Ask the Author: K. Elise Hoffman
Answered Questions (5)
K. Elise Hoffman
Pintrest. Does that sound totally lame? It probably does. I follow a LOT of artists. I love character artwork. I don't care if it's for an existing story, a Dungeons and Dragons character someone is role playing, or just something an artist has pulled out of their head. I find it very inspiring, and stories tend to creep into the back of my mind while I'm perusing images.
Another thing that got me started: I want to tell stories that are not within the typical trope. Technically that is sort of author suicide. It's a risk for sure! But I want to tell stories about the characters you wouldn't expect to see at the forefront. You rarely see a Villain story, so I want to tell one. I have another project in the back of my mind that is told from the perspective of a Super Hero's sidekick... and she's not even that good a sidekick. I look at books I love, with tropes I absolutely adore and start to puzzle out how it could be told more uniquely.
I don't want to be like every other author, and I don't want my books to be like every other book. There's only so much I can do about that, but I'm going to pursue those things for as long as they worm their way into my brain. Maybe I'll conform a bit more in the future. We shall see!
Another thing that got me started: I want to tell stories that are not within the typical trope. Technically that is sort of author suicide. It's a risk for sure! But I want to tell stories about the characters you wouldn't expect to see at the forefront. You rarely see a Villain story, so I want to tell one. I have another project in the back of my mind that is told from the perspective of a Super Hero's sidekick... and she's not even that good a sidekick. I look at books I love, with tropes I absolutely adore and start to puzzle out how it could be told more uniquely.
I don't want to be like every other author, and I don't want my books to be like every other book. There's only so much I can do about that, but I'm going to pursue those things for as long as they worm their way into my brain. Maybe I'll conform a bit more in the future. We shall see!
K. Elise Hoffman
Courting Medusa is the working Title. I'm pretty sure it's going to stay that way. This a story about a Villain, told from her perspective as she is wooed by another Villain, (who I'm finding rather delicious btw), as well as having a hero try to turn her to the good side. It's gruesome in places, she's a mean lady. But I'm liking these characters and how they interact with one another.
K. Elise Hoffman
I let it go for a bit. When I get stuck I walk away for a day or two and let the story try to knit itself together in the back of my mind while I'm working on other creative projects. I recently got super stuck trying to write the next Queen of Hades story, and I haven't been able to get around that one yet. However, while I'm waiting on it to come together, I'm working on a different book that has captured my whole being. Sometimes it's just about following your muse, even if that muse isn't the one you were planning on following at the moment!
K. Elise Hoffman
Once upon a time I was writing a story, my children playing loudly behind me. Then... they were quiet.
(That's every parent's horror story, am I right? Maybe a two sentence story is not my strong suit lol)
(That's every parent's horror story, am I right? Maybe a two sentence story is not my strong suit lol)
K. Elise Hoffman
ALL OF THEM! Okay, seriously though. I don't actually keep a targeted list. Right now I'm working through the large group of audio books I bought on Chirpbooks.com a while back. Generally I choose what I read based on what I'm feeling in the moment. My TBR list is my go to when I'm not sure what to pick up next.
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