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Writing Tight: Compression

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Actors have to be very deliberate in their movement, tone, and expression. They must choose carefully if they want to give the best portrayal of their character. This is the same for writers. My last blog from Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins is taken from Secret # 6, Restraint and Control. She discusses many things in this chapter, but for the sake of being…well, compressed… I’m just going to focus on compression.

What is compression? In Brandilyn’s own words, “compression means finding verbs, adjectives and nouns that are packed with meaning.” Brandilyn says that when you compress your writing, two things happen:

1. Your writing will be more vivid
2. your writing will be tighter

When you write, you want to write tight. Writers hear this a lot. We don’t want superflous words and phrases muddying up our stories. So compression is vital. The key to compression is effective word choice, eliminating excess words, and ruthless editing.

Here’s a very short example of before (compression) and after (compression):

Before:
Brogan sat down in the middle of the floor, took his pacifier out of his mouth, and let out a loud and high-pitched cry.
After:
Brogan plopped onto the floor, uncorked his Nuk, and unleashed an angry wail.
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Questions to Ponder: What kind of reader are you? When you read books, do you like reading long, flowing prose, or do you like the author to get to the point already? What kind of writer are you? Do you write tight the first time around, or is compression something you focus on during revision?

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An Amazing Day!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Today was, well, amazing. Why, do you ask, was it amazing? Because I had some major breakthroughs.

First, I completed one-sheets for all three of my stories. And the super good news is that I actually like them.

Second, I created my first ever proposal. The only part I’m not finished with is the comparables. If anybody has a good way of coming up with comparables, please share, because wow, they aren’t easy. The proposal was this ominous thing hanging over my head. The idea of putting one together sort of scared the jeebers out of me. But after writing one up for Beneath a Velvet Sky, I’m actually looking forward to writing the other two for As High as the Heavens and Through the Storm.

Third (and this is the most exciting), as I wrote the proposal, under the section “Series Development”, I pulled two KILLER ideas right out of my bum! Okay, so I shouldn’t take the credit… nor should my bum. God deserves the glory. But wow, I love it when that happens! One of the ideas was something I’d planned on writing anyway, but I was stuck with my MC’s GMCs (how’s that for some acronyms). It was actually one of my concerns on Friday. I tweaked a few things, made it so this idea could fit within this particular series, and voila! Everything just sort of fell into place. I’m really, really psyched, if you can’t tell.

So basically, this post is just one giant celebration. I feel like I’ve jumped a hurdle and wanted to share the good news with all my cyber buddies.

Question to Ponder: What recent hurdles have you jumped recently? Please share your celebrations.removetweetmeme

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Can I tell you a story? I asked my friend Jeannie, the Character Therapist, about phobias and it reminded me of my bird phobia. I know this isn’t really a care, concern, or celebration, but humor me so I can humor you….

What I am about to tell you is not a joke. This is a true story. But I give you permission to laugh.
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When I lived in Wisconsin, I went on my morning jogs with a tennis racket. And it wasn’t to go play tennis either.
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Here’s why. At the exact same spot on my route, a psychotic blackbird would dive at my head like a Kamikaze pilot. Screeching. Loud. And visions of Alfred Hitchcock’s, The Birds, would flash through my mind. Picture driving by a jogger waving a tennis racket in the air, while a rabid bird swooped at her head. This was me. And after a couple attacks, I started encountering psychotic birds everywhere. I even heard on the news that a hawk was attacking bikers somewhere in Washington.
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Finally, my husband, who didn’t want our dinner conversation to revolve around birds anymore, decided to ride his bike along with me while I jogged, determined to take the thing down. But guess what? When we go to the spot, somebody had already killed the blackbird. It was dead on the sidewalk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an animal lover. But this bird had it coming.
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You’d think that would be the end of my phobia. But no. I lived a year of my life in perpetual fear of birds. I’m talking, I would jump into oncoming traffic to get away from a tweet that sounded even remotely close to my ear. My husband did not like this. He told me my fear of birds was going to get me killed. Thankfully, I didn’t need therapy. And I am relatively calm around birds now….. relatively.
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Cares:
I care that I am no longer afraid of blackbirds.
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Concerns:
What do you do when you have an idea for a novel, but the idea won’t cooperate? I can’t figure it out. I have a great premise and I’m excited about the two main characters, but I cannot pin down their GMC’s. This part of novel writing always freaks me out…
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Celebrations:
I’ve already exceeded one of my summer goals, which was to read two books on the craft of writing. Well, I just finished my third yesterday. Now I’m rereading Plot and Structure. And I just ordered Finding Your Writer’s Voice and Techniques of a Selling Writer off Amazon. I’ll make sure to share the goods in my future posts.
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I ate the BEST ice cream last night. Mmmm… it was a celebration in my mouth.
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Question to ponder: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations on this HOT Friday morning?

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