Uncategorized - Lacey Louwagie (Page 8)

Fairy Tale Book Review: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wavered between giving this a high three stars or a low four. It was beautifully written, with believable characters and motivations. For me its main drawback was how long it took to get going; for half the book, it’

blogging

On the Transubstantiation

Just posted over at Young Adult Catholics my piece on that most Catholic of subjects, the Transubstantiation.

authors

Orson Scott Card's Plea for "Tolerance" is not Enough

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.” – A.E. Wiggin Warning: this post contains Ender’s Game spoilers; proceed with caution unless you’ve already read the book, seen the movie, or

Book Reviews

Writing Book Review: APE by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch

This book makes its point well: that it is possible to self publish a book that is high enough quality to compete with traditionally published books. The writing here is clean, direct, and clear, and the formatting is impeccable — no small feat in an ebook that is being delivered across

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A Year in the Life, Week 28: Each Side a Balance

Today’s A Year in the Life prompt asked me to take a common object and write about it alternating the lines, “I love you for …” “I don’t love you for …” I looked up, and there sat my water bottle, and a journal entry was born. My dear Water

blogging

Are You a Success? By Whose Standards?

I’m still a little bleary-eyed and disjointed from odd train schedules and driving throughout the night — I just got back from the annual Call To Action conference, where I came up with ideas for at least two blog posts for Young Adult Catholics, so overall, I think it was

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A Year in the Life, Week 27: Own a Place

This week’s A Year in the Life exercise was about “owning” a place. I wrote it while taking the Amtrak from Minnesota to Milwaukee for the Call To Action retreat. How strange that I always get these prompts that are very place specific when I am traveling. As I

fiction

NaNo'Ers, I'm With You in Spirit

Although I usually take one year to “recover” between attempts at NaNoWriMo, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at November the same way again. This year, I’m on “recovery,” still working on the novel I pounded out last November (I’ve discovered that novels

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A Year in the Life, Week 26: Self-Reflection Week

Can you believe it? I feel like I Just posted my quarterly review yesterday, and it’s already time for my six-month review. It went all right, although I think I may have gotten a little too snarky to my boss near the end. Think she’ll keep me around?

blogging

Marriage, Mass, and the Power of Rituals

Newest post it up at Young Adult Catholics, about Marriage, Mass, and the Power of Rituals.

article writing

It's Here: The Nov/Dec Issue of Verily Magazine

I’ve been waiting to write this post for a long time. The November/December issue of Verily Magazine is finally for sale, and it features my article, “Natural Wonder: Understand Your Cycle to Regain Your Sanity and Appreciate Your Body,” on page 87. In case the title doesn’t

fairy tales

Rumpled ebook Cover - Your Opinions

I’ve been reading a lot about self-publishing ebooks lately as I slog through APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and Publishing e-Books for Dummies. A few months ago I made a “final” decision about the cover for my retelling of Rumplestiltskin, Rumpled, but I’ve been second-guessing myself and overthinking it.

blogging

A Prayer for Vocations

My latest post is up on Young Adult Catholics, which is a reflection of gratitude on the many ways people creatively answer their vocations despite obstacles.

blogging

Booklikes: My New Website Crush

Book blogs have been around for as long as the Internet has been, and WordPress alone probably has hundreds of them. But now there’s a website created for the sole purpose of hosting book blogs, making it super easy to connect books to your entries, with templates for book

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A Year in the Life, Week 24: This is a Story About ...

Although I’ve been keeping up with my Year in the Life journaling, the last two exercises, which I wrote while on my trip to Puerto Rico, were not especially inspiring. Now that I’m home, today’s exercise helped me crystallize the experience in Puerto Rico. I find I

Catholicism

Unruly Catholic Women Writers are Here!

A book of women’s reflections on Catholicism that I contributed to is now available for sale through SUNY Press and Amazon. Don’t let the hardcover price alarm you — it’s available in paperback and ebook formats, too! You can download the flyer with more information here.

imagination

Imagination and the Preservation of Culture

I didn’t get a chance to blog last week because I was on vacation in Puerto Rico with my husband, with only one laptop (his) between us. When I’m on vacation, I prefer to be as fully “present” as possible, so I didn’t ask for access to

fiction

To Outline or Not to Outline: A Question Only You Can Answer

A few weeks ago, as I fretted over my Dark Crystal submission (which I still haven’t started), one commenter authoritatively told me I must write an outline for it. I did, and I am, because it’s such unfamiliar territory for me that I just feel a lot safer

opening lines

Where to Begin?

Recently, a writer friend of mine told me that the opening line for one of my stories wasn’t really working for her. Like most negative feedback, it wasn’t easy to hear–but it will ultimately lead to a better story. Luckily, I wasn’t particularly attached to that

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A Year in the Life, Week 19: Before and After

Yesterday’s A Year in the Life exercise was to write about a “before and after” experience. I wrote about getting married, which is the most recent dividing line in my life. Before I got married, I thought a part of myself would become lost, that I would be swallowed

authors

Writing and the Immeasurable Payout

Recently, I subscribed to Holly Lisle’s e-newsletter on a recommendation from Publishing E-books for Dummies, which I’m reading as part of my Rumpled ebook project. Although my inbox is full with newsletters and updates that I often don’t have time to read, I’m glad I took

book reviews

Fairy Tale Book Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book had nice pacing, a good narrative arc, and perhaps most importantly, a good balance between its two primary storylines — the continuation of Cinder’s story, and the introduction of Scarlet. Initially I didn’t think I’d like

blogging

Latest Posts on Young Adult Catholics

My latest post, about Catholicism and Introversion, is up on Young Adult Catholics today. And since I forgot to mention my last post, a reflection on whether Jesus was a “gentle soul” or “fire and brimstone preacher“, you can check that one out, too!

Authorquest

The Only Cure for Writer's Block? Writing.

When I teach writing, I always tell people that the only cure for writer’s block is writing. Now it’s time for me to buck up and follow my own advice. I’ve read all the Dark Crystal books I can get my hands on, cover-to-cover, poring over the

authors

Speculative Fiction ... Literary Fiction's Best-Kept Secret

A couple weeks ago, I commented on a newly published author’s implication that the reason many writers are not getting published is because they’re writing stories with fantastical elements (and received a very insightful comment from one of my readers that the nature of this particular author’s