Category: Katie Ganshert

3 C’s – It’s Friday!

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Cares:
ACFW conference next week. How did that happen?

9/11 happened eight years ago. My prayers go out to all the people who lost a loved one on that day.

I wish I didn’t have to work full-time. I go to work everyday, but my heart stays at home. I make sure to give 100% to my kiddos. I refuse to let my lack of passion short-change my students in any way. I just hate feeling pulled in two completely opposite directions. There’s my son, my writing, and my heart in one hand and my teaching, my time, and my brain (teaching takes ridiculous amounts of thinking) in the other. This can’t be healthy.

Concerns:
Getting all my sub plans ready for when I’m gone. *bleck*

Celebrations:
I get my hair highlighted tomorrow. My roots are celebrating.

My brother and sister-in-law found out they are having a little girl!

The weaning was a success (albeit an emotional one). I can go to Denver with no pump in tow.

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and the happiest little boy in the world. Yesterday, on my way home from work, as I was pouting behind the wheel, guess who started laughing in the back seat? Yep. Brogan. For no reason at all. He just started laughing and it continued for about five minutes. It was pretty much God whispering in my ear, “Katie, get your eyes out of the gutter and look at the blessings in your life.” Thanks God, for getting my head straight.

Questions to Ponder: Where were you when 9/11 happened? That was such a memorable, heart-breaking day. And what are your cares, concerns, and celebrations this Friday morning? I sincerely look forward to Fridays because I love reading your 3 C’s!removetweetmeme

Raising the Stakes

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

How do you do it?
Simple, think about your story’s central conflict. Now come up with as many reasons as you can that make this conflict worse. Do not censor yourself. Write an exhaustive list. When you think you’ve gone as far as you can, go further. Think disastrously bad.

Are you finished?

Pick as many of these ideas as possible and weave them into your plot.

Why do we do this?
We want to write a story with increasing amounts of tension. We want to write a story where the problem gets worse and worse until it seems hopeless. Remember what Dwight Swain said? A good story builds tension. And a good ending releases that tension. The higher the tension, the more satisfying the release at the end.

Question to Ponder: Have there been times in your life when tension escalated to a maddening level?

I remember being late for one of my first days for this receptionist job I got in Madison. And wouldn’t you know it, I got a flat tire. I about lost it. Who am I kidding? I did lose it.removetweetmeme

The Perfect Cast

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

How do you enrich your cast of characters? How do you make them memorable? How do you ensure each character adds depth and purpose to your story? Donald Maas knows how….

A handy exercise:
1st, make a list of every character in your story (secondary and minor)

2nd, next to the name, write the character’s purpose for appearing in the story

3rd, look over your list and try to combine as many characters as you can.

Why? Creating characters that serve more than one purpose is a sure-fire way to enrich you cast.

My Success Story:
At first, I had my doubts. I stared at my list of characters and convinced myself I could not combine any of them. But I ignored my hesitancy and forced myself to complete the exercise. I deleted a character whose purpose was to be a point of contention between hero and heroine. I then gave this character’s purpose to my heroine’s sister-in-law. So now I have this sister-in-law whose trying to support my main lady, but ends up being a sticking point between hero and heroine. The result kicked my tension up a notch.

Questions to Ponder: What people in your life serve more than one function? One example for me would be my sister-in-law, who is my sister-in-law, my coworker, and an awesome friend.

FYI: My GMC series is being posted on Seriously Write today. The series will continue every Monday for the next several weeks. So if you’re looking for a GMC review, stop on over.

And finally, Happy Labor Day!!removetweetmeme