Rachel Hauck ~ Guest Blogger Revisited

Ten Things I Learned On The Road To Publishing (in no particular order.)

1. Read. Read. Read. While pursuing writing, I stop reading. When I began to read again, I truly believe my writing improved. A lot.

2. Less is more. Writers write, right? We over write many times. I’ve gone through manuscripts and edited like crazy. Or so I thought. But later while reading the published copy, I found many other places where I could’ve tightened my prose. Find a way to state a story point in one finely crafted sentence, then let it stand.

3. Crit partners are nice, but … writing is a solitary job. Writing friend understand the trials we go through, but be careful not to lean too heavily on others. Honing the craft often means grinding out your ideas alone and making them work. Thinking through your story, not counting on others to fix it for you. Too much input can actually hinder the creative process and kill your confidence. Nevertheless, be humble and brave enough to reach out to others for input and help when the time is right.

4. Sitting too long in my chair makes my legs hurt. Don’t forget to get up and move.

5. God is the best writing partner. Develop stories ideas with Him.

6. Networking is key. Most of my major writing strides were made after attending a writers conference and making friends and learning craft. Take advantage of conferences or weekly writer’s meetings.

7. Using writing techniques like newspaper articles or email are good ways to give readers information and advance the story without a long narrative or dialog scene. Sophie Kensella does this well in the Shopaholic books.

8. Discipline your time. Whether you work, are busy raising children or are retired and have all day to write, nothing will happen if you don’t discipline your time. Writing won’t happen outside of sheer determination.

9. Contrasting a characters greatest fear with his/her secret desire is a great way to create inner and external conflict. For Lost In NashVegas, my heroine, Robin Rae McAfee wants to be a songwriter. But she’s afraid to sing in front of people. Her journey is overcoming her fears. It was fun to write.
10. People talk to me all the time about writing. “What do I need to do to get started?” My response? “Backside in chair. No way around it.”


Rachel's new book, Love Starts with Elle, released this month.

Elle's living the dream-but is it her dream or his?

Elle loves life in Beaufort, South Carolina-lazy summer days on the sand bar, coastal bonfires, and dinners with friends sharing a lifetime of memories. And she's found her niche as the owner of a successful art gallery too. Life is good.

Then the dynamic pastor of her small town church sweeps her off her feet. She's never known a man like Jeremiah-one who breathes in confidence and exhales all doubt. When he proposes in the setting sunlight, Elle hands him her heart on a silver platter.

But Jeremiah's just accepted a large pastorate in a different state. If she's serious about their relationship, Elle will take "the call," too, leaving behind the people and place she loves so dearly. Elle's friendship with her new tenant, widower Heath McCord, and his young daughter make things even more complicated.

Is love transferrable across the miles? And can you take it with you when you go?