Category: writing

Setting: Enemy or Ally?

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Develop the setting into a character. I’ve read that a million times and thought, okay, great idea. But other than using the 5 senses, how in the heck do I do it?

Thanks to Nancy Rue, I’m confused no longer. Nancy Rue brought clarity. Nancy Rue jumped inside my head, flicked on the switch, and illuminated everything in bright yellow. She’s one of the many contributing authors to A Novel Idea and wrote a short, completely insightful article entitled Protagonist, Antagonist…Setagonist.

Here’s what she had to say:
When we sit to pen a novel, we should think about our setting and ask ourself: Does the setting act as the protagonist’s ally, or as the protagonist’s enemy?

Brilliant question!

I got to thinking about my setting in the current series I’m writing. Peaks, Iowa, a small, fictitious farming town set in the Midwest. For my first novel, Beneath a Velvet Sky, Peaks is most definitely an antagonist to my protagonist, Bethany Quinn. Bethany sees Peaks (at least at first) as her enemy. How much better to write about the setting from a major sense of conflict, as an antagonist of sorts, than a ho-hum, every-day small town.

In my second novel, Wishing on Willows, Peaks is most definitely an ally to my protagonist, Robin Price. Robin adores Peaks. Adores the atmosphere, the people, the small-town beauty. The setting is like a beloved sister brimming with memories and a nostalgic past she doesn’t want to release. In her mind, somebody’s out to destroy the town (or at least change it). I need to write about the setting from that deep emotional place. As if it truly was one of her best friends.

Questions to Ponder: So, what about you? Is your setting an enemy or an ally? Pick one. Because it most assuredly should not be neutral. Neutral settings equate to limp, lifeless settings. And who wants to write about that?

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Nightstand Novels

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Under the glow of dim lamplight, I read whichever novel’s been making friends with my nightstand. Hubby snores away. It’s late and I’m tired. I flip through the pages, find the nearest chapter break, and determine to set the book down as soon as I reach the end of chapter 3.
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Chapter endings are those natural places where readers STOP reading.
But as writers, we don’t want readers to stop. Because anytime they stop, anytime that book touches that nightstand, there’s a definite possibility it will languish there for all eternity. I know many a novel have spent a ridiculously long time on my nightstand. So long that I forget who the main characters are and eventually give up altogether.
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Here’s the thing. I don’t want my novels to be nightstand novels. I want them to be In-your-hands-eyes-so-bloodshot-you-can’t-see-straight novels. Those are the kind of novels that get people excited. That get people talking. And those are the type of novels I want to write.
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So how do we avoid being nightstand novels?
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The answers to that question are many and mysterious. One tangible answer, however, is learning how to write killer chapter endings.
How do we do that?
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A number of ways. We could stop in the middle of the action. Find an enticing hook. Foreshadow things to come. Etc. Etc. If used well, all are excellent ideas. But here’s what I think they all boil down to: End each chapter in a state of unbalance.
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When I write my 1st draft, I tend to overwrite. I feel this burning desire to wrap up each chapter in a pretty little bow. To write the climax, followed quickly by the tension-sucking denouement. I feel such a sense of closure when I write this way. Like, “Ahhh…I’m finished with that chapter.” Thanks to crit partners and craft books and helpful articles/blogs, I’ve learned to cut my chapters short. Utilize the delete button. It’s almost always the writer’s best friend.
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Consider cutting the last paragraph. The last line. The last page. Whatever you need to do to end each chapter on a note of unbalance. A sense that things aren’t well. Make your reader’s stomach squirm and propel them to the next page so they can slay the uncomfortable beast taking root in their bellies.
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Tension, and the ever-reaching quest to release it, hurls us through a book. Don’t release the tension for the reader at the end of a chapter. If anything, heighten it! Heighten it! Heighten it!
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Question to Ponder: What sort of chapter endings get you to turn the page and start the next?

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The Benefits of Entering a Contest from Somebody Who Didn’t Final

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Yes, I entered a contest. Yes, I entered all three of my manuscripts. Nope. I didn’t scrape by with one single final. It was a low point in my writing journey.

So what good came of it?

Oh, lots!

I got nine score sheets back. Nine sets of objective feedback. Jam-packed with all kinds of suggestions, encouragement, and constructive criticism. As High as the Heavens and Through the Storm received pretty good scores. Beneath a Velvet Sky received really good scores. Two super high ones that had me floating on cloud nine, and one not-so-great one that had me scowling at my computer.

Here’s what I realized. That not-so-great score? Once I got over myself, I found that it contained phenomenal feedback. Stuff I could apply right away. Stuff that helped me learn, that pushed me past my comfort zone, that forced me to dig deep inside my writing reservoir. After making the changes, I ended up with a final product I was eager to bring to the writing conference.

What else did the contest do for me?

It put me in contact with a woman I deeply admire and respect. A published, talented author who offered to mentor me because she saw potential. Over the summer, before the conference, she looked at the first few chapter of Beneath a Velvet Sky and tore them apart (in a completely awesome way). She pushed me, told me I could do better, challenged me to up the tension between my hero and heroine. So I did. And Beneath a Velvet Sky continued to evolve.

Entering contests, getting objective feedback, risking “failure”, I can’t recommend it enough. My stories wouldn’t be what they are right now if I hadn’t entered that contest.

So strongly consider entering this year. And if you don’t final, don’t get too discouraged. Finaling isn’t everything.

Questions to Ponder: Have you ever entered a writing contest? How did it work out for you?removetweetmeme