Elysia Lumen Strife's Blog, page 12
August 1, 2018
Story Idea Video
bytheBrooke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZudf…
Bethany Atazadeh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkFfH…
Thanks Lenn Woolston for the tag! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya1xz…
HERE ARE THE TAG QUESTIONS!
1.CURRENT STORY: What is your current story idea that you’re working on right now?
2. SPARK OF INSPIRATION: Do your ideas begin with characters, plot, world building, or something else entirely?
3.BRAINSTORM: How do you puzzle piece your story elements together? Do you start with the ending and make your way to the beginning or vice versa?
4. KEEP OR TOSS: How do you know when you want to keep or dump a story idea?
5. ORIGINAL IDEA: How much of your original idea for your story is actually used once everything is finished?
6. HIDE OR SHARE: Do you share your book ideas with friends or keep them a secret?
7. DREAM: Have any of your book ideas originated with a dream/nightmare?
8. DOPPLEGANGER: Have you ever had an idea for a story but then see a similar premise in a book/tv-show/movie?
9. BIG SCREEN INSPIRATION – Have any of your favorite movies/tv shows sparked ideas for scenes in your book?
10. NOSTALGIA: What’s the oldest/first story idea you remember coming up with/writing down?
Even if I didn’t tag you, you’re welcome to do this! I’d love to see your answers!!
July 12, 2018
Big Changes to E. L. Strife
I’ve temporarily pulled all of my books down. They are no longer available for purchase. Why?
Because I can, must… for my readers. All six of you.
I want to improve the quality of my work, utilizing new knowledge and experience.
Self-publishing isn’t easy.
I’ve learned so much in the last few years that when I look back at my old writing, I can’t help but cringe. It’s hard to know if people are honest when they say it’s good and when they’re just trying not to hurt your feelings. This is a violent contrast to those who hate your material (and there will always be some).
So where is the middle ground? Beta readers and Critique Partners.
I highly recommend them, but make sure you start early. Often, life gets in the way and feedback becomes limited or they drop out and you end up having to ask someone else. So prepare for a few months at least of just this.
The worst is when you get absolutely no feedback at all… No response. They just drop you on your you-know-what. The crickets are really loud in Texas. But thankfully, the Writers’ League of Texas has some great programs, so I’ve been working on improving my literary skills with their online classes while I wait for the winter to silence those sleep-stealing monsters. (…the crickets)
Self-publishing can be a rather messy process. Many think it’s a simple one: write a book, query an agent. There are so many steps to the character creation, plot twists, scene setting and then the editing of word choice, line structure, grammar and punctuation that the time and effort it takes when you’re on your own is astounding. Not everyone will get an agent. I didn’t know the market or what others would think, so I put myself out there via self-publishing and got my answer. It’s a tug-of-war in the heart but…
I love every minute.
The truth is, when it comes to being realistic about the quality and content of your work, it’s hard to judge it yourself if you haven’t had much experience. Art is unbelievably subjective, in perception and creation. And frustrating. As authors we’re told to have conviction, to be determined to defend our works as pieces of self-expression. But there’s also a quality level we need to achieve to be publicly accepted, let alone trendy.
When my reviews started coming back with: “great content, language gets in the way” I knew I had a problem. Mind you, I’m used to research papers and not creative fiction, which is primarily emotion-based. I had no idea until a few months ago the purpose of fiction was the emotion, not the cool action and unique settings, etc..
My entire life I’ve shoved emotion under the surface. What I’ve wanted, loved, preferred… my reactions… everything was regulated by military bearing or some manner of being surrounded by the wrong people where self-expression was violently incorrect.
Since I opened myself to the emotional aspects of writing, really delving deep within myself to try to create more connective content for my six fans out there (if you’re still reading, you’re one of them), I opened the flood gates for myself. And when reviews started coming back… unusable because they’re less than desirable to post publicly, I felt beyond ashamed for my work and, like a child, tugged it all from the zeros and ones of the digital landscape.
And I cried…
a lot.
Years of work… worthless. (well this is me being emotional) If you’ve never experienced this tamping down of emotions for decades and then tried to pull them to the surface again… it is one steep rollercoaster. A public façade is one thing. When you live your life knowing most of what you think and feel is wrong and useless, you pack it away so tight that it very nearly destroys you the minute you pull out a piece. But no matter how much your tower crumbles (whether over reviews, or self-doubt, or something else entirely) That tower is going to crumble into a pile. The pieces are still there, collected together; they just need reassembly. But this time, you know how not to build the tower.
Remember where your weaknesses were and focus on strengthening them. Don’t give up. If you’re like me, you’ve come too far to throw away all that work.
Pull the work.
Clean and repair it.
Get someone to look it over (someone not your usual set of eyes).
Then give it another go and move on.
Your life’s purpose and fulfillment is not based on that single book.
Trust me, I know the disappointment clashing with the flickers of hope that make you do stupid things like buy an ad for a discount you’re running on a whim and then get absolutely no sales from it.
