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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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Easily Entertained

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 16, 2017
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Recently my husband, daughter, and I had dinner with my parents at King’s Barbeque in Petersburg, Virginia.

My paternal grandfather discovered this restaurant in the 1950s and it is still one of our family’s favorite places.

Since it was near Christmas, they displayed a unique decoration – a pig wearing a Santa hat. Amused, I took pictures with my cell phone.

I heard voices. “That’s a first!”

I turned to see the waitstaff looking at me, noting that no one else had ever taken a picture of the pig. Just as I found the pig to be comical, so they found humor in my amusement.

Anyone who spends time with me knows that I am easily tickled. New and unique sights and sounds bring me happiness. I take pleasure in little things. Over the years, I have come to believe that my ability to find everything entertaining is a little gift of sunshine from God.

Your turn:

As you develop your characters, what big gifts have you given them?

What small gifts have you given them?

How do these character traits affect your story?

Leave a Comment
Category: Creativity, Humor, PersonalTag: Characters, Creativity

Remove the Barriers in Fiction

By Karen Ballon February 15, 2017
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Few things empower fiction better than well developed characters. Which is why you don’t want to create unintentional barriers between your characters and your readers. What barriers, you ask? Well, here’s one that affects POV characters: John knew he was about to learn something important. Do you see it? The barrier? No? How about here… Sally realized she wasn’t getting it at all. This barrier is …

Read moreRemove the Barriers in Fiction
Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: fiction, Writing Craft

The Isolated Writer

By Dan Balowon February 14, 2017
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In general, writers do not do their best work in a group. The very nature of creative writing is a solitary pursuit, but without taking great care, can morph into a feeling of isolation. And this can occur whether an author lives in a quiet rural town or in midtown Manhattan. (The one in New York, not Kansas) So, how does an author, feeling isolated and alone stay motivated? How do they develop …

Read moreThe Isolated Writer
Category: Career, Encouragement, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Encouragement, The Writing Life

What is Your Attention Span?

By Steve Laubeon February 13, 2017
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I came across the study that claims the average person now has a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. Eight seconds. This means most people tend to lose concentration in less than ten seconds. As an experiment, I read the above paragraph out loud. It took about 10 seconds to complete. That means I just lost you. At least the goldfish will swim around its bowl and come back to the same …

Read moreWhat is Your Attention Span?
Category: Communication, Craft, Inspiration, Reading, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Creativity, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – February 10, 2017

By Steve Laubeon February 10, 2017
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Sometimes you just gotta agree with the concept:

Read moreFun Fridays – February 10, 2017
Category: Fun Fridays

Should I Join a Professional Organization?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 9, 2017
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Thinking about joining a professional organization? This post is geared to the writer who has decided what type of books to write and wonders if memberships would enhance the proposal. Those who are undecided would be better served by attending a few conferences as a nonmember to discern career direction. When investigating professional organizations, I recommend asking yourself questions: Can I …

Read moreShould I Join a Professional Organization?
Category: Career, Conferences, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life

Contrived is a Four-Letter Word

By Karen Ballon February 8, 2017
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Few things irritate fiction readers more than a story peopled by characters who act and react without any apparent reason for what they’re doing and saying. No reason, that is, except to illustrate the author’s message. Or prove the author’s point. Well, you say, don’t we all have a message or point in what we write? Isn’t fiction about letting our characters take the readers on a journey of …

Read moreContrived is a Four-Letter Word
Category: CraftTag: Craft, fiction, Writing Craft

What is Your Writing Worth?

By Dan Balowon February 7, 2017
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The entire book publishing industry, both traditional and self-published, is dependent upon creating books other people will pay money for in sufficient number to make it worthwhile. Just about everything discussed on this agency blog is intended for people involved in revenue-generating publishing. Most authors can write something and give it away for free. Fewer can write something, which others …

Read moreWhat is Your Writing Worth?
Category: Book Business, MoneyTag: Book Business, Money

The Extroverted Writer

By Steve Laubeon February 6, 2017
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Since we looked at the introverted writer last week it is only appropriate that we address the extroverted writer. Before we go further it is important to understand the intrinsic weakness of any label. People are much more complex then introvert or extrovert. At the same time such labels can help us understand each other’s inclinations and limitations. Extroverted can mean many things. …

Read moreThe Extroverted Writer
Category: Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life

Fun Fridays – February 3, 2017

By Steve Laubeon February 3, 2017
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This might be a stretch, but still entertaining. This kind of thing is only for posers. I had to bend over backwards to find today’s Fun Friday. Hope you have a flexible sense of humor. Have fun with your reading this weekend! HT: Trissina Kear

Read moreFun Fridays – February 3, 2017
Category: Fun Fridays
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