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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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A Surprising Confirmation

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 25, 2024
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Not everyone likes to read. I went to school with one boy who would always choose the shortest book for a report. One day in fourth grade, he got in front of the class and gave a brief report. The teacher asked, “Did you get this report from the book jacket? You didn’t really read this book, did you?” He had to admit that the teacher caught him taking a shortcut.

In fifth grade, this boy got in front of the class and read the following poem as his own:

Spring

I know about the season of spring,

It really is a wonderful thing.

Many, many things start to bloom,

Then you can never catch the gloom.

In spring every day everyone works and plays.

Everyone feels so happy and gay.

In April, everyone fools around,

Many animals get out of the ground.

 

I remembered this poem as one I had written that had been published in a school paper. After class, I confronted the boy by saying, “I wrote that poem in the third grade!” He challenged me to prove it.

I went home and told Momma, who said, “I don’t know where the paper is. I’d have to find it.”

When she didn’t want someone to know where something was, she always said she didn’t know its whereabouts. I knew she had no intention of looking for it. Momma had thwarted my plans to tattle. I’m sure she made the wisest decision. Indeed, I didn’t find the school paper until after her death years later.

I was surprised this boy could pass off a third-grader’s poem as fifth-grade work. As a fifth grader, I didn’t consider that perhaps this boy’s level of competence in English wasn’t up to grade level. Instead, I took his plagiarism as a sign that maybe, one day, I could be a writer.

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Category: Personal, The Writing Life

When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

By Steve Laubeon September 23, 2024
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Multi-colored paperclips

“I don’t feel like writing today.” Ever said that to yourself? I’m saying it today. But if I followed through on the impulse, this page would be blank. Why You Won’t Write Today (1) Physical Illness can strike without warning. And some people suffer from chronic conditions. I have clients who pray for a “good” day so they can put a few words on the page. …

Read moreWhen You Don’t Feel Like Writing
Category: Career, Craft, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – September 20, 2024

By Steve Laubeon September 20, 2024
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Today’s video has been around for a while, but it is delightful to watch the creativity of a math professor. HT: Dan Balow

Read moreFun Fridays – September 20, 2024
Category: Fun Fridays

Point of View #1

By Lynette Easonon September 19, 2024
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I’ve been discussing description over the past several posts, and I hope that’s been helpful. Let’s move on to a different topic. One that’s really important. Point of View (POV). I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and one thing that has jumped out at me has been the issue of  point of view. Many writers simply don’t seem to understand how to incorporate it into their stories correctly. …

Read morePoint of View #1
Category: Craft, Writing Craft

What Is Collaborative Writing? – Guest Post

By Guest Bloggeron September 16, 2024
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Today’s guest post is by Keri Wyatt Kent who is the author or coauthor of 25 books. Her company, A Powerful Story, provides collaborative writing, editing, and assisted self-publishing services. Her latest collaborative project, Live Like a Guide Dog, was recently released with Tyndale House Publishers. She writes a free weekly newsletter on writing and publishing at …

Read moreWhat Is Collaborative Writing? – Guest Post
Category: The Writing Life

Fun Fridays – September 13, 2024

By Steve Laubeon September 13, 2024
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Dare I mention it is Friday the 13th? You didn’t hear it from me. Today’s video is quite fascinating: Disney animation reusing previous work in a different film. This begs the question, have you ever reused material in your writing? I wrote about the issue twelve years ago in the post “Can You Plagiarize Yourself?” The answer is, “Yes, you can, but should you? If you …

Read moreFun Fridays – September 13, 2024
Category: Fun Fridays

Christian Books Are Not Special

By Dan Balowon September 12, 2024
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Two weeks ago, I outlined some thoughts on why Christian authors are special; but today, we will look at ways Christian books are not special at all. Since the mid-1990s when Internet commerce began eroding sales at Christian bookstores, the uniqueness of the Christian bookselling market has declined to the point where now, for the most part, Christian books play on the same field as every other …

Read moreChristian Books Are Not Special
Category: Book Business, Publishing History

Can Writing Heal the Writer?

By Bob Hostetleron September 11, 2024
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Most of us know, as readers, that the words we read have tremendous power to heal. But can the words we write heal us too? I asked some writer friends if they’ve been healed by the act of writing. Here are some of their responses: When my son was young, we were in a life-threatening accident in which our elevator landed abruptly in a basement and quickly filled with water. Surviving that event …

Read moreCan Writing Heal the Writer?
Category: Encouragement, Inspiration

Show *AND* Tell With Angela Hunt

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on September 10, 2024
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Writers know the rule "Show, don't tell," but is telling always bad? Find out how and when to use both showing and telling in your writing.

Read moreShow *AND* Tell With Angela Hunt
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Craft, show don't tell, Writing Craft

What Did You Read This Summer?

By Steve Laubeon September 9, 2024
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In 1957 H. L. Mencken coined a new word to describe a group of people that he called the bibliobibuli, which means “people who read too much.” (From the Greek “biblio,” meaning books, and the Latin “bibulous,” from “bibere,” to drink.) But how much is too much? And who decides that? I happen to believe that there is always room for more. I was once …

Read moreWhat Did You Read This Summer?
Category: Book Review, ReadingTag: Book Review, Reading
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