Laura Langston's Blog, page 18

My January Reads

We had a snow week not long ago. Okay, maybe not an entire snow week but we had three days of snow, followed by several more days of sleet, making the roads treacherous. Team Sheltie was limited to one midday walk, and only if temperatures rose enough to make sure the roads were free of ice. Considering what the rest of Canada goes through most winters, and especially the blizzard that hit Newfoundland this year, we are lucky. We get just enough bad winter weather to justify cutting back on...

The Importance of Fictional Worlds

If you love books – whether as a reader or a writer – and if you can spare 20 minutes, have a listen to this TED talk by children’s author Mac Barnett. His premise? A good book is a secret door into another world. Be prepared to smile . . .

A Sneak Peek

A few days ago, I received the final cover and page proofs for NO RIGHT THING, my first YA novel with Crwth Press. This is such an exciting stage. My story now looks like a real book with a lovely font, justified type and elegant scene breaks. But we’re not quite there yet. Page proofs are just that – pages that need to be proofread. And it’s not a time to rush or get sloppy. Each page has to be read very carefully to catch those tiny mistakes: a forgotten period, text that doesn’t flow,...

And a New Year Begins . . .

I’m a little late to the ‘Happy New Year’ party but I’m here with enthusiasm, does that count? I hope the opening chapter of your 2020 was happy/peaceful/celebratory (pick one, or pick all three). Mostly I hope it began optimistically.

January is a time of fresh starts, new beginnings. It’s a time when many of us make resolutions. And some of us resolve to make no resolutions at all. I’m normally in the latter camp. I’m goal focused – I love to set goals and look ahead with optimism – but I...

Merry Christmas!

I’m wishing you peace, love and joy this holiday season. I’ll be taking a few weeks to celebrate with family and friends, and I hope you’ll be relaxing and celebrating too. The blog will resume in January.

Before signing off, I’ll leave you with a quick, homemade goodie recipe. If you love butter tarts but you’re pressed for time, whip up a batch of butter tart squares in the microwave. These freeze well too. Simply cool, cut into squares and pop them into the freezer until you need them....

The Gift of Reading, Take Two

Today’s blog continues on last week’s theme of asking other writers to recommend gift books for friends and family. If you missed last week’s recommendations, you’ll find them here. https://lauralangston.com/the-gift-of-reading/

This week, the focus is on fiction for young and old. It’s an eclectic mix: two middle grade recommendations, a YA free verse novel, and fiction for adults ranging from romance and crime to historical and humor. As I mentioned last week, be sure to check out the bios...

The Gift of Reading

For me, the holidays aren’t the same if I don’t have a new book to read. I always made sure my kids got a new book for Christmas, and even now, as adults, they look forward to the tradition.

But it can be difficult to know what book to give. With that in mind, I asked some writer friends to recommend a few titles. You’ll find their picks here over the next few weeks. And don’t stop at their recommendations. Check out their bios and their own books too. Many of those are ideal for gift giving...

Giving Back

Today is American Thanksgiving and tomorrow is Black Friday. Honestly, I feel like I’ve just lived through a month of Black Fridays. The advertising started weeks back; so did promotions for Cyber Monday.

But after Monday comes Tuesday. The 7th annual Giving Tuesday. Billed as the ‘opening day of the giving season,’ Giving Tuesday is a time when charities, companies and individuals join together and support favorite causes. It’s also a time to focus on small individual acts of kindness.

This...

Yes, You Need That Break

For writers who don’t write quickly, it can be hard to justify taking a break. Instead, we often push ourselves to write more, while mentally beating ourselves up for not being as prolific as we’d like. However, the research is clear: taking a break from what we’re working on can actually improve productivity. A new and growing body of research outlined in the New York Times shows that strategic renewal – daytime workouts, coffee breaks, time away from the office and longer, more frequent...

Slow and Steady

I received a lot of feedback on last week’s blog post about writing slowly. Most people who reached out seemed rather regretful that they don’t write faster. While it’s true that writing quickly can sharpen our skills and lead to more published books, the most important thing is consistent productivity, whether you write slowly or quickly.

Here are some tips for staying productive even in the slow lane:

Choose your writing project carefully. Committing to a story you’re excited about will give you forward...