Interviewing Rachel From Proseworthy

Hello!

This week, I’m bringing you another interview! I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachel Leitch from Proseworthy. Make sure to check out her website here. And now, onto the interview.

When did you start writing?

It all started as a way to keep myself busy in the church service. When I was seven, I began writing stories in my doodle pad about what I’d learned in Sunday school, and then I’d make up adventures my friends and I went on to learn in those lessons. When I was fourteen, I began writing with the intention of publishing and making a career of it.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

I love the magic of writing. That moment when your characters come alive. When the world you’ve created springs up all around you. When the plot takes off and drags you with it. When I am so caught up in what I’ve imagined that I forget where I am. And when I can help someone else see the same thing I see.

What writing projects are you working on currently?

My main project—the one that, if something needs worked on in it, I push aside all other writing projects for—is the Dare Trilogy. The first book, Author of Peace was the first “serious” novel I wrote. It is historical young adult fiction with a dash of adventure (just what I like best!). The trilogy follows a sixteen-year-old printer’s apprentice through the years leading up to the American Revolution as he sifts out his beliefs—which may or may not include starting his own paper, helping refugees flee the country, and reconciling with his father. I have begun pitching the first novel to agents—fingers crossed!

I have a couple side projects for times when I’m waiting on the Dare Trilogy. I’ve started a handful of fairy tale retellings. I also have a novella about a young street thief in 1843 New York that I’m hoping to publish on Amazon Kindle and offer on my website within the next year or so.

What is one piece of advice you would give to beginner writers?

When I began “seriously” writing, I thought I would write young adult suspense novels. If I had held stubbornly to that, I would have missed out on my love of historical fiction with a dash of adventure—which is where I truly thrive. So don’t hold anything too tightly.

But also, don’t worry! You will wind up just where God has planned for you. I once had someone tell me that they thought my writing would fall into a niche with a small audience, and that’s where it would stay. They meant it well, but I just wasn’t that crazy about it. I believed God was calling me to stay open to a wider audience. I still remember what someone said to me during that time: “Your book will wind up right where God wants it to go.”

You will wind up right where God wants you to go. I don’t have to have it all planned out. I just have to let go and enjoy the adventure.

What are some things you have learned from your past writing projects?

Oh, goodness. Number one: Be willing to change. When I finished my first novel, I held it up like a flag and declared to myself, “No matter how many rewrites this book goes through, scene x and dialogue x will never be cut from the book!”

Guess what?

They did. And both the book and I survived.

My novel has gone through so many changes since draft one. Some of them were hard—cutting scenes I adored, bidding good-bye to characters I loved, changing things I didn’t want to change. But this story is so, so, SO much better for it.

Number two: Be willing to try. Different things work for different people, figure out what works for you. Don’t be stuck on “this author says I have to do it this way,” no matter who the author is or how many books they’ve written. Find what plotting method, what writing style, what genre, what publishing company works for you and works for what God is leading you to do.

On that note, number three, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is a piece of advice that I still have to repeat to myself ALL THE TIME. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how we learn. You will fall, just like I do. It’s not how you fall that’s important, it’s how you get back up. So don’t fear mistakes. There’s always something to learn from them.

Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I laugh because I actually didn’t know these terms existed for a very long time! I am a flexible plotter, I guess? I plot meticulously—and then make up new ideas and slash old ones as I go along. But it generally all sticks to the framework I decide in the beginning.

How do you apply what you read to your writing?

This is so hard. Because when I read a really great book, I immediately want to write something just like it! But if I see a type of character that I really enjoy, I’ll write it down. Then maybe I’ll create a similar character, but in a completely new world or plot. Or if I read something and go, “Wow, they could have done this a lot better,” I’ll look for ways to incorporate that into my next project. This way, I learn from what I’m reading, without my books being flat copies of what I’m reading.

For instance: I love Nadine Brandes’ books, particularly Fawkes and Romanov. Love them to pieces. I really admire her writing style. But I noticed in comparing Romanov to Fawkes that Fawkes (in my opinion) did better on worldbuilding, especially when it came to the magic and religion systems. So that’s something I’m going to watch in my writing—that the world I’m creating is clear, that my fiction and history elements mesh well, and that all those pieces click together.

What are some of your favorite books?

*rubs hands together* You asked for it.

First off: Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. This is easily one of my favorite books OF ALL TIME. It is such a clever take on the time period. More than that, it’s a deep, thought-provoking book, which is something I don’t see a lot of in YA fiction and wish there was more of. I love the message of encouragement to young adults as they figure out the world and themselves. Everyone should read it, hands down.

Side by side with Fawkes is Healer’s Bane by Hope Ann. Once again, LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s actually a novella, and the author is actually one of my best friends. Like Fawkes, it definitely made me stop and think. I saw the whole book in my head as a movie, it was so real. She didn’t just slap in a few pat answers or solutions. Her characters had to struggle, and the reader had to think.

Conclusion

I would like to thank Hannah for inviting me to do this interview. It was very interesting to sit down and really think about my own writing and reading, and to share that with all of you.

If you enjoyed this, I’d love to have you visit https://racheljleitch.weebly.com, where you can read more of my thoughts on reading and writing, as well as sign up for my adventure journal. If you sign up for my adventure journal, not only will you get every post in your inbox each month, you’ll get exclusive updates on my writing. Thanks again for this opportunity!

Once again, thank you to Rachel for doing this interview!

Until next time!

-Hannah

2 comments