Elise VanCise's Blog, page 8

Be a Book Rebel Banned Books Week 2015

September 27th thru October 3rd celebrates those books that some thought too dark, too racy, naughty language or thought to be just plain unsuitable for bookshelves. Hundreds of books are challenged each year by readers who believe they're doing the right thing.

But... is it right to censor readership? Is it right to say Alice in Wonderland is unsuitable, or Harry Potter? Yes, those are just two of many books that have been and still are brought up for challenge to be banned. Gone with the Win...

Autumn Signs

Quiet was the day, the only sounds being the rustling of trees in the wind, the soft crunch of leaves underfoot. Autumn the season of change had begun.These woods have changed since his first walk through them so long ago. Saplings now become tall trees, their leaves turning golden as they fall to the earth.  The sun peeked through the wood setting the trees a glow.The hollow of a pine filled with acorns, a woodland creature’s winter store. Soon the mild temperat...

Is good or bad in your character's DNA?

It’s been a busy couple of weeks trying to get everything back on track between all of the real life craziness that buzzes through. I’m working on a novel I love, a western titled Outlaw Born. I want this thing to get finished so the world can meet Ben Mason.
Ben is a complicated fella. He’s grown up hard and tried to be what people think of as a good man, despite his family legacy. There’s a darkness that runs through his blood thanks to his outlaw father.
The idea is based on an old argument....

8 Sentence Sunday: Outlaw Born snippet

Finally getting back into a writing groove and Ben Mason has been demanding attention to his story. I'm joining other Weekend Writing Warriors in sharing an eight to ten sentence excerpt of our WIPs. So here is a snippet from my work-in-progress Outlaw Born.

Blurb 
Orphaned young and raised by a preacher's family Benjamin Mason became a good man. He wanted to forget and erase his real father's legacy of blood and violence from their name for his own son.


Then tragedy struck. The law wo...

Keeping the plates spinning and new goals

Have you ever seen the plate spinners at a circus or carnival? They start by balancing one plate on a thin long stick, then making it spin. Then they pick up another and another balancing and spinning all these plates on sticks.

Sometimes one will warble and the spinner has to very carefully adjust to make sure it stays spinning and even or… CRASH and the show’s over. Writing and life can feel like that. There’s a plate on a stick for everything we need to do and all the projects we have waiti...

4 tips to break through writer's block.

When it hits writer's block can feel like a Rubix Cube. An unsolvable puzzle that makes you want to give up and see what series is next on Netflix to marathon.
There is only one way to break that block and solve the puzzle. Write. That's right, you have to write your way through it, around it, over it or under it. Instead of giving up and watching all nine seasons of X-Files in one sitting on Netflix, try one of these ideas to wake up your muse and get back to the story. 
Get NoseyWe all h...

Hungry: Friday Flash

A deep rumble woke Ben. He sat up and looked around the loft of the stable thinking he’d been caught by old man McKeen.

The rumble came again only louder. It wasn’t the old geezer tossing him out, it was Ben’s stomach. Four days, it was four days ago his mama had left him at the station.

She left him behind, telling him to sit and wait. She would be right back with the tickets. They’d go to Virginia to live with his aunt. Mama never came back from the ticket booth. Her carpetbag was gone. All B...

OneWord/60 Seconds: Scanned

Follow my blog with Bloglovin He scanned as much of the dark room as his eyes would allow. He felt it, the weight of its presence. He thought they were finished with him these visits were over. There would be no more lights, no more experiments. It moved from the shadow toward him large black almond eyes held no comfort. It wasn’t over, it would never be over.





OneWord.com is a website for getting the muse warmed up. Each day you get one word and sixty seconds in which to write what it inspires....

Credence in a Cure

Virginia kept an eye on her son. She could tell when a fit was about to erupt on her poor boy. He was far too young to have such a terrible illness. One she feared he was nearing the end of.
Water sloshed and sizzled as it boiled out and dribbled down the side of the pot to the stove burner. Virginia turned to push the run down automaton out of the way when Toby began to cough and wheeze harder and louder than before.
She rushed instead to the boy. “Mother, the pot!”  
The old woman rushed...

Bells of Wesley

They stood together on the balcony of their hotel room that overlooked the large city. Dirigibles carrying their passengers floating through the sky in the distance. Sarah grinned. “What a spectacular view. I’m looking forward to seeing the sights.”
Jonathon slid his arm around her waist with a mischievous expression as he kissed his wife. “I have all the sights I need to see right here.”   
She laughed and wiggled away. “You saw plenty last night and if you want to see more tonight y...