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Deep Point of View

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Deep point of view allows the reader to feel and experience exactly what our characters feel and experience. Authors who do deep point of view well often create stories that are highly engaging – where the characters come to life and the reader gets lost in the pages. 

Once we get the hang of it, deep point of view takes our writing to the next level.

So when I saw a tweet about this book called Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View, free on Kindle for a limited time, I was immediately intrigued. I hadn’t read a craft book in awhile, so I hopped on over and downloaded it.

I’m super glad I did.

It is a super quick (it’ll take you an hour, tops), informative read.

Not only did I freshen up on some important writing techniques, I now have a craft book I can recommend to lots and lots of writers.

The author (Jill Elizabeth Nelson) addresses techniques that so many writers fail to employ. 

Mistakes I see all the time whenever I critique a piece of writing or judge a contest entry.

Two of the BIGGIES:

  • Authorial Intrusions
  • Prepositional Tells
Authorial Intrusions
 
Anytime you put an invisible narrator between the reader and the character, you’ve inserted an authorial intrusion. 
 
Phrases like she wondered, she felt, she saw, she wished, she decided are all examples. Purging them from your manuscript will take your prose to the next level.
 
For example:
She realized where she put her purse.
 
Can be changed to…
 
Oh, right. That’s where she left her purse.
 
Another example:
She spotted the lime green bike swerving through traffic.
 
Can be changed to…
 
The lime green bike swerved through traffic.
 
Super easy, right?
 
In both of these examples, the first version creates distance between the reader and the character. In the second, the reader is inside the character’s head. 
 
Prepositional Telling

I see this one ALL the time! I catch myself doing it too.

She nodded in agreement.

She frowned with displeasure.

He jumped up and whooped with glee.

His stomach clenched in fear.

Nix the prepositional telling!

Your writing will be so much stronger for it.

Nodding implies agreement, right?

Frowning implies displeasure.

Jumping and whooping usually go hand in hand with glee.

And a clenched stomach is often indicative of fear or nerves.

Believe in the context you’ve created and trust that your readers are intelligent enough to make some logical inferences.

So there you go.

A small taste of the many tips and tricks this book has to offer. 

The e-book version is only $2.99 on Amazon right now. I highly recommend!

Let’s Talk: Have you read any novels that nailed deep point of view – where you truly felt and experienced what the characters felt and experienced? Please share them here!

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Friends helping me put together silent auction baskets at my mom’s house

Cares:
Our big fundraiser (a silent auction/trivia night) for our adoption is next Saturday. Can’t go? No worries! We made the silent auction viral by setting up a new website. Please stop by and take a look at forty really cool items/baskets up for bid. All proceeds will go directly toward our adoption. Online bidding ends next Friday, June 22nd. 

You can also participate via Facebook. I have a photo album set up, so it’s super easy to share individual photos on your timeline or the entire album!

Concerns:
What if nobody comes to our fundraiser? It seems like so many people I talk to have a prior engagement. I’ve been on my knees praying about this. Not so much that lots of people would come and we’d raise what we need for our adoption, but that I’d surrender the worry. Lately, I’ve been really convicted about my tendency to worry, worry, worry. 1 Peter 5:7 has become my battle cry.

Celebrations:
I’m celebrating some amazing warrior friends, without whom this fundraiser would not be happening. When we bring our little one home from the Congo, I hope they realize what a huge role they played in making us a forever family.

Brogan’s celebrating an adorable book called Scaredy Squirrel and I’m celebrating the Cadbury chocolate we got in the mail from a certain awesome someone. Yum, yum, yum! 

I’m camping out tonight with 10 junior high girls and 2 awesome ladies. We’re eating S’mores and sleeping in a tent and everything. 

Let’s Talk: What are your cares, concerns, and celebrations today?

I’m guest posting on Michelle Lim’s blog today about the rejections Wildflowers from Winter received before it found a home. I hope it will encourage those of you who are feeling discouraged on your writing journey. Hop on over and leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy! 

The latest review of Wildflowers from Winter by Gabrielle Meyer! 

The Focus of a Levite

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession, just as he promised them. -Deuteronomy 18:2

The Israelites had to be so eager to get to the Promised Land.

Finally, no more wilderness. No more desert. 

But land.

Fertile, amazing, glorious land. A place to settle down and make a home.

I can only imagine how easy it would’ve been to pin their hopes on the promised land rather than the unshakable, all-powerful Lord.

So very easy for every single tribe, sans one. 

The Levites.

Because their special possession would not be grass and dirt and clay.

Their special possession would be the Lord.

Oh Father God, would you give me that same narrow focus? Be my prized possession. My ultimate goal and my ultimate reward. Lord Jesus, I want You, and You alone, to take first place in my heart.

Let’s Talk: What have you been gleaning from the Bible these days?

I’m guest posting on Novel Rocket today about Publishing Landmines and Tips. 

Thank you Night Owl Reviews for reviewing my debut novel on your website!  You can read it by clicking on the link. 

Check out my Facebook Page and answer a thought-provoking Would You Rather question for a chance to win a signed copy of my book. If you already have a copy, I’d be happy to sign it to somebody else so you can give it as a gift!