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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 » Writing Craft » Page 60

Writing Craft

Who Are You Hanging Out With?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 13, 2014
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Bored asian girl lying on the couch watching tv at home in the sitting room

During a recent television program, realization struck. I didn’t like anyone on the screen. So why was I spending time with them?

I don’t think I’ll be returning to that program soon.

When you are writing a story, you are asking your reader to hang out with your characters. For a very long time. Will they want to do that?

Granted, you’ll be providing drama and conflict. For the sake of the story, a couple of your characters may be stinkers. But in the end, the reader will need to like your protagonists. Or at least be intrigued enough by your anti-hero to stick with your story. Whatever you do, make your characters worth your reader’s time.

Your turn:

What is the most sympathetic character you can remember? Why?

What characters do you feel have become fictional friends of yours?

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Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Characters, Craft, Writing Craft

Two Important Ingredients for Success

By Karen Ballon March 12, 2014
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  I’ll never forget the day, just after church, when a friend pulled me aside and said, “My son can’t find a job and he needs to make some money fast. So he’s going to write a book. Any advice for him?” Yeah, well, the advice I had wasn’t for him, it was for her: “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again.” Whatever gave people the impression that writing was a get-rich quick …

Read moreTwo Important Ingredients for Success
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Karen, PlatformTag: Career, perseverance, Success

How to Be A Publisher’s Favorite Author

By Dan Balowon March 11, 2014
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Three years ago, Seth Godin published his book Linchpin.  Since I follow Seth’s books and blog as a personal and professional challenge, I read it and was inspired by it’s concepts. In it, Godin speaks about some of the new realities in business relationships.  There used to be management and those who were managed.  But now, he says, there is a third group…linchpins.  These are people who make …

Read moreHow to Be A Publisher’s Favorite Author
Category: Book Business, Branding, Career, Dan, PlatformTag: Authors, Career, publishing

Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?

By Steve Laubeon March 3, 2014
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by Steve Laube

I know what it is like to feel the earth move under my feet having experienced the '64 Alaska earthquake firsthand. (The above picture is from the neighborhood where we lived called Turnagain Arm.) Therefore I know the difference between a 9.2 Richter scale quake and a tremor that registers near 2.0 on the scale.

Last Thursday Amazon announced they were reducing the royalty …

Read moreDid You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?
Category: Book Business, E-Books, Get Published, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, E-Books, publishing

How Much Back Story?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 27, 2014
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Sometimes in my review of a novel, I find that the story doesn't pick up soon enough. I'm not sure what I'll be reading about and my interest may lag, though I can still eye great writing.

"But I wanted my readers to know about my characters," the author may protest.

Understandable, indeed.

However, I believe it's important to lay out the basic conflicts for the reader early on so she'll …

Read moreHow Much Back Story?
Category: Craft, Editing, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Back Story, Craft, Writing Craft

Basketball and Writing

By Dan Balowon February 25, 2014
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Next week is March and that means basketball “March Madness” around the country.  From high school to college, teams will compete in tournaments where excitement is at its peak.  

One of my hobbies is to work as the official scorer for the Wheaton College (Illinois) men’s and women’s home basketball games.  I started doing this back in the late 70’s, took some time away from it when our kids …

Read moreBasketball and Writing
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Dan, The Publishing Life, Writing CraftTag: Basketball, publishing, Writing Craft

Spring is Here!

By Karen Ballon February 19, 2014
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A picture of a beautiful flower I took this morning in our garden.

It started two weeks ago. Little green sprouts poking up through the frozen, barren ground. Ground that, thanks to a winter of record-breaking cold, was so hard just a month ago that not even my shovel made a dent in it. So you can imagine my delight when I spotted those bits of green pushing their way through that same, dead …

Read moreSpring is Here!
Category: Career, Craft, Karen, Personal, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Spring, The Writing Life

Adopt a Bookstore

By Dan Balowon February 18, 2014
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Bookstores throughout the United States are going through the most challenging period in their history.  The combination of online purchase of printed books and the dawn of the eBook have combined to deliver a one-two punch to the business of book retailing.

For Christian bookstores, the challenges started over a decade ago when a substantial part of their business (in some cases over a third) …

Read moreAdopt a Bookstore
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, DanTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Bookstores

Rooting for the Bad Guy?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 13, 2014
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Last week I blogged about amoral protagonists. But what about protagonists who are unquestionably immoral?

Some general market books make their readers root for the bad guy. Think about accounts of bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, written from their points of view. Or a book written primarily from the point of view of a courtesan, such as Amy Tan's The Valley of Amazement. These books set the …

Read moreRooting for the Bad Guy?
Category: Craft, Creativity, Genre, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Genre, Protagonists

Why I Read Romance Novels

By Karen Ballon February 12, 2014
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Valentine’s Day is on its way, and that got me to thinking about that four-letter word we all use with impunity:

LOVE.

What a powerful word, one so full of meaning I could write a dozen blogs about it and still not exhaust the depth and breadth of all it entails. I’m grateful for love. For God’s love. For my hubby’s love. For my family’s love. For my doggies’ love. Love has blessed me more …

Read moreWhy I Read Romance Novels
Category: Craft, Creativity, Genre, Karen, Romance, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Genre, Romance
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