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Writing successful Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Escaping the Overwhelm…

Being human and having emotions gives necessity to books, novels, and film. And because of our humanness, we want to feel emotion. And often any emotion will suffice. 

Ondi LaureLeave a comment

I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to share my love of writing with the world. Across the past few years, I’ve gotten immersed in the foreign world of business and publishing and forgot my true intent. I denied myself my lifeblood of writing and storytelling. 

I welcome 2022 with a new perspective and a firm intention to write daily for my own enjoyment. And I intend to share and develop my voice as I continue to conquer the worlds of business and publishing, alike. And with that, I am relaunching my novel, Morning Star, in February. 😍

Welcome to my author shares. Each week, I will be sharing nuggets of my writing and my research for my current project. And this month’s project continues to be detailed as to why I wrote Morning Star.

Being human and having emotions gives necessity to books, novels, and film. And because of our humanness, we want to feel emotion. And often any emotion will suffice. 

Now, I don’t mean sitting hours on end fixated by Netflix, because this doesn’t work our creative muscles the same way; story entices the imagination in no better way than by reading. 

Stories entertain and spark conversations, and most importantly they bring up emotions within us. 

Therefore, we go to the movies or buy a book because we want to feel; we want to be reminded that we are human and that we are alive.

In fact, this is why we read or watch anything. We want to feel! And often we don’t really care what we’re going to feel at the beginning. We simply recognize our humane need to feel…

I would like to give my readers something to ponder as you are writing your blogpost or emails or a scene in the next blockbuster. What emotion is your writing calling forth from your reader? Is in fear, love, confusion, haste, clarity or simply is it just curiosity?

Whatever your intent may be, it is crucial that your writing is stirring up an emotion from your reader. Otherwise, they will most likely move on to read another’s that does stir their emotions.

 Here’s the video of this advice presented in my first ever, live YouTube video… 🤠 https://youtu.be/3V3E_RBEtE0 Please join the channel and never miss my silly lives!

Writing successful Sci-Fi and Fantasy

What does it take for an author to write compelling and successful Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories?

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There is no such thing as fiction. Who are we to say that alternate realities do not exist?

This is the inspired theme that I use presently in my own fantasy stories of The Morning Star series, and the divine theme that I teach to my aspiring authors across my Story Launching programs.

To write a compelling Science Fiction and or a Fantasy story, authors are coached to write their world as if they are as real as their own believable reality that they reside.

The success of any Sci-Fi and Fantasy Story depends entirely upon the believability of the world they are creating, and this believability begins with the author believing it first.

The preparation and creation of this world, of course, is expanded and expounded upon by the author as the story evolves. And many of these details may never appear in the narrative for the reader. The details of such believable realities are woven and crafted by and for the author ultimately as the book’s foundation.

And only from this believable world do the setting, characters, dialogue, conflict, theme, and story emerge.

Bridging the Gap to Fiction

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There is a difference between fiction and nonfiction. You have heard me say before there is no distinction between the two and they are both the truth. Even the most otherworldly of fantasies are created from the heart and mind and carry worldly, human ideals and a human soul. If both fiction and nonfiction are created in you, does that not mean they are both the truth?

Deep sighs? Don’t worry, because despite what I have said above, there is a stark difference between the two. Let us dig deeper and find some qualities that distinguish fiction from nonfiction.

I will not limit our deep dive to obvious differences like setting, world, dialogue, climax, tone and style. Mind you, these qualities are crucially different between fiction and nonfiction. So too is the fact that one category is based on objective physical events, while the other is based on creations from a subjective mind.

There are many fine lines to consider in discussing the difference between fiction and nonfiction. There is the threshold we all cross as we are pulled into a powerful story. There is that illusory quality making a nonfiction book seem to read at times like fiction. There is an inner voice that compels us to tell our mom, best friend, or grocery clerk about a tale that has just gripped us to our core. There are special moments when authors recreate fantasy experiences we lived through as children, just when we thought those adventures were nothing but memories to us.

I’m talking of a bridge separating fiction from nonfiction, placing stories atop islands of our own creation. There is a magic pulling us in in those moments, removing our physical lenses and leaving us with only truths of the spirit. The truths of human existence, experience, and relationships too.

