Why It’s Important to Get Dialogue Right in Your Novels
All readers have different standards for judging the quality of a novel. One of my top tier elements of a good book, or any fictional story, is good dialogue. Dialogue
Category: Writing and Reading
Posts about all things writing. How to write, how I write, how others write, writing themes, writing tips, ideas, famous writing, and more.
Also posts about reading: how to read, why we read, and what we should read.
Life Can Be Scary by Jeff Parsons
The horror genre thrives on scary stories, but the emotion of fear exists in other genres as well: thrillers, mysteries, true crime…everything, even romance. Why? Because fear is a part
Love, Hope, and Forgiveness: Overarching Themes in Series by Cindy Tingley
In Lily the Donkey’s Adventures, my children’s bible story series with three books so far (Lily’s Secret, Lily’s Desert Adventure, and Lily’s Egypt Adventure), the theme centres around love, hope
My Top 10 Books Read in 2022
Another year of reading has come and gone. Though I only read and review a handful of the book review requests that I receive, each email I receive is like
A Recap of My Fourth Year of Blogging in 2022
This month marks the fourth anniversary of Laura’s Books and Blogs. I started it at the end of 2018 as a sort of new year’s resolution. It always takes me
Pairing Tea and Book Genres
Tea and reading are one of those classic pairings that symbolize calm, slowness, and escape. Sipping a hot drink while devouring a page turner is the epitome of relaxation. Tea
8 Audiobook Recommendations for Fall
Everyone seems to be searching for aesthetic, some calming atmosphere that reflects a cookie cutter image of a particular place or season. It’s hard to achieve, particularly in adulthood when
Building a Business of Ghostwriting: Five Steps to Earn Money from Your Writing by Laurel Solorzano
You enjoy writing, but you want to make money with it. Why shouldn’t you? Five years ago, I didn’t feel confident enough to publish my own material, but I have
5 Lessons I’ve Learned from Reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Books
The world is a messy, scary place. And when you’re as intimidated by it as I am, you look for ways to help make it less intimidating – or at
Better Communication, Better Life by Asa Rodriguez
Let me introduce myself, dear reader. I am author Asa Rodriguez. I find that art and all forms of self-expression are extremely important in life. Growing up, I discovered that
The Male POV Written by a Female by Laurie Stevens
If the author’s axiom “write what you know” is worthy advice, I haven’t heeded it. From the get-go, with my first series, I wrote from a man’s point of view.
The Pain and Reward of Personal Memoir by Brett Bloemendaal
Mary Karr once told me: “Memoir is knocking yourself out with your own fist.” Okay, I romanticize; more accurately, I read it in her book, The Art of Memoir. After
Using Child Narrators in Fiction
One of the main benefits of writing is that it gives a voice to the otherwise voiceless. Literature is filled with stories about outcasts, the oppressed, and the silenced. Writers
How To Write Literary Philosophy by Anthony David Vernon
Do you wish to drink up the sea or shadow the steps of Plato? Do you think philosophy is best portrayed literarily rather than syllogistically? To be able to write
Why I Avoid Reading Long Books
On Christmas Eve, I started reading Little Women. It felt like an appropriate choice because the story opens with a Christmas scene. I’ve read Little Women before, or so I