Writing.com
- I like the community this site has created. I enjoy discussing literature, and sometimes it's difficult to share ideas when I'm just talking to my friends. It's like everything I say is premature and not fully formed when it comes out of my mouth. I really enjoy being able to write about the things I read and this site has a lot of new authors who enjoy discussing their stories. My only complaint is that this site is a little messy. It's just not that great to look at.
Sample Content
Home
I would like to have a clean home page with a few buttons to the main subdirectories to the site, such as essays, stories, portfolio, about, contact, etc. I will likely have a logo, but not a whole lot of junk like those online shopping sites usually have. Yuck!
About
This page would have the basic information about me. I probably won't give a whole lot of background, but enough to let my guests feel like they know who I am.
Services
My planned services include, a bunch of stories, written by myself; a forum; and a portfolio. Hopefully this will be enough for a few people to enjoy throwing new ideas around in a forum.
Contact
This part of the site will probably have my e-mail address and a few lines of jargon.
Links/News
Since I don't see myself giving a whole lot of news updates, I think this will most likely be a list of a few of my favorite sites. Of course some of my favorite authors will be there. In the meantime, I would recommend checking out Project Gutenberg. If you're into classics and e-books, this is the place for you.
Legal Statements
I guess this is where I would tell people not to go selling my work. You all get it for free, so pass it around.
Outlines
Here are some rough sketches of what this site might eventually look like.