Category: writing

Don’t Take my Voice Away

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Critiquing.

We talk about it a lot in writerly circles. The value of having a critique partner or a critique group. The value of getting objective feedback. How it’s a necessary endeavor if we want to grow and succeed as writers.

But that’s not what I want to explore today.

Today, I want to explore that tricky combination of voice and critiquing. I want to explore how we do the latter without diminishing the former. How do we offer critiques, without muting a writer’s voice? How do we receive critiques, without losing that mysterious, beautiful thing that makes us who we are?

When I first started critiquing, I marked people’s manuscripts with ALL kinds of track changes. I’d read sentences or whole paragraphs and think – I know a better way. I thought I was helping the author, and I’m sure some of my comments were helpful. But looking back, a lot of my critiques weren’t about making the story stronger. A lot of my critiques were about making the story sound more like mine.

Here’s the thing. We like our own voice. It’s sort of how, as parents, we look at other kids and secretly think, “My kid’s cuter.” In an objective world, that may not be true, and honestly, how can we compare babies or kids in regards to cuteness? They’re all cute and lovely in their unique way. But we prefer our kid’s face, because it’s familiar and meaningful and part of us. I think that’s the same with voice.

But the more I critiqued, the more I realized it wasn’t my place to change somebody’s voice. Slash unnecessary adverbs, yes. Look for repetitive words and sentence construction, yes. Look for character inconsistencies, plot holes, sagging middles, cliches, head hops, confusing passages. Yes, yes, and yes. But leave voice alone.

Don’t mess with it.

So what should we do in regards to critiquing voice?
Encourage your critique partner to explore it. Encourage him or her to work harder on bringing out his or her voice on the page. But whatever you do, don’t change it to make it sound more like yours.

How do we do this?

Here are two experiences that helped me:

  • I once got a paid critique from Camy Tang. She highlighted places in my manuscript where my voice dripped off the page and encouraged me to find ways to bring out that same voice in other areas of the manuscript. She pointed out MY voice and encouraged me to use it more often.
  • After one of my books made it through editorial, an editor from the publishing house emailed my agent and told her they were (and still are) excited about the book. They love, love, love the prologue. My voice is engaging and strong. But when chapter one starts, my voice loses its sparkle. This editor encouraged me to make the voice in chapter one truer to the voice in the prologue.

    During a lengthy phone conversation with my agent, I asked, “How in the world do I do this?” and hoped for a concrete answer, but of course she couldn’t give one. Rachelle couldn’t say, “Oh, honey, just cut this adverb here, add a short sentence there, change this verb to that verb, and you’re golden.” Of course she couldn’t. Because voice is all me. It’s something I have to figure out.

    She did give me some guidance though. She told me to read the prologue out loud. Get a feel for the mood, the cadence and rhythm. Then go through the first couple chapters of my manuscript and find ways to evoke that same mood. She admitted it wouldn’t be easy. It would involve exploring my thoughts and feelings, looking deep inside, and figuring out what I have to offer the page. It was a very insightful exercise. I’m not sure I got it right, but I do think I learned loads about my voice.

All this to say: When you critique somebody’s work, don’t change things that don’t need changing just because you think it sounds better your way. And when you receive a critique, don’t jump on every suggested change. Take some time. Evaluate the critique. Figure out, is this a voice thing, or is this a craft thing?

Happy critiquing! And thanks to my two fabulous critique partners, Jeannie Campbell and Erica Vetsch for not taking my voice away.

Questions to Ponder: How do you check yourself when you’re critiquing? How do you make sure you’re not changing the writer’s voice? How do you stay true to your voice but listen to feedback? Please share! This is definitely not something I’ve got figured out!

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Pursuing the Dream When Time is Scarce

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

As a full-time working mother pursuing the dream of publication, I often feel pulled in a thousand different directions. I know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, inadequate, and stressed out. I think almost everybody does. After all, we live in a culture where time is a commodity. A precious resource. One we’d all like more of.

But as much as we might wish for the power to forgo sleep (oh, to be a vampire), I don’t see that happening anytime soon. So how can we do it? With our full plates, how can we manage to write too? After doing some reflecting, I came up with a short list of musts when it comes to balancing a hectic schedule and pushing toward our dream of publication.

