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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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Eyes Open, Antennae Up

By Dan Balowon June 16, 2015
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I can find humor anywhere. It’s a gift…or a curse. I waver on that regularly.

About 35 years ago I was in a small grocery store across from our apartment to pick up a few things we needed. We didn’t have much storage space so we went to the store multiple times each week for few things each time, usually diapers and baby formula.

To this day, I can still see the well-dressed middle age woman in front of me in the express lane with one item.

One roll of toilet paper.

Honestly, if she was behind me in line, I would have let her cut in front of me. Imagining the urgency of a situation where you would drive to a store to buy one roll of toilet paper, makes me want to help that person get out of there as quickly as possible.

This episode triggered a lifetime of “express lane humor.” See a person with two items…a bottle of Tylenol and a chocolate pie? Somebody is having a bad day. Express lanes are fertile ground for humor.

But the world is bigger than express lanes.

You are driving down a road less-traveled where vehicles come by once every 30-60 minutes. There in the road is a poor squirrel who has been hit by one of those infrequent vehicles.

Do you figure he looked both ways, maybe waited for ten minutes to see if any cars will come? A victim of sheer rotten luck? Maybe he figured it was OK to go across without looking?

Monte the Raccoon: “Hey Wilbur, why did the chicken cross the road?”

Wilbur the Squirrel: “I don’t know Monte, why?”

Monte the Raccoon: “Because he was fit to be fried.”

Wilbur the Squirrel: “That’s terrible Monte. Do you think the coast is clear and we can cross? Hasn’t been a car by here in hours.”

Monte the Raccoon: “Sure, go ahead. Nobody ever comes down this road.”

You can make up the rest of the story. Not exactly for kids, I guess. The moral of the story is: Never trust raccoons named Monte.

Eyes open, antennae up. The awful humor will come easily.

Whether you are writing blogs or looking for examples to build characters in your novel, you need to constantly be on the lookout for material, humorous or poignant.

Anyone who speaks or writes for publication on a regular basis is always on duty looking for illustrations to punctuate their work. How many times have you heard a speaker mention something relevant to their main point that happened to them within the last few hours or days?

Their eyes were open and antennae up and the real-life applications came easy.

Even if you don’t have something specific you are writing or preparing, a meaningful moment is worth remembering and writing down. You never know when you might want to use it. Write it down immediately, use your voice-memo function on your smartphone, send yourself a text or email. Whatever you do, capture the moment.

Word images are powerful. Stories that illustrate are memorable. Sometimes we remember the illustration more than the narrative. The illustration becomes the message.

This is why Jesus taught in parables. He told a story to a few or to many and you can rest assured those people remembered the point he was trying to make, because they remembered the story and could repeat it.

And those stories have more meaning than mine. (I have a few that don’t include talking animals.)

 

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Category: Craft, CreativityTag: Creativity, Humor, Writing Craft

What’s in a Name?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 11, 2015
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Look at this list of names: Mary Maxwell Julius Cromwell Hector Williams Lucinda Smith Do they mean anything to you? Probably not, unless you happen to have some random connection to them such as you happen to have an aunt named Lucinda. Truth is, they don’t mean anything to me, either. I just made them up. (With apologies to the many people named Mary Maxwell, et al on Facebook.) But what …

Read moreWhat’s in a Name?
Category: Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Character Names, Craft, Writing Craft

The Myth of God’s Goodness

By Karen Ballon June 10, 2015
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I’m in the process of developing a program with a friend to minister to writers who are in deep places in their lives. I’ve been asking God to show me how to encourage and share His truth with those who feel lost, abandoned, worthless, like they’ve wasted their gifts…those who are in pain and struggling… WHAT was I thinking?? There’s only one way to really minister to people in certain situations: …

Read moreThe Myth of God’s Goodness
Category: Christian, Personal, TheologyTag: Christian, Theology

Starting Your Own Writer’s Conference

By Dan Balowon June 9, 2015
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No, you don’t need to start your own writer’s conference, but the headline sounded attention-grabbing to me. Every writer needs to intentionally put themselves in a position to learn and be challenged in a variety of areas. The formal environment for that is the professional writer’s conference. Click here for a list, but you need something more consistent and ongoing as well. Not everyone lives …

Read moreStarting Your Own Writer’s Conference
Category: Conferences, The Writing LifeTag: Challenge Group, The Writing Life, writers conferences

When Your Book Becomes Personal

By Steve Laubeon June 8, 2015
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I wish every writer could see what we see as agents and editors with regard to proposals. I wish they could experience the sheer variety of book ideas presented at writers conferences and through the submission process. It is breathtaking. And sometimes heartbreaking. I wrote down a selection of the true stories that have recently crossed my desk. This small sampling shows real-life events that …

Read moreWhen Your Book Becomes Personal
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Conferences, Get PublishedTag: Get Published, Personal Stories

Fun Fridays – June 5, 2015

By Steve Laubeon June 5, 2015
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Sometimes you have to improvise with your art.

Read moreFun Fridays – June 5, 2015
Category: Fun Fridays

Your Publishing History: Tell Me Everything

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 4, 2015
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When I review proposals, one element often missing is publishing history. How do I know this? I own a computer. With a Keyboard. And a Search Engine. Guess What? So do All The Editors. Granted, not every proposal piques my interest enough for me to do a search. But when I get that far, I must search your name to see your publishing history whether you have offered it or not. Because believe me, if …

Read moreYour Publishing History: Tell Me Everything
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published

When It’s One of THOSE Days…

By Karen Ballon June 3, 2015
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I won’t ask if you’ve ever had “one of those days.” You’re in publishing. Of course you have. Probably on a far too regular basis. I totally understand. In fact, my most recent “one of those days” is today. You know what it’s like. You have your little “To Do” list all laid out, and you’re up early, equipped with coffee and ready to dive in, when it happens. Life. And suddenly your plans are out …

Read moreWhen It’s One of THOSE Days…
Category: Career, HumorTag: Humor, The Writing Life

Wanted: Authors (Apply Within)

By Dan Balowon June 2, 2015
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A book proposal sent to an agent is like applying for a job as an author. Comparing how applying for a job and pitching an agent for your book proposal are similar is my task today. I think some authors believe that pitching an agent is a mysterious process involving passwords, magical keys or some sort of ceremonial sacrificial offering. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes a …

Read moreWanted: Authors (Apply Within)
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published

Bidding Completed for Bankrupt Family Christian Stores

By Steve Laubeon June 1, 2015
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This past week a complex and long auction process was completed and a winning bid has been chosen to purchase the bankrupt Family Christian Stores (FCS). If this final bid is approved by the court the FCS will emerge from bankruptcy and resume business as usual. If you have been following this ordeal (our blog #1 and blog #2) you know how complicated it had become. The end game is no less …

Read moreBidding Completed for Bankrupt Family Christian Stores
Category: Book Business, Economics, Legal IssuesTag: Book Business, family christian stores, Legal
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