Category: Katie Ganshert

For some reason, I don’t look nearly as adorable when I shove my own foot in my mouth. Please tell me you have these moments. Pretty please? Because I have them all the time and I’d really like to know I’m not alone here.

Last Friday, Rachelle asked the question: Why do so many people want to be published?

Sort of tongue-in-cheek, I answered something like:
Because I love when people read my books and tell me how much they rock. It makes my needy, attention-craving ego purr. Publication will expand that audience

I went on to say I was 90% joking and 10% serious, and the 10% serious side of me really testifies to how messed up I am.

Of course, in typical Katie fashion, I posted it without thinking and later regretted my words. What if somebody took me seriously? People who don’t know me in real life might not realize I’m being facetious. What if I came across as a total schmuck? I mean, I don’t want people to think I’m actually seeking publication just so I can stroke my ego. That’s not even close to true.

Basically, I thought way too long about it, which shows how delusional I am, because nobody probably paid any attention. My husband often calls me out on this, when I’m over-analyzing everything I say or do. He usually says, “Kate, nobody is paying that much attention to you.” Which is oh, so true. But I still can’t help but overthink things.

Especially when I realize what I said or typed isn’t true.

I mean, yes, I do enjoy encouraging calls or emails from people who have read my stories. I am a words-of-affirmation girl, and encouragement and praise fills my love tank.

Yet, it doesn’t stop there. It’s not like I want to be published so people will email me and tell me how wonderful my books are (as awesome as that would be). I’m fully aware that if I do ever get published, I’ll have my fair share of not-so-awesome reviews, which I’ll have to learn to deal with when the time comes.

Getting published runs much deeper than praise and accolades, to a pool of complex motivations that mix and churn and gurgle. I’m quite sure I could never give adequate words to this desire pulsing inside of me. Other than to say that something happens when another person reads my work. It’s like I’m sharing a piece of my heart.

When somebody reads my stuff, and they tell me how the story touched them, or how the story encouraged them in their faith, I feel a special connection with that person. Like I blessed them with a story from my heart and they blessed me right back with their encouragement. When that happens, I always feel equal parts elation and humility.

Elated that this God-given gift has somehow uplifted and entertained another person. Humbled that God would give me this gift to begin with–a gift that fills me with such passion, a gift that I delight in, a gift that draws me nearer to Him.

That’s just one of the many reasons why I’d like to be published. I’d like to connect with more readers.

Question to Ponder: Does anybody have the same problem as me? Does anybody else say things without thinking, and then after the fact, pound your skull because you wish you wouldn’t have said it? Or am I the only one with this affliction?

Join me next Monday, when I dive further into character likability (a post originally scheduled for today, but postponed because of my urgent need to explain foot-in-mouth syndrome)removetweetmeme

We’re going to break from the 3 C’s, just this once, for the sake of some literary fun. No cheating, now. That means, no looking up stuff on the internet first. Below are fifteen first lines taken from famous books throughout history. I changed most of the main character names to pronouns, so as not to give too much away. Do you know which books they belong to?

First lines:
1. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

2. There once was a tree….

3. Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened.

4. I have just returned from a visit to my landlord–the solitary neighbor that I shall be troubled with.

5. She was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,’ thought she `without pictures or conversation?’

6. In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

7. You better not never tell nobody but God.

8. Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

9. It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.

10. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

11. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

12. Call me Ishmael.

13. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

14. She was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.

15. When he was nearly thirteen my brother got his arm badly broken at the elbow.

Put your answers in the comment section. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t click on the comment section until AFTER you’ve written down the answers, otherwise you’ll see everybody else’s. Winner gets bragging rights and a cool prize.

Questions to Ponder: Which is your favorite and why? Did I leave any really famous ones out?removetweetmeme

I’m taking Camy Tang’s characterization class right now. I figured, for $30, it would be a great way to get to know this new character I’m trying to flesh out. It’s been super helpful so far.

Her last lesson was about character likability.

As I worked through this lesson, a pattern emerged. Because I write romance, I have two main characters, the hero and the heroine. I realized that I usually write novels with one character who is very likable and the other who’s more difficult to like. This character might be interesting, but not so much likable. At least not in the beginning. In the beginning, this character tends to be a little (or a lot) hardened.

See, I have no problem writing flawed characters. Maybe that’s because I don’t like reading books where the character is June Cleaver. I like my characters flawed. Wounded. Hurt. And acting in destructive ways because of this wound.

That’s what I have with my character, Ivy. She’s definitely wounded. And she’s definitely acting destructively because of this wound.

But on the flip side, there has to be something likable about her. It’s not enough that she’s a fighter/survivor, which is admirable. I need something that is actually likable. I’m working on choosing a characteristic that is likable enough, but still true to her character.

So I have a lot of questions for you today, and I’d really love to read your thoughts on the matter. These questions are for writers and readers. Especially readers. So please chime in, whichever you are.

Questions to Ponder: As a reader, what makes you root for a particular character throughout a story? What makes a character “likable” to you? What specific qualities do you admire in a character? As a writer, how do you go about ensuring you have both a flawed and likable character?removetweetmeme