Tag Archives | Novels

Conference Is Coming! Are You Ready To Submit?

By on September 11, 2014 in Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck

The ACFW conference is right around the corner!

And you’re ready! It’s time. Really time. You’ve been writing and rewriting this book for eons. Or at least it feels like eons. You want to submit it, get going on your stellar writing career. Time’s a wastin’!

Maybe you haven’t been working on it for eons, but you went to a conference or two, and you’ve heard an editor say she was really looking for the next great romance author to groom and you have just the story.

Or finally, one of the BIG PUBLISHERS is actively seeking speculative fiction and your space navy story is ready for the picking.

Perhaps your story has been through a critique or edit of some kind. A reader (mom, dad, sister, best friend, hubby, wifey) LOVED it. They want more! Now.

So you rush your baby off to an editor or agent. Maybe some of you rush it off to someone like me or Susie here at My Book Therapy.

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Rachel Hauck

What’s The Advantage of A Writers Retreat

By on February 27, 2014 in Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck

I’m in sunny yet sometimes rainy Destin, Florida at the 5th annual Deep Thinkers Retreat.

Seventeen writers (all women at this event) gathered to learn the craft of writing a novel.

There’s laughter, fun, frustration, confused looks, pondering, break throughs and friendships being forged.

A writers retreat like Story Crafters and Deep Thinkers is the pressure cooker of learning craft.

You can’t escape. It’s all around you!

Everyone is talking, breathing, sleeping STORY!

So how do you know if a writers retreat is right for you?

It is a commitment of time and money.

Are you really ready to invest in your writing journey at the retreat level?

Maybe you’re asking what’s the difference between a retreat and a conference.

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The Construction of Chapter 8 – Kenzie’s scene. Don’t Rush the Drama!

By on November 29, 2011 in Chapter 8, Editing Basics, How do I write the Character Change Journey?, How to write a Romance, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Susan May Warren, Suspense, Writing

   One of the struggles I see with many writers – and even myself – is the rush to the climatic parts of the story.  They see the drama of the big pieces and want to get there immediately to wow the reader. However, the problem is when we don’t give the drama resonance – when we don’t show the progression of emotions leading up to it, and the significance of the drama, we miss out on the punch. I always advise clients to take their time, to feel the nuances of the scene and allow the reader to, also.  However, sometimes it can feel like eating an elephant.  You have so far to go, and today you’reworking on a toenail. (okay, yuck.  Maybe I should find another analogy).  What […]

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Act 2: Keeping the Middle from Muddling

By on November 28, 2011 in Chapter 8, How to write a Suspense, Limelight – Sample Novel, Managing the Muddle (keeping your story moving!), Susan May Warren, Suspense, Want to see a book in Action? Read the Blog-a-Book Series, Writing, Writing your Suspense Chapters

Is your Act 2 slowing down? Do you find it muddling along? Are you running out of content and creating mundane, circular scenes?  Here’s a way to fill Act 2 with powerful content. The last scene of Luke and Kenzie’s story was an example of a combo reaction scene to the Romance, and the ramping up of the suspense thread again.  I also threw in a piece of the spiritual thread – that idea that relationships are what hold us together and make us better people – which is what Luke is supposed to learn on this journey.   Just for a second, I’m going to dive into a discussion about the spiritual journey.  Although this is a romantic suspense, every book has some sort of theme, and even deeper, […]

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