The magic of fiction is this bridge it creates, a bridge spanning the gap between teaching and knowing, and a bridge which has been created countless times before us. 

The magic of nonfiction resides in its ability to ground us; to remind us we are physical beings in the here and now. However, I submit to you that the magic of fiction is supreme. It reminds us we are essentially spiritual beings and as such our existence spans all of time, not just the here and now.

Fiction authors and storytellers across time have created and recreated their magic for us, removing our physical lenses and introducing us to spiritual truths. Such authors include greats like Dostoevsky, Homer, Shakespeare, Twain, Hemingway, and contemporary greats like Doige and Hildebrand.

These authors have mastered their craft to such a degree they can literally whisk us up and set us upon journeys that take us from the physical into the spiritual realm. The brilliance of each journey depends on the reader’s willingness to open themselves to it, so they might travel with this same author again and again.

As writers and creatives, we receive unexpected and divine callings. These callings are telling us we must share with others our knowledge of the universal truths binding the physical and spiritual worlds together.

This is a crucial undertaking, a divine obligation, a gift given to the artist. Being called to share the universe’s wisdom with those in need of receiving it is a blessing. We must not selfishly withhold the ideas and messages given to us by the Muse, but rather share these insights with the world.

Is not the Muse a provider of spiritual gifts? Ideas, fleeting thoughts, and inspirations are granted to us, by it, from the spirit world, not from our conscious reality. The Muse lies at the heart of the fictional aspect of ourselves, an aspect that is as real as the nonfictional aspect.

We have abundant ideas, insights and notions available to share, as I expressed in my latest article on The Muse. Our challenge is finding the courage to capture the inspirations and clues, then invest the time and love to cultivate them. That is something we do not do enough of today.

Have the courage to harness your inspirations and step out into your greatness, regardless of whether you are ridiculed or scorned. For it is this quality which sets the great messages and messengers apart.

Have the courage to trust your gifts, both physical and spiritual. They are worth sharing with the world. Let the naysayers point and scorn if they want to. Share your beautiful message with the world regardless of them, and allow your creations to become your legacy.

If you’d like to jump on a quick 15 minute call to discuss your writing project and learn more about our programs click HERE to learn more.

The Physical and Spiritual Realms of Humanness

We neglect to remember we are both physical and spiritual beings.

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When an idea is beginning to form, and the muse is leaving subtle thoughts planted as seeds along the roadway of life, life does sometimes get in the way. The events of our physical worlds take precedence in those situations like weeds strangling our tiny buds of inspiration. This happens because we creatives are too used to being schooled by our physical worlds alone.

***

Your wisdom. My wisdom. The intelligence of the universe is always readily available to all. Always. The collective consciousness I write of is not born from my personal knowledge. I did not invent infinite wisdom. It is readily available to all.

The awakening into the all-knowing wisdom of the universe is an awakening of the dormant consciousness within.

Awakening of consciousness is just one of the steps upon the pathway of human evolution. All people, from every continent and since the dawn of history, have been raised and trained on physical reality alone. When will we realize that we are beings of two bodies? A physical and a spiritual.

In fact, our existence across the past two thousand years has been grossly skewed towards the physical, not the spiritual, realm of our being.

From early childhood, we receive instruction, both at school and at home, in how to live, function and participate in the physical world.

We neglect to remember we are both physical and spiritual beings.

Besides what we receive from the odd sampling of spiritual guidance at home, many of us have attained only a limited spiritual understanding of ourselves to date. The spiritual guidance we receive across our lifetimes is measured by our experiences and knowledge of the physical world. It is so because the physical world is all that seems available to us. We are relying on the physical world to rationalize and understand our spiritual experiences!

***

Of course, some among us are more predisposed than others to push beyond human physical understanding and probe the reaches of enlightened spiritual wisdom. It is still, though, something we can all work on no matter who we are.

Special people throughout history, up to and including today, bring awareness of the spiritual world to light so the rest of us can better understand it. We can think of these special individuals as “messengers”. This group includes people such as Martin Luther, Jesus, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Buddha, and countless others.

