My husband notices “the look,” a shift in my tone, the way I move the conversation from dialog to firing a hundred questions… He raises his hand to politely interrupt.
“I forgot to warn you. She’s a writer. Anything you say can and mostly will end up in her novels. Speak at your own risk.”
I can’t help it. People fascinate me. One of my friends used to call me nosey but really, it’s curiosity. I want to know… What makes people do the things they do? Make the choices they make?
What kind of courage does it take to live in a war zone? Or to try out for cheerleading? What makes a woman love a man who doesn’t love her?
How do people live a life without God and faith? Where do people get certain phobias? How do they live with them? Why don’t they try to overcome?
Life is full of questions and answers. And somehow they all boil down into some thread of a character trait I can assign to my heroes and heroines.
My characters do lots of things I’d never do so I draw from others, from life, to make them come alive on the page. Yet, in some way, every character is a part of me. I never noticed my own nuances so profoundly as when I start a new character.
Just when I think there’s nothing more of me to add to a character, I start a new book and find a deeper layer to my own heart and soul.
I recently watched an Inside the Actor’s Studio with Brad Pitt as guest and he said, “Keep looking for those moments of truth. That’s where you’ll find the character.”
He’s right. I’m always seeking truth and authenticity in what I write. While yes, we write what we know, or don’t know as Julie demonstrated in her Wednesday post, we really need to write who we are. There is the honest, true, authentic character and story.
But I’m also practical. I look at trends, at fictional hot spots, I consider branding and marketing, who I am as I develop book ideas.
The Nashvegas Series
My agent called. “Thomas Nelson is looking for redneck chick lit. Can you come up with something?” I said, “What? Beer, babies and barefoot in the Christian (CBA) market? Really?”
I had NO idea what to write so after several false starts, my agent suggested a book in Nashville about a songwriter. I knew nothing of being a songwriter. I did research, got enough information for a proposal and Lost in Nashvegas took form and was sold within months.
I ended up taking a second research trip to Nashville and talked with song publishers, songwriters and a songwriter manager.
I learned enough to be confident for a second Nashvegas book, Diva Nashvegas, about a country superstar gone wrong. By the way, for those of you who don’t know, Nashvegas is a nickname for Nashville.
If you’re interested in the new Nashville TV series, check out the Nashvegas books.
The Lowcountry Series
By now I was settled on writing book in the south. Georgia On Her Mind from Steeple Hill was my first southern setting and it felt right. Like home. So looking around for my next southern locale, I saw how popular lowcountry books were. Think Dorothea Benton Frank, Anne Rivers Siddon, Pat Conroy and our own Beth Webb Hart.
So I made a decision. Write a series set in the low country. Again, I had much to learn but what a fun, amazing journey to discover Beaufort, SC.
The first book started out from an old idea I had about a cooking show host who couldn’t cook. But it morphed into a woman who could never say not to people in need and thus denied herself her own destiny.
From Caroline’s story we met her best friend, Elle, who demanded her own story be told. And finally, there was Joy, the real cooking show host who couldn’t cook.
The Songbird Novels
In the middle of writing this series, I’d gone to Nashville for a wedding and had lunch with my editor. She asked an interesting question. Would I be interested in writing a series of novels with country music artist, Sara Evans.
I was at a place in my writing career, in my life, where I was willing and able to do anything God put in front of me. So I said, “Yes!”
I met with Sara some months later and we discussed what kind of stories she wanted to tell.
Again, it was so amazing to see how aspects of her life mirrored mine and I understood the core of the character that would become Jade Benson.
The Wedding Dress
The Wedding Dress famously started on Twitter with some friends tweeting about getting together. So we did! While we were sitting around talking that girl’s weekend, the subject of weddings came up and instantly, the idea of a hundred year old gown and who would wear it popped into my head. I was gone… in story land.
The Royal Wedding Series
My new series, The Royal Wedding Series, came from… you guessed it. Watching Kate and Prince William marry. I knew Kate would be on the cover of some magazine at the grocery check out counter at least once a month if not more. And so far, I’ve been right. Besides, who doesn’t love a good princess story?
Stay tuned for the cover! 🙂
That’s where my ideas come from — life. Observing, listening, paying attention to trends, brands and culture and letting myself discover truth whenever possible.
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See more of Rachel’s books at www.rachelhauck.com.