1. Keep a sacred writing hour

This is crucial if you want to get serious about writing. For me, my sacred time is every morning from 5:00 to 6:00. This is my no-excuse hour devoted to novel writing. Not blogging. Not tweeting. But actual work on my WIP. Maybe you don’t have an hour to spare. That’s okay. Start with something smaller. But be diligent about carving out a set chunk of time each day.

2. Figure out priorities and structure time accordingly

For me, it’s God first, family second, writing third, then everything else. I never want to forget my ultimate pursuit and it’s not publication. It’s Jesus. That means getting up at an insane hour (4:00 am, gasp!) to pray and read the Bible before my writing time. At night, when I get home from work, it’s family time. If I get these three things right each day, I can go to bed knowing I stuck to my priorities.

3. Give up what you can, and cherish what you can’t

As much as we might want to, we can’t do everything. So learn to say no. Learn to ask for help. During the school year, I don’t do the laundry or cook. My husband does that. It’s his way of tangibly supporting my writing career. Might your spouse help more if you asked? Do you have older children who can pitch in? Are there things you can give up? I’ll never be the queen of hospitality or keep up with American Idol. Those are things I choose not to do. But of course, there are things I can’t give up. Like being a wife, a mother, and a Christian. Neither would I want to. Let go of what you can and embrace what you can’t.

4. Set realistic short-term and long-term goals

I’m a huge believer in setting goals. Without goals to strive toward, I roam aimlessly (usually on Twitter or Facebook). A long-term goal might be finishing a novel in a certain number of months. Figure out what short-term goals you need to set in order to accomplish your long-term one. This might be a specific word count each day. Make sure you don’t watch television or surf the Internet until you reach it. Above all, be honest about your circumstances and abilities and make goals that are realistic for YOU. Oh, and don’t forget to write them down.

5. Embrace Grace

We’re all busy. Nobody’s perfect. Everybody has good days and bad days. That same grace you extend to your friends, your husband, your children? Make sure to extend it to yourself too.

Questions to Ponder: Which of these do you already do? Which do you struggle with? How do you make time for writing amidst the chaos that is life?

* This article was first published in July of ’10 in the My Book Therapy E-Zine. I thought it would be appropriate for today’s post since summer is officially over and I’m back at work. You can view the original article here.removetweetmeme

Scenes that Sizzle

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

I love James Scott Bell’s advice on improving scenes in his amazingly awesome book, Revision and Self-Editing (a must-own for every novelist). He recommends going through your manuscript and identifying the ten weakest scenes, cutting number ten (the weakest), and doing the following to strengthen the remaining nine. But if you have the time, why not do the following for every single one of your scenes? Think how amazing your story would be.

First, every scene should have the three O’s, as JCB calls them:
1. An objective: the point of view character wants to accomplish something
2. An obstacle: something needs to get in the way of the objective
3. An outcome: the scene’s ending

So here’s what you do:

First, determined your character’s objective.

  • If there isn’t one, that should be a huge warning sign. Either get one or cut the scene.
  • Once you understand the objective, ask yourself if you can strengthen it. Can you make it more important? Can you reveal something that makes the objective even more crucial than your protagonist originally thought?
  • Or maybe your objective is lame. Start brainstorming! Write a list of ten alternative objectives. Think outside the box. Pick the most original one and revise the scene accordingly.

Second, examine your obstacle.

  • What’s stopping your character from getting what he or she wants? Is it another character? Is it the character himself? Is it a physical circumstance – like a disability or the weather or a traffic jam?
  • Once you’ve figured out the obstacle, ask yourself if you can strengthen it. Can you make it huge? Can you make it more immediate?
  • An excellent tool I like to utilize when it comes to intensifying my obstacles is the ticking time clock. Can you find a way to put a time limit on your character? So-and-so has to accomplish the scene objective in a certain amount of time or else? It does wonders for increasing tension.

Third, consider your outcome.

  • Does the character accomplish his goal? Why?
  • Have you considered ending with a disaster? Something that keeps the reader tense and the character away from his ultimate story goal. Because after all, it’s that tension which keeps your reader turning pages.
  • A disaster is usually the best way to end your scenes.. So ask yourself how you can make things worse.

There you go, courtesy of the amazing James Scott Bell. Some sure fire tips for making your scenes jump off the page. Hope they help!

Questions to Ponder: How do you make your scenes jump off the page? How do you decide if you’re going to keep them or ax them? What tips of the trade can you share with me when it comes to revisions?

For more help with scenes, check out 6 Elements of a Scene, Examining a Scene, and Scene and Sequel

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