This is it, folks. The last post in this series. If you’ve hung around this long, thank you! I really hope you’ve found it interesting and helpful. Last time we talked about the falling action of the story, and now we’ve come to the end. The Resolution What is the resolution of the story? “The End,” right? Well, yes. But it’s not wrapping everything up; it’s wrapping everything up well, so the reader feels satisfaction with the ending. You don’t want to end a story that makes the reader slam the book and throw it against the wall with a vow “never to read anything by that author ever again!” L ..read more

There is no sound in today’s video. You simply have to watch carefully. It is only a minute long. Afterward, you will doubt your powers of observation. [If the video does not appear in your email newsletter, please visit the site itself to view it.]   The post Fun Fridays – April 12, 2024 appeared first on The Steve Laube Agency ..read more

Several years ago, I engaged in a wide-ranging spiritual discussion in a group when I said in jest, “Once we get to heaven, we won’t need to sing that hymn anymore!” Sometimes, we say things in the moment and then realize they are likely true. (Not always, trust me.) But let’s face it, we won’t be singing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “God Bless America,” or “Onward Christian Soldiers” while living on the new earth God is preparing for all Christ-followers to live through eternity future. Music lyrics will be redeemed like everything else. In fact, most (or all) Christian books written no ..read more

Most humans try to avoid conflict as much as possible, but novelists love conflict. Without conflict, a novelist has no story. Conflict keeps your novel moving forward and your readers turning pages. As Vladimir Nabokov once said, “The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.” How do you get your protagonist up a tree? What kind of rocks should you throw? Angela Hunt is a pro at chasing a protagonist up a tree. She’s a Christy Award-winning novelist with over five million copies sold. Six Classic Conflicts The six types of story ..read more

[I’ve posted variations of this article over the years. I hope that by bringing it back to the top of the pile, many of you new readers will see it!] __________ You snagged one of those valuable 15-minute appointments with an agent or an editor at a writers conference. Now what? What do you say? How do you say it? What do I bring with me? And what does that scowling person on the other side of the table want? You’ve heard about that agent’s reputation, and you are not sure you can handle “rough and gruff.” What if you blow it? Let’s look at the most common questions I receive about this confer ..read more

Ebooks are great. I read, on average, 25 or more ebooks every year. They’re convenient, especially when traveling. They don’t take up precious shelf space. They don’t have to be dusted. I don’t feel guilty when I read an ebook, but I purposefully choose physical books for the majority of my reading, for numerous reasons. Reading a physical book provides a more sensory experience. Touch, smell, weight, all contribute to the pleasure. Studies suggest that those who read a physical book recall and retain the material better. Some find that reading a physical book causes less eyestrain and/or head ..read more

I decided not to try and trick you on April Fool’s Day with something like “Steve Laube buys yet another shiny industry business. This time he bought the entire out-of-print catalogs from Nomas Telson, Zyndale, and Tondervan. Included in the purchase was the New International Christian Standard Living Message Bible (NICSLMB).” Instead, I thought about which reference book I use more than any other. The book? The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale. I prefer it over Roget’s Thesaurus because it is laid out logically–like a dictionary. It is my go-to resource when brainstorming book titles (which happ ..read more

We are so close to finishing our Story Structure series. Last time, we talked about the climax of the story. This time, we’re going to talk about the Falling Action. This comes after the climax. What is the Falling Action all about? ThoughtCo says, “The falling action in a work of literature is the sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. The falling action is the opposite of the rising action, which leads up to the plot’s climax.” In other words, what goes up must come down? Apparently. All that to say, falling action is simply the part that follows the climax. But ..read more

Let’s sit down for a heart-to-heart about something many of us tend to overlook: burnout. Speaking as a recovering striver who’s donned the hats of a military spouse, mom, and author for the past two decades, I’ve danced dangerously close to the flames of burnout more times than I care to admit. So, grab a cup of coffee, find a quiet corner, and let’s unravel the intricacies of sidestepping burnout while pursuing our publishing goals. The Crazy Tapestry: Military Life, Motherhood, and Writing Imagine this: 13 houses, 5 duty stations, 2 PCS moves, a deployment to the Middle East, and a 365-day ..read more

Today, I tell the story of an author’s tragedy. We had a client who lost their entire manuscript the day of their deadline. Poof. It was gone. Their thumb drive malfunctioned too; it was empty. Because they had borrowed a laptop, the author didn’t know it was programmed to empty the trash each time it was rebooted. The author had moved the manuscript to the trash after emailing it to the publisher because they needed to return the laptop. Unfortunately, the file that went to the publisher was not the final version but an earlier version containing only 20% of the manuscript. (In addition, the ..read more