Blog

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Cares:
I’m turning the big 2-8 on Monday. The pathetic part is that I had to ask my husband how old I would be, and when he didn’t know, I had to count from 1982. Why is it so hard for me to remember my age?

My book is supposed to go to Pub Board next week. Um, yeah…..just typing that makes my stomach ridiculously woozy. I’m trying to remain realistic. The publishing industry is sloooow. The chances of my book actually getting to Pub Board next week might not be that high. It just totally depends on what else is scheduled. Ultimately, I’m praying for God’s perfect timing and His perfect fit.

As far as the outcome, I totter back and forth from high hopes to a pessimistic realism. There’s a piece of me that says, “Katie, you’re getting your hopes up too high. You’re really setting yourself up for a crash if this publishing house doesn’t want your manuscript.” To which I am trying to respond, “Shut it, voice! Life’s too short not to dream big. If I crash, I crash. So be it. I’ll get back up, dust myself off, and try again. In the mean time, let this girl dream.” So dream I shall!

Concerns:
I spent the past three nights reading this horrendous book. It’s gotten, like, five bazillion reviews on Amazon, ranging from one star to five stars. I’m not going to say what book it is, because that would be mean and we all have different tastes. Yet, despite my frustration with the characters, the plot, and the never-ending rambling, I still finished it. It was like watching a soap opera. The acting was terrible, but I couldn’t stop watching. I had to find out what happened.

Celebrations:
The other day, Ryan and I received a huge, unexpected, financial blessing. We are very humbled and thankful and filled with praise.

My mom is buying me a Kindle for my birthday!

Question to Ponder: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations today? I’d love to lift you up in prayer if you are struggling, or come alongside you with praise if you are celebrating.removetweetmeme

Examining a Scene

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I opened up As High as the Heavens the other day. It was my first book. Man, did I love this book. I poured my heart into it. It has some chunks of great writing. Even some three-dimensional characters who experience some pretty gripping stuff.

But….

It’s not publishable.

Here’s why.

I wrote that novel before I had any idea that stories have structure. I wrote it before I had any idea that scenes are the skeleton holding that structure together.

According to Debra Dixon, a scene is:
Action. A scene happens. It is not a lengthy explanation of what happened or what will happen. Or even a big stretch of internal dialogue. It’s not wonderfully evocative description or exposition or backstory.

According to Jack Bickham, a scene is:
A segment of story action, written moment-by-moment, without any summary, presented onstage in the story “now”.

According to Dwight Swain, a scene is:
A unit of conflict, or struggle, lived through the character and the reader.

Dwight doesn’t say that the scene is lived through just the character, but the reader too. Which means the writer must find a way to make the reader experience the same feelings of conflict. The only way to do this is to bring the scene to life. And the only way to do that is to make the scene immediate and urgent. Most importantly, make sure something is happening.

What I noticed, while skimming over that first beloved novel of mine, is that I didn’t do this. I didn’t bring my scenes to life. I often plunked my scenes in the midst of exposition…telling the reader what happened already, instead of giving them a front seat and letting them experience it themselves. Without knowing it, I distanced the reader. In my mind, all this great stuff was happening…but I didn’t bring that to life for my reader. Instead of letting them watch the movie, I sat them down and explained what the movie was about, or what the characters were about.

So how do we avoid this? How do we make a scene come to life?

We give our character a goal, a motivation for that goal, and a conflict – something that gets in the way of the goal. Each scene should move your novel forward and it should contain at least one of the following elements (from Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, by Debra Dixon):

1. Move the character toward their ultimate goal

2. Provide an experience for the character that changes their goal

3. Provide an experience for the character that strengthens their motivation

4. Bring the character into conflict with opposing forces (I think this should be in every scene, but that’s just me)

So what about you? How are your scenes holding up?

Consider asking yourself these questions:
– Is the majority of my novel told via scenes?

– What’s the purpose of this scene? (if there’s not a strong answer to this, then that’s your sign to cut it or give it one)

– Does this scene move my story forward?

For more on this topic, see posts on goal, motivation, and conflict here, or posts on story structure here.

Questions to Ponder: What have you learned about the craft of writing that’s really taken your writing to the next level? How do you feel about story structure? Do you embrace it or resist it? I’d love to “hear” your thoughts.removetweetmeme

3 C’s – It’s Good Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Cares:
This time of year, we usually focus on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as we should. Jesus Christ died a brutal death on an inglorious cross. He was beaten to a pulp – beyond recognition. He was stripped naked and hung to die. All for us, so we who are riddled with sin might spend eternity with a holy God. It was the biggest act of sacrificial love in all of history. Good Friday and Easter go together. You can’t have one without the other. The resurrection without the cross is powerless. The cross without the resurrection is hopeless. Together, they are everything.

So if Friday represents atonement, and Sunday represents redemption…what about Saturday? What do we do with this day in between? Because Jesus didn’t rise from the dead that same day, or even the next. He asked the world to wait. To trust. Can you imagine being one of the disciples? Can you imagine how confused, how afraid, how betrayed they felt? What do we do when we find ourself stuck in Saturday? How do we respond when God whispers, “Do you trust me?”

Concerns:
Ummmm….I can’t think of one and I’m sure not going to sit around trying to think one up. How about that? No concerns!

Celebrations:
Brogan is healthy! After 3 days of fever, 2 days of this scary rash, and all 6 days of one grumpy little boy, we found out he had Rosiola (no idea if that’s spelling right). He’s better now and back to his happy self.

There’s something about April and May. They make me happy. Maybe it’s because the weather turns warm or summer break is in sight, but everything somehow gets a lot easier. After the February/March doldrums, I’m enjoying my day-job again.

I made the changes to my third manuscript and sent them to my agent. Whatever happens now is out of my hands.

Question to Ponder: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations today?removetweetmeme