Such messengers teach us that peace, abundance, truth, prosperity, joy, passion, freedom, acceptance, and enlightenment all originate from within us. Not from the physical world outside us, as we have so often been misled into believing since the very dawn of civilization.

***

The evolution of our existence is at an ideal stage to usher in a time of creative expression. We no longer rely on hunting and gathering for our survival as a species. In almost every first-world country today, we can meet all our needs and desires with the click of a button or the delivery of a package on our doorstep.

At no other point in history have we had such an opportunity to explore the spiritual facets of our being, from the comfort of our own homes no less. We have the chance, for the first time in history, to devote time and energy to creative inspirations and to Maslow’s fifth human need of self-actualization.

That is, of course, unless we allow ourselves to be overcome and consumed by the happenings of the physical world and all its concomitant strifes.

Ondi Laure and The Muse

What is The Muse?

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Is it our creative inspiration, that energy fluttering amidst the ethers of our consciousness, awaiting our trust to bring it to light?

I think the Muse is a beautiful idea; a wondrous source of inspiration and intelligence.

Yet, when an artist expects the Muse to seek them it does not. When an artist, be they writer, painter, or other creative, demands the Muse to deliver it does not answer them.

Then there are those moments when the Muse sits near, patiently waiting for a creative conscious to grasp hold of a thought and write upon it. But some thoughts slip through the creative’s grasp, to be bounced along to the next willing creative conscious.

For just as the universe expands infinitely, so too does creative inspiration.

The Muse, too, is abundant throughout the universe.

There is no end to this source of creativity. Creative inspiration and the Muse are plentiful and always giving to the creative conscious open to receiving their gift.

The challenge is to put aside the busy work, those unnecessary worldly things, and make creativity our priority.

Make your writing a priority over all else!

Until this happens, until the book or novel becomes the author’s primary focus and intention, the book will remain unwritten.

***

This is a crucial time. A time for the writer, and the artist, to take heed and consciously demand control of the outcome of their inspirations.

The first step a writer must take to control their inspiration and the visiting Muse is to trust. Trust that the ideas and insights are yours. Trust that you have the grace and wisdom to write, to take your inclinations by the hand and carry them to their fullest potential.

Having a New Year’s Resolution is not Enough-

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Who made a New Year’s resolution to get their book done in 2022? Now, February is upon us… is your resolution still front and center? Because (yes, I always break English grammar rules!) 2022 is the year to get your book off of your heart and out of your head once and for all. Writing, however, is a lonely, introverted, and often an isolated undertaking. It is great to have a team behind you. With that being said, I give a heartfelt “Thank You” to my team that stands behind me so that I can support all of you and your book productions. So, this is my big call out to you if you are ready to get your book off your heart in 2022! This is a great New Year’s resolution, but what if you don’t feel that you have what it takes to write a successful book, nor enough content to fill an entire book? Well… that is where support, accountability, encouragement, structure, and confidence are crucial. Because (here I go again… testing grammar rules) A New Year’s resolution alone is not enough to see your book through to fruition! Of the many contributing factors demanded in the writing of a book, confidence is #1. Once you’ve cultivated your confidence in your story’s message your odds of completing your book skyrocket. With your confidence in your message, there is nothing that will stop you from pushing through and getting your story’s message down. It is your confidence in your idea and inspiration that will see you through; not so much the goal (nor the New Year’s resolution) of writing a book. Now, there are many tools that will help you, yes. Though, confidence in your message is tops! How does an author grow their confidence in their message? Well, here are a few takeaways to help build your confidence in your story: 1. Start the conversation and write 2. Write 3. Gather feedback from your peers and family 4. Write 5. Get your message out into the world. Write. 6. Gather constructive criticism that is necessary for your message and your story to evolve 7. Sit your but down in a chair and write 8. And lastly… write! If you’d like more tools and insight, I’d love to visit with you about your book project. We work with all phases of book production from writing to publishing and even marketing. The book publishing world is overwhelming and there are a lot of scams out there… we continue to evolve and uncover the best tools for authors while our authors keep their royalties their own. Follow my thread here and find some nuggets to help you get your book launched in 2022! Be safe, warm and healthy out there and Happy February! The Story Launcher, Ondi Laure

Books and Literature-The Tapestry of Our Society

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Where do books and literature play a part in creating the tapestries of society?

