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TKO!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

My brother is a fighter. I don’t mean he goes to bars and gets into brawls. I mean he’s a professional. He gets paid to fight. He was the International Fight League champion a few years ago and after he won, he praised Jesus on national television. See, my brother is a Christian, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Oh, and he’s an engineer for the government too. He doesn’t exactly fit the fighting stereotype, does he? This may sound weird, but the way my brother fights in the ring is very reflective of who he is as a person. He’s humble, and he’s respectful. You can tell by the way he treats and talks about his opponent. He never gets tired (he’s known for his stamina) and he fights intelligently. You can almost see his mind working as he circles the ring.

So what does all this have to do with writing?

A lot, actually. Fighting is important to writers. Or at least it should be. We might not have knock out punches in our novels, but we should all strive to have at least one good argument.

Why?

Because arguments not only epitomize the essence of great conflict, they add dimesion to our characters. You see, fighting is highly individualistic. No two people fight the same. Just watch a fight on television. This makes fighting an excellent way to build characterization.

Right now, I’m reading Characters, Emotion, and Viewpoint by Nancy Kress and in her chapter on fighting, Nancy says, “People express deep layers of their personalities in how often they fight, with whom, how fairly, and how intensely.”

Let’s dissect each of these components, shall we?

How often does your character fight?
The character who takes offense to everything is much different from the character who shrugs everything off. The character who thrives on conflict is much different from the character who desperately wants to maintain peace. So who is your character? Where on this continuum does he or she lie?

Who will your character fight with?
Might your character extend grace to strangers, but argue with everything his mother has to say? Or maybe it’s the other way around. What about the character who treats her subordinates with kindness, but is criticial of her superiors? Nancy Kress gives the example of a grandmother who is gracious to her heirs and her cleaning lady, but argumentative with doctors and police officers. Who your character chooses to argue with says a lot about him or her as an individual.

Does your character fight fair?
Is she underhanded? Does she name-call, manipulate, threaten? Does she use tears? Or does she stick to the issue at hand and support her arguments logically? As you can see, these two characters are very different. How fair is your character when it comes to fighting?

How intensely does your character fight?
In the midst of an argument, what drives your character? Passion? Logic? Something else? Does your character stay calm? Do they raise their voice? Do they shout? Do they get violent? Are they passive-aggressive? In real life, we all react differently when offended. An insult may lead one person to murder and another to laughter. How intensely a character fights says a lot about who they are.

But before you settle on the intensity, consider these three factors:
1. The character’s personality. The quick-tempered character will not fight with the same intensity as the soft-spoken one.

2. The nature of the specific fight. Can you think of a circumstance that might make your soft-spoken, peace-loving character to fly off the handle with rage? Most everyone has a sensitive spot. Have you given your character one?

3. Culture. Even a quick-tempered character knows better than to backhand somebody in church. Where are your arguments occurring? Fights are more restrained in public places than they are in private ones. How interesting to force your characters to fight about something important in a highly public area, where they must whisper and smile.

My brother may fight intensely in the ring, but he’s done as soon as the referee blows the whistle. He morphs back into Mr. Nice Guy Engineer. The guy with the quick smile and the easy laugh. He’s a fighter in the ring and a lover in life. This makes for an interesting character, don’t you think?

Questions to Ponder: So how about you? Have you considered these aspects of fighting in regards to your characters? Which one do you find the most useful? And what about real life? What kind of fighter are you?removetweetmeme

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