Writing Fiction About Elves

Writing (fiction) about fantastic creatures is not easy, if you want to be consistent.  I guess some authors just write any old how, without a care.  But this leads to contradictions. 

For instance, suppose in one chapter, your elf was able to become invisible.  If you forget this ability, you might have your elf get in trouble, getting cornered in an alley, for instance.  (If the elf could turn invisible, he could evade his attackers more easily.)

In my imagination,

• Elves of both sexes are a little taller than humans, about seven inches on the average.  They're a little slimmer, and none of them are really heavy.  (So sue me.)
• They can read your mind, if one happens to be touching you.  And you can read their mind, too. 
• I made the elf in my story (I expect there's going to be more than one, but at the moment there's just one) a lacto- vegetarian; that is, she's strictly vegan, except that she eats milk products. 
• My elf could change her appearance--- very slightly.  For instance, she could change the apparent length of her hair, how tall she appeared to be, her skin color, and the color of her eyes.  She changes her eye color from grey-green to brown, and her human companion had to warn her not to do that when humans are watching. 
• They do have 'elf ears', but they don't stick out so long that they can't be hidden under hair.  (I think it's more exciting to imagine that there may be elves all around us, than to think that their ears are so huge that they can't be hidden!)
• They are fascinated by infants, and love seeing them.  Some elf criminals kidnap human babies and there's a brisk underground traffic in human babies among elves.  This is because, for some reason, elves do not have many offspring. 
• They love old things, such as old trees.  Just like humans, they love baby animals, and they can exchange thoughts with them--- with some difficulty.  They can also talk to trees.  A very limited exchange of ideas. 
• They live twice as long as humans--- about 200 years.  They bond with a life partner, and it's a permanent bond.  If one partner dies, the other partner dies within a day. 
• They have most of the fabrics common on earth; all the natural fabrics, except silk.  Somehow, they were careless with silkworms, and they all died off. 

I think I'll need more basic facts; I've already used some ... oh, I forgot; they can run faster, and jump higher than humans.  Also, occasional, intense exercise is better for them than regular daily exercise. 

So that's the basis of my story, Pretty Eyebrows, and I have some 72 pages written, and I have to get back to it.  Come to think of it,  the number of pages doesn't tell you much; I should tell you how many words!  I'll let you know. 

Kay H. B.