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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Page 3

Writing Craft

Today Is a Good Day to (re)Read

By Steve Laubeon March 28, 2022
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What was the favorite book you read, cover to cover, in the last year or so? Why is it your favorite? (It can be fiction or nonfiction, faith-based or not.) Feel free to tell us in the comments about yours. We all want to expand our reading lists!

Read It Again

Now that you’ve identified the book, read it again. As Vladimir Nabakov wrote:

Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader” (from Nabokov’s speech “Good Readers and Writers” (pdf link) delivered in his 1948 collection Lectures on Literature).

That may seem like an overstatement. After all, we have only so much time in a day. Why am I suggesting this?

Learn From the Best

The first time you read a book, if you are able to turn off your editing instincts, you are caught up in the story, the characters, or the nonfiction point the teacher is trying to make. But this time, while you reread, look for the technique of the writer. Look at the structure and argument trail. Note how a character is described for the first time and when that happens. Try to discover what made this a magical book for you.

The beauty of this analysis is that you are no longer entranced by the what-if or the conclusion. You know where the book is going. So now you can use the book as a teacher of writing.

I even recommend reading with multicolored pencils or pens at the ready. (A little harder to accomplish with an e-reader.) Use one color for emotion. Another for major points. Another for descriptions. Another for anecdotes. (I’m mixing fiction and nonfiction in my examples on purpose.) Let the great writers teach you.

Immersive Reading

In addition, the second or third time through a book you may find an idea you missed the first time. For example, I suspect you may have read C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity a while ago. I can almost guarantee that if you reread it today, it will speak to you again but in a new way because you are likely in a different place spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally than you were the first time. (And if you’ve never read it? Put it at the top of your list.)

Even a great novel can do the same. In the last decade, I have reread Dune by Frank Herbert, twice. It is considered to be one of the greatest science-fiction novels of all time. I am continually struck by the power of religion in the lives of each character, something I glossed over the first time because of the extraordinary saga that was told.

Enjoy your (re)reading experience. Tell us what you discovered!

(A version of this post was published in January 2013.)

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Category: Art, Craft, Reading, Writing CraftTag: Reading, Writing Craft

Too Much Social Media?

By Steve Laubeon October 25, 2021
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The following article appeared in the UK on November 5th, "Facebook Users Spend Three Solid Days a Year on the Site."

Three full 24 hour days on Facebook per year! Or nearly two full work weeks if you count a work week as 35-40 hours a week. And I suspect the statistics hold true in the U.S. as well.

Not all writers are full-time. Some must juggle day jobs or home-life responsibilities …

Read moreToo Much Social Media?
Category: Social MediaTag: Facebook, Social Media, Time Management, Writing Craft

Always Be Curious (The ABCs of the Writing Life)

By Steve Laubeon October 4, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Depending on where you live and your school district policies you may already be in a back-to-school mode or preparing for it.

It got me to thinking about the need for all writers to always have a "back to school" mentality.

Here are five things we can learn from always going "back to school."

Read moreAlways Be Curious (The ABCs of the Writing Life)
Category: Book Business, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Creativity, Writing Craft

When Editorial Errors Matter

By Steve Laubeon September 20, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Writers make mistakes. It happens. Often an editor’s job is to be the safety net and catch those tidbits that find their way into an early draft of a manuscript for any number of reasons.

The simplicity of “cut & paste” has created more opportunity for error than ever before. I've seen half sentences left in their original place because the writer failed to cut and …

Read moreWhen Editorial Errors Matter
Category: Book Business, Craft, E-Books, Editing, Grammar, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Errors, Writing Craft

The Dreaded Blank Page

By Steve Laubeon July 19, 2021
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by Steve Laube

A clean slate. An empty canvas. A fresh start. A new beginning.
Or a potential nightmare of guilt, failure, and shame.

Thus begins the process of each writing project. This blog post began with a blank page. I wondered why I ever agreed to write a blog. I procrastinated with enough excuses to be described as legion. I told myself that no one cares what I think on any …

Read moreThe Dreaded Blank Page
Category: Craft, Creativity, Steve, Writing CraftTag: blank page, Writing Craft

Ancient Wisdom from an Ancient Editor

By Steve Laubeon May 17, 2021
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by Steve Laube

I came across a remarkable section in a book written around 124 B.C. The editor of the book wrote the following preface to help the reader understand his methodology and purpose. It shows the concern a good editor has for the ultimate reader. His job was to abridge a massive five volume work into an abbreviated 16,00 word document. Can anyone tell me where this comes from and …

Read moreAncient Wisdom from an Ancient Editor
Category: Book Business, Craft, Editing, Grammar, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Wisdom, Writing Craft

Proofreading: Tips and Tricks

By Steve Laubeon March 8, 2021
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[Since today, March 8th, is National Proofreading Day I thought I would re-post this article from a few years ago, with some revisions. I’ve left the comments attached below since so many were illustrative. Please add new thoughts as well.] I have regularly displayed my lack of proofreading skills in past blog posts. In fact, it got so bad I’ve had to hire someone to proofread my posts …

Read moreProofreading: Tips and Tricks
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Craft, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Proofreading, Writing Craft

Diligence Is Rewarded

By Steve Laubeon September 28, 2020
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by Steve Laube

The ease of today’s social media communication brings a casual layer to the task of writing. Careful composition is trumped by the need for speed. For most “throw away” emails and posts that is the new normal. But it should never leak into the business of writing, either in craft or in delicate communication.

The other day I received an email query/proposal. There was a very …

Read moreDiligence Is Rewarded
Category: Book Proposals, Communication, Craft, Pitching, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Communication, Craft, Diligence, Writing Craft

Responding to Criticism

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 18, 2020
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When someone tells me she’s not sure she wants me to read her manuscript, I know she’s not ready for publication. Such sentiment shows a lack of confidence and a fear of both rejection and criticism. Even though readers usually treat writers with respect, a critical word can puncture the heart.

Imagine the wounds delivered on Internet sites such as Amazon from readers who lack that respect. A …

Read moreResponding to Criticism
Category: Book Business, Career, Social Media, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Criticism, Rejection, Writing Craft

He Said. She Said.

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 14, 2020
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A blog reader recently left an excellent comment on an earlier post:
Tamela, fiction workshop presenters taught me that the best word for “said” is “said”–that others only tend to slow down the reader’s eye. I’d appreciate a discussion on this.
While I don't know the workshop presenters in question, what I can guess they meant is to avoid substituting creative verbs for "said" as a tag. For …

Read moreHe Said. She Said.
Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Grammar, Tamela, Writing Craft
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