All Ages of Geek is known for their witty and expressive reactions to anime, shows and movies over on Patreon, but they are also known for something even more valuable. Writing advice, literacy, and discussions about in-depth character creations and arcs.
Writing and education come in all shapes and forms, and over the years many greenhorns of the writing craft, seek unconventional ways to hone their skills. Some even watch reaction videos to seek out that advice. This is where the affordable writing e-course, Stec Stories, comes in and is Patreon Ambassador All Ages of Geek’s way of giving back to writers of all ages.
“We had college kids tell us they watch our videos to help with their thesis projects. We are just two sisters reacting to the media on the couch.” Katya Stec expressed. “We don’t consider ourselves influencers, but more like friends who give advice about writing. We were honored to hear that we could help someone expand their education.”
All Ages of Geek’s parent company Stec Studio is finally launching Stec Stories, a writing e-course made for anyone looking for a budget-friendly way to get weekly doses of the writing craft. Stec Stories is subscription-based, all accessed exclusively on Patreon. The service will offer patrons weekly packaged videos, lesson plans and writing prompts.
“We were wowed by how expensive some veteran authors charge for e-courses just because they have a few books published and awards under their sleeve.” Katya Stec stated about the extreme increase in rates for online writing courses. “You can teach someone to write, but most courses don’t help the writer get outside their comfort zone. Knowledge should be accessible for everyone and not just be another dollar in someone’s pocket.”
When asked about how education seems in the modern world Tatiana Stec stated, “Many students are just treated as numbers. It’s not one-on-one or personal anymore, and most don’t learn what’s needed to succeed in the field. Creativity and expression are not taught in today’s schooling system and the reality of the literature world is sugar coded. We hope to help writers create and give them tools to stay motivated. While bringing hope back in their minds through our own work.”
On the Stec Stories Patreon, there is only one tier (for now) that will give patrons access to the weekly lesson plans and videos. The service states that it will always be true to its roots since the name Stec is very personal to both Stec sisters.
“It’s our grandfather’s last name. We use it in business to honor him and our grandmother.” Katya Stec expressed. “There’s a written note in our grandfather’s yearbook that says “Stick with Stec and you’ll get success”, and that’s been a saying that’s stuck with me since I read it as a kid before I became this workaholic businesswoman.”
Stec Stories has a triple A policy for itself:
- To be accessible to everyone in the world: The service will be available to anyone in the world that needs writing tips and tricks, not just in the US.
- To be affordable, especially for college students looking to hone their craft: Stec Stories’ biggest promise is to never overcharge patrons. Patrons aren’t mainly paying for the “advice” or “knowledge” but are moreover paying for the packaging of the lesson plans.
- To accomplish patrons’ writing goals: Overall Stec Stories will be as transparent as possible to make sure patrons learn something new every week. Whether that be character creation, world-building, or using video games as a core guide to writing a story.
What makes Stec Stories different from most e-courses?
You will roleplay. You will play games. You will do the most crazy type of writing prompts many e-courses don’t even touch with a ten foot pole. Stec Stories isn’t a traditional course by any means. It’s a course that allows you to “play” and “create” while learning. The biggest pull to Stec Stories (outside of its price points) is the idea behind using video games like The Sims to create characters, or roleplay to dig into the minds of characters.
“We’ve been playing The Sims since we were tweens. Now it’s not just about building towns or creating the weirdest Sims you can imagine. It’s all about the stories we create with our characters that we’ve had for fifteen years now.”
Stec Stories isn’t a one-time and done course either. Patrons can expect to get weekly videos with topics the Stec Sisters choose or what users vote on in polls. The experience will also be personable for patrons considering the sisters will keep Direct Messages open for more one-on-one questions.
Original Stec Stories Publications
Along with lesson plans and videos, the sisters will be posting an original series on Patreon that will later become a huge Kickstarter project.
“We are working on an interactive VTuber project called Galaxy-Boy Delivery that will live on All Ages of Geek’s YouTube and website. It’s part of a bigger project that will be a week-by-week series on Stec Stories’ Patreon. The series itself will feature a huge world and different characters overall, but will also be used as examples for Stec Stories’ writing prompts and lesson plans.”
The sisters stated one of the first titles under Stec Stories set to launch is a slice-of-life, fantasy/comedy Webtoons comic called “I Married a Monster on a Hill”.
“I Married a Monster on a Hill” is just a silly, soft, six-panel web-comic about two of our original characters Beverly and August Hills. It’s basically about the daily lives of the Hills Family, which we’ve teased in our Elden Ring gameplays on YouTube.” Katya Stec mentioned. “It’s just a fun little comic that we hope can put some smiles on people’s faces. It’s nothing too major like Galaxy-Boy Delivery which is a very tech busy VTuber project, or the web novel we have planned. Just something super sweet and simple for the purpose of making people smile.”
What matters most about this project is spreading the news to anyone needing accessible e-learning from two sisters who have worked in the literature field prior to starting YouTube or Patreon. Over the years the sisters have been given advice from mentors, interviewees, guests, and literature experts, but have honed their own advances by reviewing hundreds of media every month on Patreon. Character breakdowns, point of view, world-building, plot points, shock value dos, and don’ts, will all be featured on Stec Stories.
Stec Stories wants people to succeed. It’s not a competition. The literature and writing field can be very toxic and cutthroat at times with people having biased opinions or trashing each other’s work. The Stec Sisters promise the opposite. Stec Stories will build a space that writers and creators around the world can access and learn together.
Check up on updates from Stec Stories on social media and on Patreon to enroll early before the school bell rings:
Stec Stories on Twitter: @StecStories
Stec Stories on Patreon: patreon.com/stecstories