Category: Katie Ganshert

My Revision Process

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I have an editing system. A procedure I go through whenever I finish a rough draft. As a teacher, I’m a big fan of procedures. They make me feel cradled, secure. And since I recently typed The End on another novel, I’ll be following the procedure once again. 

Here’s what it looks like, in case you don’t have one and would like to borrow mine:

Katie’s 6-Step Editing System
Step 1: Let it cool. 
I fly through the rough draft as fast as my fingers allow. Which turns my brain into an overheated engine. I need a week or two to de-steam before I start up again.

Step 2: Big Edits (otherwise known as the content or macro edit)
I print off a hard copy and get out a red pen. The hard copy slays the temptation to line edit and the red pen is easy to see. While reading, I take notes on big story things in the margins. Like pacing, redundancies, inconsistencies, plot holes, GMCs, tension, character arcs, scenes I need to add, scenes I need to delete, and the spiritual thread.

Step 3: Deep Edits 
I’m currently taking an online class with Margie Lawson called Deep Editing, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to take their writing to the next level. During this step, I print out a second hard copy and use Margie’s highlighting system to see how my story balances description, setting, dialogue, internalization, visceral response, action, and tension. I look for alarming patterns and change what needs changing.

Step 4: Line Edits
Call me crazy, but this step is my favorite. Maybe because, by the time I finally get here, I feel like the hard work is behind me. Now I get to play. Now I get to tinker. Whatever the reason, I love line edits. I love searching for just the right phrase. I love nixing the pet words and the unnecessary words. I love exchanging the cliches for something fresh. I love infusing tension on every page. And I love replacing passive verbs with active ones. This is where I cull through every sentence and make sure it counts. 

Step 5: Read Aloud
I usually give myself another break before diving into step five – usually another week or so. After the distance, I come back and read the whole thing out loud from my computer screen. I get a feel for the cadence. The voice. The rhythm. If something sounds awkward or rambling or rushed, I make changes. I also look for grammatical errors. 
Step 6: Critique Partners
I send the manuscript off to my critique partners. In a week or so, I get back more content and line edits. I make changes. Then send it off to my agent and pray my procedure paid off.

It’s quite a process. And it takes a while. Probably as long as it takes me to write the rough draft. But it’s definitely worth it.

There’s a crazy difference between my rough draft and the draft I send to my agent. In fact, I’ve given my husband specific directions, that if ever I should die, he is to promptly delete any rough drafts on my computer. If any eyes other than mine saw one, I’d be horrified.

Let’s Talk: What’s your editing/revising process like? If you’ve worked with a professional editor (whether in-house or freelance), has that changed the way you edit? Do you like editing/revising?

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One Rule to Rule Them All

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

There are lots of rules when it comes to writing.

No head hopping. Avoid passive sentence structure. No cliches. Show, don’t tell. Write using scene and sequel. Make sure your scenes have GMCs. Write tight. Be specific. Don’t use a prologue. Or if you do, make sure it’s done in the correct way.

Et Cetera.

Et Cetera.

Et Cetera.

Yet, we pick up books – published books – and we see the rules broken. And we scratch our heads because we don’t break the rules.

Do you know in The Help, a best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, there is a scene completely told in objective point of view? The story’s told from three different perspectives, all in first-person point of view. Each of the three voices fleshed out in a way that spins my head, it’s that good. And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there’s this one scene.

This one scene that reads like a newspaper article. A detached telling of the events. As if the reader were hovering above the party observing the goings-on of each character. Unattached.

Kathryn Stockett broke a rule.

And it completely, one hundred percent works.

I remember laying in bed, reading that scene, crazy impressed because of how well it works. And I remember thinking….

Kathryn Stockett gets it. She understands that amongst the lot of rules hemming us writers in, there is only one that should never ever be broken. There is only one we should vow to live by. And it’s this.

Do what works.

Three simple words.

Do what works.

It’s a rule that overrides all the others. It’s a rule that lets us break all the others. It’s a rule that helps us understand all the others.

Because, usually, following the rules is what works best.

But not always.

So the next time you’re stuck, wondering if you should prologue or not. Wondering if you should tell or not. Wondering if you should throw in a random point of view or not. Ask yourself this one question:

Does it work?

And if the answer is yes, go for it.

Let’s Talk: How much of a rule-follower are you when it comes to writing? When it comes to life? Is there one rule you live by?removetweetmeme

Tips from Television

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I’m sort of amazed by the writers of Vampire Diaries.

I know. I know. Some of you are rolling your eyes. You’re not into vampires. You think it’s too much like Twilight (even though, technically, Vampire Diaries came first). It’s just another one of those soap-opera-like CW shows.

But seriously guys. It. is. awesome.

Every week, the episode blows me away. Something crazy happens that I did not see coming. I think to myself, they can’t possibly top this. This should have been the finale. Yet somehow, the writers stick their heads together and outdo themselves yet again.

And the whole time, I’m studying. Trying to figure out their secrets.

Because these writers are experts in rewarding their audience, something Vince Mooney talked about over on Seekerville in a post titled, How Making Your Reading Experience More Rewarding Can Spell Greater Success.

Here are three way this show rewards the audience and three ways we can do the same:

Give them what they want way sooner than they expect.
How many times have you read a book or watched a show and you’re dying to get this one answer, but you know you’re going to have to wait until the end to get it? It happens all the time. Because in the writing world, we talk a lot about prolonging tension. But what if, instead, you just give the reader what they want? What if, sometimes, it’s better not to drag something out? Do you know how satisfying that can be?

Answer the question then hook them with another. 
Some of you may be thinking, “Yeah, but if I give them what they want, then I’m going to diffuse the tension and there will be no reason to keep reading.” That’s very true. If you don’t have another hook waiting in your pocket. This show is the master in tension, release, tension, release, tension, release. Which means the audience is delighted, hooked, delighted, hooked, delighted, hooked. I don’t know about you, but that seems like a much better model than drawing out the tension to the point of frustration, even if the ending is really satisfying. Why not satisfy your audience multiple times? Hook them multiple times?

Embrace the shock-factor
I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this show and thought, No way did that just happen! The writers throw in a giant, unexpected twist. They wrap something up so much sooner than expected. They kill somebody off that I thought for sure was safe. All which brings me to the edge of my seat, wanting more. Seriously, there is never a dull moment.

These three tips all share a common thread, and it’s this:

Don’t hold back.
Vampire Diaries brings it every time. It’s like watching season finale after season finale. They don’t wait to drop the big stuff until the end. They drop the bomb and find a way to come up with a bigger one.

I guarantee if we find a way to master this skill, we’ll write books readers can’t put down.

Let’s Talk: What writing tips have you learned from television?

P.S. These tips are all things I’ve learned from the show. I’ve never read the books.

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