Self-publishing is hard. (Yes, I’m saying this again)
The four P’s of Perfection:
Plan
Prepare
Practice
Perform
I cannot express the importance of planning enough. In marketing especially.
Be good to yourself and don’t get discouraged. Just be realistic with your expectations and self-assessment.
My reality: the works are just in need of some gun powder and gasoline. This is what I’m focusing on now: cleaning my content, repackaging it, preparing my marketing plan…
And starting all the #%*! over.
Hooray…
But seriously… who wouldn’t take a second chance? This is a main advantage of self-publishing. I just hope I get it right this time.
Thanks for reading.
All the best to you in your adventures,
-E
May 31, 2018
Review: Rise and Run by R. J. Plant
[image error]Rise and Run by R.J. Plant
Delightfully engaging and humorous, packed with action… Plant describes the post-apocalyptic world in such vivid detail, you’ll feel like you’re the third consciousness.
Rise and Run follows Felix and Conor on their journey to uncovering their past as they struggle within themselves for dominance while simultaneously fighting for their lives. The heart of GDI, Government Directive International, is set on utilizing them as a biological weapon ─ unwilling, snarky, and a bit of a head-case delinquents.
The characters all have their own, very distinct, attitudes and accents, bringing forth comedic conversations, tension, and spell-binding questions. Everything around them, in every scene, is described in potent depth from the toxic air to the bloody carcasses and broken buildings. Plant is a master of subtly, especially in writing the flickers of emotion even the most hardened soldiers can’t repress.
A fluid and easy read, Rise and Run is all about the challenge of putting the puzzle together and tracking plot twists that never seem to end. The voices of the main characters are genuine and unfiltered. Plant combines the feel of a movie with a first-person shooter role playing game. It’s live action, split-second decisions, and spares no blood.
The main character’s witty perspective, Felix/Conor says everything that we feel as a reader in a rather dry, ironic manner that makes the harsh, thrilling reality that much more entertaining.
Rise and Run is a definite must-read for anyone who’s a fan of post-apocalyptic, thrillers, and hard science fiction. If you’ve got a crass sense of humor you’re going to like this very much.
(Spoilers beyond this point)
My personal reflection:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the vast amount of description and humor. Plant does a fantastic job of creating realistic settings and characters. The plot winds and twists and you never really know what’s going to happen next. This is one of the only books I’ve ever been able to read at a comfortable pace and not feel the desire to skip any parts.
There are a few moments where I got lost in the dialogue as to who was saying what, but nothing that tipped the scale. The only other trouble I had was at the very end. The perspective switches again like it did in the beginning and we watch the main character from a third party, someone I don’t feel connected to as a reader. I had hoped to see the main character healed/healing and maybe a moment of tenderness with another character, but the resolution isn’t definitive. It must be inferred from the other characters on the last pages.
In a way this is fitting with Plant’s style, the ever-elusive clarity on the character’s true situation (not the perceived one). And, in its own way, this ending shows more to the story than we would not have understood otherwise. So all in all: in the words of a character from the United Irish Republic, year 2042, I call it a fecking good book!
May 25, 2018
Book Review: The Unity Game
Book Review: The Unity Game by Leonora Meriel
Genre: Adult Science Fiction
[image error]Astoundingly descriptive, beautifully imagined, with unique characters, Meriel will warp your mind, challenge your beliefs, make you wonder, and then want to redefine your understanding of reality.
We begin, following three characters through life-changing moments. Each chapter will follow David on his quest for success amidst visions he can’t explain, Alisdair into his new life only to discover he won’t be staying with the ones he loves, and Noœ-bouk (yes, written with a Latin ligature) in his journey through the last part of his life cycle and what he’s willing to do for a chance to beat his odds.
There are two main plots that run the length of the book you won’t catch on to until the very end. One facilitates the reader’s understanding of the other. It’s a curious monster with philosophies behind our existence and purpose that are enthralling. They lay the framework for the main plot with a twist you won’t expect.
(There are possible spoilers beyond this point)
Muriel really hits home when she breaks down Earth in comparison to the rest of the universe. This is where the Unity Game comes into play. We’re all just, essentially, spirits living multiple different lives in a way to gain experiences to level-up our understanding of the universe and achieve higher status (attain positions on councils etc). The conscious minds take lives on earth as a challenge because it is so unpredictable. The greater the challenge, the more “points” earned. When a consciousness merges with a body on Earth, they forget their “spirit” and won’t remember again until they pass on. Earthlings are described as removing themselves from the God complex (higher understanding of the cosmos) and then denying it exists completely, reducing us to mere “base” structures.
There is little that remains finite about the realms Muriel has created. A Home Planet saved, a granddaughter, a job (repeatedly), and yet there looms this never-ending “now what?” for each character. Even toward the end, passing the knot joining the threads together, there are infinite directions in which the characters’ futures may head, leaving the reader with a sense of hope.
The worlds Meriel has built are beautifully imagined down to every breath─ the only real measure of time. The three lives/timelines will feel like their own book entirely with raw detail and emotion in every step of their path. Meriel keeps you guessing and searching for patterns on how the pieces will align well into the book. But have faith, she will break your heart, mend it, and trade it out for another all at once in the final pivotal moment.
