Last weekend I attended the Romance Writers of America conference in Atlanta. I had a great time and connected with my editors, publicist and agent, as well as author friends like Robin Lee Hatcher and Voices June Bowen and Elaine Clampett. To name a few! I can’t stress enough how key a conference is to a writers journey. Not only for the workshops but for the networking, relationship building and information gathering outside of workshops. And oh, did I mention the book signings with free, yes, free books? Then there’s the Golden Heart and RITA Awards which believe it or not I always find inspiring. I’ve entered the RITA twice and finaled twice. Won zero. But when I saw author Eloisa James get up there with her hand full of […]
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About Rachel Hauck
Author Archive | Rachel Hauck
The Importance of A Scene
Lately I’ve been reading various pieces from new and up-n-coming authors and I’ve noticed something with scenes. They tend to “wander.” Scenes should have a focus. A point and a purpose. Here at My Book Therapy we talk about SHARP and FOCUS when writing a scene but today I’m going to talk about the POINT of a scene. I don’t have an acronym for POINT but you don’t need one. The word itself is makes my… well… point. As you write your scene, consider “what is the point of my scene?” The purpose? Why are you writing this scene. You have to deliver some emotional and physical element of the point-of-view character using SHARP and FOCUS techniques. But you also have to stay within the point and purpose of the […]
Read the RestFeelings + Thoughts = Emotion
Recently I was talking author Beth Vogt about deepening emotion in her current WIP as she’s facing rewrites from her editors. As we began to discuss how to do this, I came up with an equation: Feelings + Thought = Emotion. Now, this is a subtle motivation not necessarily the over all, BIG story motivation, but the micro motivation of a scene. All scenes must have a purpose. A Goal. Some Conflict. Tension. And in these elements we see a bit more of the protagonist’s emotion which equals scene “motivation.” For example, Beth had a scene where her heroine was in a bridal shop with her best friend who’d recently become engaged. The heroine was the last girl in singleville. As she’s sitting in the bridal shop, watching her friends, […]
Read the RestOne of the Greatest Pieces of Literature Ever!
The Declaration of Independence! Why does this document work? 247 years later? Because it was written with passion. Writing meaningful works requires passion. A level of belief in what you write. Even if I argue the “devil’s advocate” side of an issue in a story, I do it with what I believe is the conviction of the characters. Thomas Jefferson penned a document we should all study. And believe in! Without further ado… Happy Independence Day! When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to […]
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