Sorry I’m posting so late, but I’m just home from Dallas and the ACFW conference. So, here are a few Doctor’s Notes! Branding. How do we brand? What is a brand? First, let me say for new authors, unpublished or published, branding is not something you need to worry about right away. Certainly look for your unique voice, story, way of writing, but I don’t recommend spending a lot of time trying to come up with some tag line. The best brand is the author’s name. What do you think of when I say John Grisham or Nora Roberts? Right. A brand is something that helps the publisher, retailers and readers describe your work. A summation that fits nice in a sales pitch. Usually a brand is said in ten […]
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About Rachel Hauck
Author Archive | Rachel Hauck
Self Therapy: Editing to find the character’s voice
In my mind, my characters are alive and real. I can see them in conversation, walking through a scene. But once I put fingers to keyboard, that very personable character disappears. How can I get what’s in my head onto the page? Several ways. First, I might revisit notes or a character bio I’ve written. If I feel like those lack depth, I might brainstorm motivation or story line. Second, I keep writing, editing and rewriting. A story rarely comes off authentic the first draft. This is where the character, story and dialog form a rough picture for the author – in this case me. I’ve heard many authors talk about how hard they work at getting the story on the page. Some says it takes several drafts just to […]
Read the RestPicks: Straight Up by Lisa Samson
One thing we talk about as authors is reading. To be a great writer, you must be a great reader. In fact, it’s probably the primo craft study: reading. Craft books are largely about theory and how-to. And, in my humble opinion, craft books often use “high concept” books as their examples which can make the lessons hard to translate for genre or literary writers. Nevertheless, read craft books! Back to reading… what should you read to improve your craft? First, read the genre you’re writing. Read best sellers, or books that are getting a lot of buzz. Still, there’s no guarantee you’re “reading up.” I’ve read a few best sellers that were not strong on craft. The writing was fun, but not tight. I was mentally rewriting every other […]
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