And how can we as authors and content creators use this to our advantage?

There is a power that books possess in the teaching, and in the learning across cultures and this same power carries on our wisdom and insights for future generations. 

We learn from, not only, the celebrations and comedy of the past, we also learn an abundance from the brutality showcased across literature. We garner this history and information that continues to shape societies today. 

It is fun to recognize through literature how far society has come and yet how little we have truly changed. 

The intention of this post is to ask how this applies to your writing? Whether you are working on an epic novel or a nonfiction manuscript to debut your products or services, you are creating a time capsule. 

The assets that contribute to the tapestries of society across books and novels alike include aspects of our cultures. Assets like food, wine, clothing yes. The two primary contributors that I encourage you to explore and study for your own narrative are:

  1. The dialogue and language that you include
  2. The beliefs and conflicts that are exemplified

How is your narrative maintaining these assets of your culture or the culture that you are writing of?

Remember that you are writing a time capsule!  Are you crafting this as a Legacy for your future generations? 

Click the button below to set up a private call to discuss your book project and learn how we can help you explore the tapestry of the culture that you are portraying.

Schedule A Call With The Story Launcher

BOOK ONE, MORNINGSTAR:The Mystery Of The Secret Letters

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Silence is comforting to some. Comforts are dynamic and seldom relied upon when life is as volatile as the wind. Comforting as the silent breeze may be one moment, such quiet can bring fears and storms the next. Sound is a much better indicator of peace for a motherless child and what better way to fill the empty void of quiet than the melody
of a Celtic bagpipe.

The drone of a bagpipe, like no other sound, resonates within. It penetrates the
core of one’s being. The sound’s vibrations touch upon each fiber leaving the soul
humming and yearning for more.

Kirsti watched him sit alone upon the beach and stare at the water beating upon
the stony shore. She watched him each morning that he was home. What he was watching or looking for now became clear to her adolescent reasoning. His aloneness there upon the shore of The North Sea roared once he began to play his music across the expanse of time.

Preorder now available here

Now, for preorder on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F7CM8D3?pf_rd_r=6Q1ENMWTGWS99BJ0JK9P&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbeeA Young Adult, Historical, Mystery portraying love’s transcendence beyond the reaches of heaven…

Do You Even Really Know What You Want In Life?

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So, this happened for me yesterday!! You may read the entire Forbes article here

4. Reverse Engineer Your Legacy. 

Start with the end in mind and think about the impact you want to leave on the world. Then, reverse engineer the actions and steps you need to take to start building that.

Rather than focusing your life force on the hours worked or checking off society’s external measures of “success,” honestly ask yourself what you’d like to create on this planet that will leave ripple effects long after you’re gone. Your legacy is how people will remember you.

This could look like a piece of art, sustainable efforts in your company, or even writing a book.

As Ondi Laure, founder of Story Launcher’s Publishing system which helps people build their legacy through writing a book, advises: “You need to begin creating your legacy and not just a business.”

After all, a business is just a way to make money, but a legacy is something that will last far beyond your life. A legacy is something that will continue to impact future generations. It could be something as simple as a book that parents read to their children or a nationwide business on every street corner. 

Imagine telling your story that will inspire thousands of people. The world is looking for authenticity, and writing a book is a powerful way to share your deepest thoughts, dreams, and desires that will lay the foundation for your legacy. Shift your focus on what actions you can take that will reach far beyond a business alone. Wealth and success come and go… but the legacy you leave behind, and with intention, will last forever.

Connect with me, personally, at Storylauncher.com or in our writing groups on Facebook… all of our links may be found at MyInkLinks.com

Contributing article:

Do You Even Really Know What You Want In Life?

Celinne Da Costa

Celinne Da CostaContributorForbesWomenCelinne Da Costa is a writer, speaker, and brand story coach teaching entrepreneurs to become confident leaders with powerful stories, influential brands, international media coverage, and thousands of raving followers.