Rachel Hauck

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Story World, Setting, Time and Space

By on November 21, 2013 in Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck, Story Crafting

We talk a lot about story world here at My Book Therapy.

And many of you have mastered the craft “tool” creating a story world.

We define story world as the “place and space” where your characters live.

You have to set their world so the reader can picture the scenes and setting, get a feel for the protagonist’s environment.

But story world is so much more.

Story world must permeate your novel.

Story world is the time of day when a new chapter starts.

It’s the place, the sights, the sounds, the fragrances of where your protagonist was when he launched his story journey.

I’m not talking about over describing a living room or the walls of a town hall meeting — unless it’s significant to the story — but creating a world is which your characters live.

Old school writing doesn’t give a lot of time and place.

The protagonists simple go to “the next day.”

Or, “Gina met Tom at the diner for lunch.”

When? The next day? A week later?

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Pitch + Premise = Spine

By on September 27, 2012 in Crafting a Strong Premise, Delivering Convincing Proposals, How do I Pitch my Book?, Rachel Hauck

Maybe you first heard of the “story spine” from Stanley Williams’ book, The Moral Premise. But I actually thought of the concept all by my lonesome the winter of 2011 at the first Deep Thinkers Retreat. Because it became clear to me we HAVE to know what the story is about in order to develop the character and the plot. The pitch is that one or two lines, the concept, of the story that you tell editors or agents. Or you friends when they ask, “What’s your story about.”  You must be able to tell it in one or two succinct sentences. If you ramble or start telling too much, then you’re not nailing the core of your story. For example, my pitch for Dining with Joy was “It’s about a cooking show […]

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Feeding on the Word, James 1:2- 4

By on January 12, 2012 in Nurturing the Soul

I love James. Do you know this James was the Lord’s brother, not the apostle. Anyway, he says it like it is and some times, we need to hear truth, straight up. Okay, show of hands. Who’s perfect? (Shh, Suz, put your hand down… ) None of us. We are by nature flawed and sinful. The first time your dear, darling one year old looks you in the eye and utters their favorite word, “No,” in definae, we understand the sinful human nature. Our fictional characters are also flawed. Otherwise we can’t write them with sincerity and truth. We can’t engage readers, either. As much as we try to minimize our flaws, or even avoid trials, they are necessary to face. Here’s waht James write: Consider it all joy, my […]

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Ten Common Author Mistakes. #8

By on October 6, 2011 in Author Mistakes, Editing Basics, Rachel Hauck, Secondary Characters

My Best Friend’s Wedding Neglecting to create dynamic secondary characters. Definition: Secondary characters are the protagonist, and the author’s best friend. A great story telling tool. They widen the stage, round out the story, spotlight the protagonist. They help tell the story. They add depth. They add conflict. They add humor. They reveal truth. It’s so easy to get caught up in creating our protagonist(s) we often forget to layer and deepen other characters. The end up being placeholders or sound bit machines. Secondary characters need to have a goal. A purpose. A hint at a problem. They can be a bit shallower than the main characters, and a bit two-dimensional, a bit more flippant, a bit more of a hyperbole. Use secondary characters to show the heart and depth […]

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