Be prepared, there are several erotic scenes, particularly with David. While it’s hard to grasp his disloyalty, these scenes will make much more sense when you’ve turned the last few pages. They are raw and primal in an extraterrestrial sort of way. Muriel depicts David’s psychological changes with vivid alacrity: a chaotic blur of images, thoughts, physical sensations, and external reactions that evoke a near-empathetic understanding from the reader.
If you are fans of Socrates, philosophy, or Greek inspired writing, you will love this. Fans of science fiction, fantasy, money, psychological thrillers, space travel, alternate realities, sex scenes, you will enjoy this very much.
This book is not for speed readers. It is meaty and intricate; you don’t want to miss lingering in its depth. It must be absorbed from every angle to truly sense the unity that binds all things.
My personal reactions:
The moment that stood out the most was with Noœ-bouk, when he has surpassed his body life and should no longer exist, yet there he is. The parameters around the possibilities are hazy and loose, and some things just happen. But they’re accepted because of the overall theme of consciousness is freedom. I did struggle a bit with the rules of the realms, but that was part of the joy of this book. There really weren’t any rules. It just took some getting used to, some stretching of the mind we’ll call it.
Not having a concept of the plot in the beginning was hard. I didn’t get pick up my first hint until about half of the way through when Noœ-bouk’s Tayr was actually Earth. At seventy-three percent I got my first solid indicator about the Unity Game itself. That’s when the story finally picked up for me and I began to understand the characters, the purpose, and the end goal.
There were a few secondary characters that had segments from their perspectives that I felt pulled me away from the story, but their parts were short. They just didn’t seem crucial to the main plot. But I trusted Meriel had a deeper plan, and I’m glad I did.
It was a bit hard to grasp the collection of these perspectives into the chapters. I believe there’s a theme with the symbols breaking up the parts of the chapters, but sometimes it was in the middle of a perspective, and it wasn’t necessarily for the purpose of a time break. Those were separated by a blank line. I honestly couldn’t catch the pattern despite looking for it. I’m figuring the evolution of the shapes from simple to more complex factors in as well. (Maybe I will understand this on another read-through)
Noœ-bouk’s character was the most critical to the storyline, the most interesting, but also the hardest to connect to. The perspective is difficult to grasp because it is gender neutral, and the lack of emotion makes it difficult to form an attachment. But, the stunning light displays and extraordinary life It has lived keep me hooked.
Toward the end, I figured out Alisdair’s character was more a vessel for explaining to the reader the concepts of the universe, the multi-verse, the lack of actual time, how we’ve all lived thousands of lives already and they’re all happening simultaneously. This was one of my favorite parts. It really scrambles your concepts of “reality” and makes a smoothie out of your brain. But it’s a delight and the places Alisdair and Duncan go are quite magical. The concept of the library without dust and the fact that Duncan created dust with a tap of a finger on a book spine was a nice little detail.
It was mentally thrilling, heart-breaking, and spiritually exhausting. I am definitely going to read this again.
May 18, 2018
Kicking Covers
I’ve been on this artistic “purge,” we’ll call it, as of late. I’m finding my hardest work in the past just isn’t up to par with what I envisioned. As my graphic design skills improve, however at a snails pace, I still look behind me and see where I’ve been isn’t as… exciting.
That said, I’m cleaning a few more components of Lost Souls, Book 2 in the Infinite Spark Series before I send it off to my wonderful editor, and felt the cover I had in place didn’t do the intensity of the story justice. So, I reworked it like Stellar Fusion and Zedger.
At this point, I’m considering doing a cover and sitting on it for six months before I settle on the design permanently, or just making the “real cover” a surprise reveal right before the release of the book. Nothing ever seems “good enough,” and I’ve realized at some point I just have to say: this is it, I’m done. Moving on. There are other books that need attention.
Lost Souls is (hopefully) going to publish October 1st, 2018. That’s what I’m aiming for anyway. One of my lovely beta readers told me I should tack down a date. And, begrudgingly, because I like my freedom, I did. But my plan is to release Book Three: Penumbra early 2019. I guess it’s time I rustle the beast back in it’s cage and make some order out of chaos. Goals don’t happen on their own.
For now, here are my two covers, the old (blue) version and the new black. I’d love your comments and feedback!
Best wishes and hope y’all are having a great Friday!
May 14, 2018
May 13, 2018
Memorial Day Freebie eBooks
In honor of Memorial Day and the soldiers that gave everything, I’m giving away my eBooks for FREE to ONE lucky person!
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You can also find it on Twitter and Facebook!
Both books have a military theme. More info here:
Stellar Fusion
A Christmas in Montana
Winner of drawing announced May 28, 2018. (Memorial Day)
I am a veteran and respect the sacrifices of our soldiers. My family and my husband’s family are filled with vets.
Freedom is only free to those who do not know the cost.
We’re the lucky ones.
We must not forget.
Elysia
