Steve Laube

Fun Fridays – September 13, 2019

By Steve Laubeon September 13, 2019

Scooby-Doo Turns 50!

While this may be “Friday the 13th,” it also happens to be the 50th birthday of Scooby-Doo! Doesn’t that make you feel old?

Happy birthday, Scooby Doo!

If you want to enjoy a couple of articles that discuss the origins of the show, you can find them here “History of the Scooby-Doo Series” and here “A Behind the Scenes Look at the 50th Anniversary of Scooby-Doo”.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy a couple of videos for those who have nostalgia for Scooby-Doo!

The first is the theme song from the cartoon. Sing along with me:

While waiting for the next video, buy these delicious Scooby-Snacks!

This video attempts to stuff 22 minutes of an episode into a one-minute mystery.

And finally, did you know some of the famous people who were the voices behind the characters? Casey Kasem as Shaggy?

Four Laws for the Writer of a Book

By Steve Laubeon September 9, 2019

In 1931 S. R. Ranganathan proposed the Five Laws of Library Science. The theory behind the laws was to help define the principles of any library system. Today I would like to look at the first four of these laws and see how we can apply them to you as a writer. Books Are for Use I like to ask students if a book has any ministry value if it isn’t read. Of course, it doesn’t. And a book can’t be …

Category: The Writing Life

Fun Fridays – September 6, 2019

By Steve Laubeon September 6, 2019

Last week was a modern-day duet. This week we can enjoy the artistry of Chico and Harpo Marx playing a duet on the same piano (from the 1941 movie “The Big Store”). The tune they are playing is “Mama Eu Quero” made famous by Carmen Miranda the year before. What fun!

Category: Fun Fridays

Fun Fridays – August 30, 2019

By Steve Laubeon August 30, 2019

The sheer delight of this duet is fun to watch. Classical pianist Lang Lang and jazz pianist Jon Baptiste sit down and improvise for two minutes on a very familiar piece of music. Enjoy! HT: Trissina Kear

Category: Fun Fridays

First Lines in Fiction

By Steve Laubeon August 26, 2019

The opening words of your novel may be all a prospective buyer will read before making their purchasing decision. Are yours an opening salvo; an opening punch; or an opening sigh, easily dismissed? They will also be the first words an agent or an editor reads when they see the sample chapters you have pitched. Every story starts somewhere. Even “once upon a time” is a beginning. I thought it would …

Category: Pitching, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – August 23, 2019

By Steve Laubeon August 23, 2019

So incredibly creative. Watch this video and be inspired to create origami with your words! Craft them into a story never seen before. Inspire others to think beyond the paper airplane you made when growing up.

Category: Fun Fridays

A Retail Renaissance?

By Steve Laubeon August 19, 2019

I spent some time with a recent research report from the ILH Group called “Retail’s Renaissance – True Story of Store Openings/Closings.” In this study, they looked at the last three years of all segments of brick-and-mortar retail stores and discovered some facts that counter what we hear in the news. In the media, we only hear bad things about physical stores. Chains are closing, …

Category: Book Business

Fun Fridays – August 16, 2019

By Steve Laubeon August 16, 2019

Since schools across the world are ramping up to begin the new year (or already have begun), I thought it would be fun to visit a comedy sketch between Andy Griffith and Don Knotts (circa 1965, or two score and 14 years ago). Know anybody like this? Dare you write them into your book? Enjoy.

Category: Fun Fridays

15 Grammar Rules That Can be Broken

By Steve Laubeon August 12, 2019

With trepidation I step into the gladiator arena of grammar. Below is a marvelous infographic from ExpertEditor.com, an Australian professional editing and proofreading company. Do you agree or disagree with these choices? Grammar rules are there for a reason. Clarity, consistency, and communication. A sloppy manuscript is a terrible thing to waste. At the same time, rigidity with some grammar …

Category: Editing, Grammar, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – August 9, 2019

By Steve Laubeon August 9, 2019

To follow up on Monday’s discussion of the printing press, let’s take a five minute walk through the distribution process. Specifically Amazon.com. This video was release last week, but is already a little out of date. Yesterday FedEx announced they are severing their relationship with Amazon. The effort by Amazon to create their own delivery network was the issue cited. However, this …

Category: Fun Fridays