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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Archives for Steve Laube » Page 84

Steve Laube

In Praise of Slow Writing

By Steve Laubeon August 29, 2016
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It seems counter-intuitive that an agent would suggest that writers slow down. After all, isn’t the volume of output one of the keys to an author’s success? There is a measure of truth in that, but today I’d like to explore the concept of Slow Writing.

Think of it as a leisurely walk in the woods as a child. I remember strolling through sticks and leaves exploring the forest surroundings. I would watch a bug crawl up a tree and listen to the birds calling out their warnings as I approached. If too close, a startled squirrel would skitter away. And after a turn finding a new running stream after a rain. I was fascinated as the water carved a new path in the ground seeking to find the end of its gravity-laden journey.

But if I simply ran as fast as I could through those trees I would miss every single one of those memories.

Recently I watched the blur of fingers across the laptop keys by the man next to me on the plane and wondered how he did it. Or the skittering twitch of that person typing with one hand on their phone, juggling a bag and a coffee mug in the other. In some ways writing has become a substitute for the spoken word and we are trying to “talk” as fast as we can to “get it done.”

And the loss is ours.

Consider

In the near future I would encourage you to think like a poet. A great teacher and editor, Roger Palms of Decision magazine, once told me that the best article writers he worked with were poets. Because they knew the importance of a single word.

Consider the perfect word for your next sentence. Is it laden with eloquence? Is it burdened by meaning? Will it shake its reader?

Roll the words around on your tongue. Let them move. Let them breathe.

Craft

It is a struggle to use those slow words as they take shape. There is a famous story of a friend asking novelist James Joyce if he’d had a good day writing. “Yes,” Joyce replied happily. How much had he written? “Three sentences,” Joyce told him.

Craft takes time. There are days where 10,000 words will flow from your fingers. Other days will be excruciating. But in the end a better piece of writing will appear.

Read these lines from the opening page of Tosca Lee’s novel Havah where she describes the first moment of the life of Eve, right after being created by God in the Garden of Eden. And then ask, are these the right words, at the right time, in the right place?:

Wake!

I opened my eyes again upon the milling blue, saw it spliced by the flight of a bird, chevron in the sky.

This time, the voice came not to my ear, but directly to my stirring mind: Wake!

There was amusement in it.

I knew nothing of where or what I was, did not understand the polyphony around me or the wide expanse like a blue eternity before me.

But I woke and knew I was alive.

Create

Slow writing is a discipline of waiting. A discipline of silence. A discipline of thoughtfulness.

Releasing the temptation of Task (with a capital “T”) fills us with guilt in the beginning because we aren’t “doing” anything. Ridding ourselves of the need to succeed today, now, this instant, may clear out our minds of dark clouds. It may be in that widening space that the words can begin to flow again.

Let’s see what a few days of Slow Writing can do for you.

 

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Category: Career, Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – August 26, 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 26, 2016
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Enjoy a humid Summer day with Classical Music fun!

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Category: Fun Fridays

Some Industry News – August 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 22, 2016
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Isn’t it a fact of life that when you go on vacation or try to slow down in summer or during the holidays that something is going to happen? Or do your family cars like to get flat tires or let their batteries die while in your driveway? Such was last week. (We had a car battery decide that it needed a permanent vacation while in the driveway the morning I was trying to go to work.) In the …

Read moreSome Industry News – August 2016
Category: Book Business, News You Can UseTag: Publishing News

54 Pieces of Advice for Your Writers Conference Success

By Steve Laubeon August 15, 2016
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Our agency believes in the importance of a writer’s education and the value of the writers conference experience. We have written over 50 articles that can help you make the most of your conference experience, all of them are listed below. If bound in a single volume it would be a book of nearly 40,000 words. Enjoy! Conference Preparation The Writers Conference Decision Six Excuses (That …

Read more54 Pieces of Advice for Your Writers Conference Success
Category: Conferences, Get PublishedTag: writers conferences

Fun Fridays – August 12, 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 12, 2016
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Enjoy the hilarious Victor Borge! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Utm-8mandM

Read moreFun Fridays – August 12, 2016
Category: Fun Fridays

Revolutionary Words for Your Publishing Success

By Steve Laubeon August 8, 2016
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Did that headline get your attention? It was intentional. There are two key words in it, “revolutionary” and “success,” that are trigger words to make you read what I have written. When the word “publishing” is added it targeted the readers of this blog. And to top it off it was made personal by using the word “your.” It is possible to make this …

Read moreRevolutionary Words for Your Publishing Success
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, MarketingTag: Copy Writing, Marketing

Fun Fridays – August 5, 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 5, 2016
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Up close view of Vivaldi’s “Summer – presto” performed by virtuoso David Garrett. Proves the value of practice. Apply to your profession and watch for the results! It also illustrates the genius of the composer. Someone had to write the music first… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZV4dZuKavM

Read moreFun Fridays – August 5, 2016
Category: Fun Fridays

Realm Makers 2016

By Steve Laubeon August 1, 2016
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I just spent the last few days with a lot of fun people! The Realm Makers conference was held on the Villianova University campus in Philadelphia with nearly 200 in attendance. I had the honor of teaching nearly six hours in a continuing session on the spiritual life of the writer. It is truly great when many like-minded people gather to explore the Word together. The costume banquet on Friday …

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Category: Conferences, Get PublishedTag: Realm Makers, writers conferences

Fun Fridays – July 29, 2016

By Steve Laubeon July 29, 2016
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A bit o’ comedy for a hot Summer Friday. Enjoy!

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Category: Fun Fridays

Steve Laube Buys The Christian Writers Market Guide from Jerry Jenkins

By Steve Laubeon July 25, 2016
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(Phoenix, AZ) The owner and president of the Steve Laube Agency has announced his purchase of the rights to The Christian Writer’s Market Guide from bestselling author Jerry Jenkins. Laube will become Publisher of the 2017 edition. The Guide has been used as a resource in the inspirational market for over 30 years. It was created by writer Sally Stuart, who published it until 2012 when Jenkins …

Read moreSteve Laube Buys The Christian Writers Market Guide from Jerry Jenkins
Category: Book Business, Christian Writers Institute, News You Can UseTag: Book Business, Christian Writers Institute, Publishing News
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