Laura Leanne Cook's Blog

Honesty, character backgrounds change as I am writing. I come up with a general idea and write it all down so I don't forget. It happens and I have go back and check myself especially on their physicals appearances. Their appearances change more often than the backgrounds do, but I'll talk that more later.
When I come up with an story idea, I wrote out a general description. Male or female, approximate age, most of the time their profession, and then major thing in their past that makes them who they are. For example, are they divorced, widowed, or just terrible at relationships? Did they have a fairly happy childhood or were they abused? Things like that give me a concrete beginning. The most important part though is which characters have faith and how deep that faith is.
As I am writing, I change many things such as number of siblings or professions. Sometimes the profession plays a huge part in the story and others not so much. I contemplate professions probably more than I should, but I don't like repeating myself from story to story. Siblings usually get added as I am writing so that my story plays out the way I wish depending on the type of story I am writing. It helps when shape my hero/heroine. I have noticed that most of my characters usually have no more two siblings, but I am working on fixing that.
The involvement of parents varies much like the siblings. Sometimes a parent's death plays a huge role in the story.
I often find myself backtracking to add the main characters' friends or even pets (sometimes I forget I gave them a pet in the first and have to add them in randomly once the story is complete).
There's a lot going on in my brain when I am writing and sometimes those little details don't matter in the big picture. I often find those errors when I am proofing. Such as in one story, I gave the hero a dog in the first chapter and then completely forgot all the other times the hero was at home.
In my notes app with my character info in it, I put questions by anything that I see as changeable for a character or if I am unsure that is the direction I want to go. It's just an idea after all. I can be halfway through the plot and change to make it fit the direction I decide to go. Sometime I end up deleting a whole chapter because it did not play out the way I expected. Can't force it.
As far appearance, they are usually set in stone because I have a certain vision in mind. Sometimes I find myself typing the wrong color eyes or hair. I read over a completed story yesterday and realized the hero's hair and eyes were all wrong. It was no longer the picture I had of him, so of course I changed it. It's the good thing about it not being published yet. (Maybe one day.) I have thirteen novels/novellas written amd most of the time mutiple in progess so sometimes I get my character appearances mixed up.
That's what proofing is for. The characters also change as events play out within the story so it's natural for my vision to mold with it.

Questions? ;) To each his own!

I do not get the point of giving a synopsis of a book in a review. We already know the plot if we are looking at buying or reading the book. Obviously, we are already interested in it if we are seeking out reviews.

People will basically give you a summary, but that's not what other readers need. They need to know if it is worth reading. The review needs to be well thought out and not just praise or criticism. Reviews that only say whether you like it or not is pointless. That's what the star rating is for.

I am not the greatest at writing reviews so I can't say much. When I do leave a review I state the negative things I found, but also how good the plot is.

Is it exciting? Is it realistic (at least when it comes to non-fantasy novels)? Does it have a lot of useless information? Does the story drag on? Do characters improve? Is their foul language or explicit scenes (whether sex or murder)? Stuff like that is important to me as a reader.

I also hate spoilers. One should always warn people in their review if it contains one, but that does not always happen. It irks me.

What's your thoughts?

My first giveaway is complete and I congratulate the winners. You'll be getting your copy very soon!

I hope to do another giveaway in a few months. I will be doing one through Facebook and maybe Twitter soon. The money for the books come out of my own pocket hence why I am limited to the amount of winners.

To all those that entered the giveaway and didn't win, thank you for being interested in my novel. I hope you think of it when you need a little inspirational romance to get you through the day or as a distraction.

Keep an eye out for the next giveaway! God Bless!

I am not always the best at sharing my faith or inviting people to church, even when prompted by God. It's that scared human side of me that says I'll be judged or hurt someone's feelings. However, I find writing fiction is how I CAN share my faith and pray that it affects someone in a new way.
We are not alone in our struggle and God is always by our side. I want my writing to convey that message and more.
I hope that you get/got something out of #DaffodilsandGrace and God willing I will get to publish more novels.
But if not, I am content knowing that God will use this one chance I took to reach someone that just needs a little help.
God Bless!

#IBelieve
#christianfiction

How do you describe romance? Is it candlelight dinners? Opening door for ladies? Chocolates and flowers? Date night?

All those are very common things when people consider romance, but those are weak in my opinion. Random acts that please only temporary.

Romance is so much more to me. It's doing the day-to-day things that make a relationship to work. The conscious things you do each day to make them feel loved and appreciated.

It's making supper and then eating it together, holding hands in the car, making your loved you laugh when they don't want to. Ask them how their day was and actually listen to their response.

It's supporting your spouse in all their goals-within reason- even if you are sure they may never reach. Believing in them is so important.

Saying sorry is even more important even when you don't think you were wrong. You're not apologizing because you were wrong, but for the way you reacted.

It's why I like to write about it. It different between every couple and in all other relationships.

Even the daily stuff may seem mundane, but your loved one notices. Be appreciative. And show the love in return.

The hardest part about writing...selling your work especially when you are self-published. I did not do it completely on my own, but most of it was. I have a hard time selling myself and I am depending mostly on my work to speak for itself.

I am having to learn to put myself out there and hope I soon find the courage to approach some local book stores about showcasing my book. It's a slow start.

I have gotten some good feedback, but I am not sure it is enough to cover the cost of actually publishing. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. Maybe one day, I'll get an actual publisher to take me on. God-willing.

Despite all that, I am going to continue to write because I enjoy it. If I never publish another book, it will be okay no matter how much I would love to.