Blog

Entrenched in Place

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I’m no Jewish queen. And I have no people to save from the hand of death. But I still resonate with the words Mordecai spoke to Esther all those years ago, when God entrusted her with a great and terrifying task.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place….And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
d
For such a time as this.
d
Those words hold such power. Such meaning. They bring such a sense of purpose to my helter-skelter existence. Sure, the Bible wasn’t written to me, but it was written for me. For all of us. And so were the words of Mordecai.
d
As a writer, I plunk my characters into a specific setting. Into a specific time and place. I don’t choose randomly. I consider my character – her strengths, her weaknesses, the gifts I’ve given her. I consider what I want to accomplish through my character. Then I choose accordingly. I choose the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect circumstances and set my character down. My choices are far from random. Far from accidental. They are very strategic.
d
And I’m just a writer.
s
Now imagine God, the Author of our souls, who penned the universe and all who inhabit it. God knows us better than any writer could know his characters. He’s fashioned us. He’s considered our uniqueness. Considered what He wants to accomplish through us. And He chooses accordingly. Strategically.
d
I’m not living in the 21st century, in Eastern Iowa, going to a particular church, living with a particular man, raising a particular son, teaching a particular group of students, and writing particular stories….all by random chance. God knows. He’s placed me here. In this setting. On purpose.
d
And I hear Mordecai whisper those words. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverence will arise from another….” I can say yes and experience the wonder of being used by an almighty God, or I can say no and miss out. The wonder can fall to another.
d
Sometimes I say no. Not intentionally. Not rebelliously. But I say no. I turn a deaf ear to God and let the megaphone of discontentment blare in my ears. Why can’t we have enough money so I can stay home? So-and-so gets to stay home with her kids. Man, my life would be so much easier if I could just stay home. Or, why can’t I be published already? So-and-so is published. I bet life would be easier if I were published.
d
Satan speaks to our discontentment. He fires the flame into something greater. Something insidious. Until we forget God has us exactly where He has us for a reason. For a purpose. For such a time as this.
d
Questions to Ponder: What setting are you living in? Where does God have you? What might His purpose be for having you there?

removetweetmeme

Setting: Enemy or Ally?

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Develop the setting into a character. I’ve read that a million times and thought, okay, great idea. But other than using the 5 senses, how in the heck do I do it?

Thanks to Nancy Rue, I’m confused no longer. Nancy Rue brought clarity. Nancy Rue jumped inside my head, flicked on the switch, and illuminated everything in bright yellow. She’s one of the many contributing authors to A Novel Idea and wrote a short, completely insightful article entitled Protagonist, Antagonist…Setagonist.

Here’s what she had to say:
When we sit to pen a novel, we should think about our setting and ask ourself: Does the setting act as the protagonist’s ally, or as the protagonist’s enemy?

Brilliant question!

I got to thinking about my setting in the current series I’m writing. Peaks, Iowa, a small, fictitious farming town set in the Midwest. For my first novel, Beneath a Velvet Sky, Peaks is most definitely an antagonist to my protagonist, Bethany Quinn. Bethany sees Peaks (at least at first) as her enemy. How much better to write about the setting from a major sense of conflict, as an antagonist of sorts, than a ho-hum, every-day small town.

In my second novel, Wishing on Willows, Peaks is most definitely an ally to my protagonist, Robin Price. Robin adores Peaks. Adores the atmosphere, the people, the small-town beauty. The setting is like a beloved sister brimming with memories and a nostalgic past she doesn’t want to release. In her mind, somebody’s out to destroy the town (or at least change it). I need to write about the setting from that deep emotional place. As if it truly was one of her best friends.

Questions to Ponder: So, what about you? Is your setting an enemy or an ally? Pick one. Because it most assuredly should not be neutral. Neutral settings equate to limp, lifeless settings. And who wants to write about that?

removetweetmeme

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Cares:
Revising. Talk about slow-motion. I don’t know if it’s because I know more this fourth time around, or if I’ve turned into this psychotic perfectionist, or what. I sit down for my hour of revising before work, and I get through 2 or 3 pages. Seeing as my novel is 388 pages, this makes for very slow going. I’m currently on page 92.

Concerns:
You know that feeling you get in the beginning of February? That restless, impatient, slightly-deflated feeling? The one where you just want it to be warm already? That’s exactly how I’m feeling. Only not about the weather (okay, a little about the weather). I’m feeling that way about being out on submission, and it’s only been two weeks. For all you folks out there waiting for an agent….here’s a heads up: The waiting doesn’t get any more bearable on this side of representation. It’s still the same. Write. Wait. Check email. Write some more. Wait some more. Check email some more… I wish the writing groundhog could come out of his hidey-hole and tell me what to expect. Do I have another six weeks of winter spanning ahead of me? Or an early spring? I feel Jesus whispering, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Only instead of listening, I’m too busy trying to convince Him that maybe my timeline is better than His. Oh, what a silly person I can be.

Celebrations:
My husband. God’s been doing some amazing work in his life these past couple weeks. It’s like watching a growth spurt in fast-forward. My heart’s always been blessed as his wife, but especially so these days.

Reading another great book. The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meisner. I’ve been on this wonderful roll with fiction lately. Seems like every novel I pick up sweeps me away, which is rare. I tend to be very picky when it comes to fiction.

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