Elizabeth Russell's Blog, page 16

A Murder in the Chicken Yard – A Tale of Attempted Cannibalism

By Elizabeth Russell A few years ago, my family briefly lived on a farm, and besides giving our chickens very weird names, we learned many odd things about the species that we had never realized before. One was that chickens are gruesomely fond of eating each other after one is dead. Here below is a … Continue reading A Murder in the Chicken Yard – A Tale of Attempted Cannibalism →

The Classic I Never Knew

Brave New World In January at the beginning of the year, I was staying with a friend in New Hampshire for a couple weeks and browsing her bookshelves. I caught site of A Brave New World, and asked her if she thought I’d like it. As both of us were liberal arts students who had … Continue reading The Classic I Never Knew →

How to Motivate Children to Read More, and my 2018 Reading List

They were devastated to hear about some of the books that I was assigning them to read, and the sheer number of them (which really wasn't that much.) But then I decided to make it a competition. They are both very competitive personalities,

Rising Book Spotlight on: “Trinian, An Epic Fantasy” by Elizabeth Russell

Originally posted on Spotlight:
Here at Spotlight, my goal is to help put the spotlight on great literature and art and help spread the word. I want to write stories on their behalf, which is why I write reviews and features. I am beyond blessed that there are independent authors reaching out to me and…

Avengers and Flutters of Butterflies

Isn’t it a wonderful thing when you can trust someone to tell a good story? I tell you, there’s nothing like trusting your entertainment to someone. You wouldn’t think it would be such a big deal – but it really is! We are only human, and we get upset when a story is told badly. … Continue reading Avengers and Flutters of Butterflies →

Coming of Age (or Internal) Genres

So, before I continue on the path of laying out each individual genre in this continuing series, I think it’s good to take a moment to talk about the category ‘Coming of Age’. This is the Internal Genre, where the story is driven by the hero’s personal struggles, rather than a villain they must defeat. … Continue reading Coming of Age (or Internal) Genres →

Why Legolas is Unnecessary

Literary Panic So, I called my brother in a literary panic the other day. Let me explain. I have realized that I read books differently than most people. Even, possibly, differently than most authors – though I don’t personally know enough authors yet to confirm this. I like to read in order to hone and … Continue reading Why Legolas is Unnecessary →

I Kept Writing, and Got Rid of the Scary Red Text!

Last night, I skimmed through the 500 page word document of my novel manuscript, and stopped every time I encountered a block of red text. Those sections were notes I left myself about missing scenes in the narrative, and with dedication, I knocked each one out of the park! All my missing scenes are now … Continue reading I Kept Writing, and Got Rid of the Scary Red Text! →

Freaking out about Publishing

I had a total freak out moment yesterday! I all of a sudden got very terrified – not just about publishing my book, which is scary enough on its own – but about being a writer at all. I’ve heard about writers feeling like frauds, and for the first time, I really felt that! My … Continue reading Freaking out about Publishing →

Action/Adventure Genre

Action/Adventure is an EXTERNAL GENRE. External Genres, as opposed to Internal, are primarily driven by a problem that comes up outside the person, and solving this problem results in the end of the story. The problem usually looks like a large-scale villain. Someone the protagonist has to face off against and prevent them from doing … Continue reading Action/Adventure Genre →