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We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Saturday 23 April 2011

Darklight On...Eleni Konstantine: Fact Sheet

Name:  Eleni Konstantine

Writes:  Fantasy and Paranormal fiction

Current mood:  Looking forward to RWAus's Clayton's conference in August (I am on the conference team).

Reading:  Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh

  


Music listening to: Alternative Rock mix.

WatchingSG:U - final episodes are airing in the next month or so *sniff, sniff*, Sons of Anarchy (Showcase)


Favourite spec fiction TV shows: Anything by Joss Whedon (all hail), Star Treks (All hail Gene Roddenberry), Stargates, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, Firefly, Farscape.

Favourite spec fic movies: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars (original trilogy), The Princess Bride.

Quote: (makes me laugh)
"Begin the unnecessarily slow-moving dipping mechanism!" - Dr. Evil, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Authors who inspired me to write:  Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, David Eddings, Jennifer Roberson, Diana Gabaldon, and many more.

Web hang outs:  Dark Side DownUnder, Eleni's Taverna, Eleni's Library,  my website, Twitter, SARA, the RWAus blog.


Working on:  I'm actually taking a break from actual writing, but I'm undertaking Angela James' 'Before You Hit Send' Self-Editing Workshop. Though a couple of my short stories are beckoning me to work on them *grin*

Plotter/Pantser?:  Mainly a pantser. My first draft is what I call my skeleton draft. It is where I work out what the story is, and where it is going. I go back and layer it. Having said that, I do have certain sign posts, which grow and change as I go along. Though, I have, with the help of my Bootcamp friends, the plot for a trilogy (well, the first half anyway). I'm sure when I actually start writing it, it will grow and develop and take me in directions I wouldn't have thought of. This trilogy, however, has been in my head for a long time, so it may go easier than others.

So I'm able to adapt for the needs of the story. 

Sourced from here.
Fave character: A dragon named Flora, who just makes me laugh. Oh, and there is the drunk wizard. 

Currently out there: My flash fiction story, Mirror, Mirror!, on the Mindflights website.


What's next: A flash fiction story, Dragon's Quest, to be on the Antipodean SF e-zine in June.



Writing tips:

  • "Never give up, never surrender". OK, so that was a quote from Galaxy Quest. But it is so true. 
  • Go for your dreams. Do not be left wondering 'what if?'
  • Join a writing group that suits your needs, whether this be a large group like Romance Writers of Australia and Romance Writers of America, or smaller critique groups, or even just a critique partner. The best thing I ever did was do the first Bootcamp offered by RWAus. We got along so well, that almost 4 years later, we are still a group. The advice, the support, the friendship were what I needed at the time to get back into my writing after a hiatus due to illness.
  • Set goals.
  • Set up a routine - write, write, write, read, read, read (or a any combination of those *wink*). 
  • Don't be crushed by negative criticism. We need to have thick skin in this industry. I had someone say one of my short stories was 'pedestrian'. Each to their own. Privately get mad, get sad - for about five minutes and then forget about it. So that means being professional, and not responding to the person doing the criticizing. 
  • Same goes for feedback from critique partners - while it might not be negative, it may not be what you wanted. So ask yourself, do I agree? If so, use the feedback. If you don't, why not? Sometimes, feedback can make you think if you are doing what you need to achieve in a scene.
  • Which brings me to, stick to your voice. Don't let others dilute this. Keep that spark that makes your writing fresh in there, and don't overpolish (says one who has done this). Love what you write! 
  • You are you, so don't compare yourself to others. That way leads to misery. So beware, beware.



9 comments:

  1. I never tire of reading about other writers, even one's I've known for a while :-). Your Angela James Self-Editing workshop sounds interesting - have you done much on it and what's been of value so far?

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  2. Hey Eleni,

    Another cool post from you! I smiled when I read Roald Dahl's name. I used to love him as a kid. The BFG rocks. Can't wait until my kids get old enough to truly appreciate the genius that is snozzcumbers. :)

    What a great slew of tips you have there--all gold!

    All hail the WebGoddess of the Universe! :)

    E x

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  3. Hi Kylie. I'm glad I can give some new info for those like you who have known me for ages. I must admit that I am behind with the editing workshop, courtesy of a cold. I'm hoping to catch up in the next few days. So far, everything has been great, from tips like using track changes, to the basics of grammar. It really is a great workshop...I have much to do!

    Hey Emmeline (LOL re the WebGoddess title. I'll take it, though I'm not sure how accurate it is!). I've just started reading James and The Giant Peach to my 7 year old godson. I'm sure as time goes on, he will appreciate it more and more. And, those snozzcumbers - an absolute gem :)

    Thanks for popping in ladies.

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  4. Michelle de Rooy23 April 2011 at 22:53

    Hey, Eleni!

    Wonderful to see you featured here. And, like Kylie, I love finding out stuff about people I know, that I didnt know! LOL, what a tongue twister.

    Never did get into Roald Dahl, but can appreciate him. And yes, Star Wars; Star Trek... Star anything! (almost)

    Ahhh, the Princess Bride. I've seen that sooo many times it's not funny. Love that movie.

    So, good luck with your trilogy idea. Hope it pans out how you want!

    Michelle

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  5. Hi Michelle - liking almost everything with the word 'star' in it is definitely me.

    Thanks re the trilogy. It's waiting ever so patiently. Soon, it will start throwing popcorn at me to remind me it's there :))

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  6. So interesting that you think of your first draft as the skeleton draft. So do I. I think of the edits as adding muscles, skin etc.

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  7. LOL - I hadn't gone further to think of the edits that way. But it is a good analogy. Thanks for popping in Janni.

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  8. Eleni,
    my long post seems to have disappeared *sigh*
    Nice to get to know a little more about you, your 'star' love is very apparent *g*

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  9. Isn't that always the way, Mel. Those long comments always disappear. LOL, yes, it is 'star' love :))

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