Imagination @ Work

About the Author

Alton L. Gansky is the author of 24 novels and 8 nonfiction works, as well as principle writer of 9 novels and 2 nonfiction books. He has been a Christie Award finalist (A Ship Possessed) and an Angel Award winner (Terminal Justice) and recently was awarded the ACFW award for best suspense/thriller for his work on Fallen Angel. He holds a BA and MA in biblical studies and Lit.D. He lives in central California with his wife.

In addition to his own writing, Alton Gansky has consulted and provided editing and writing services to several CBA publishers and written copy, video scripts, and other works for the general business market. Through Gansky Communications he has consulted with publishers and agents, as well as provided editing services. He is the go to guy for co-writing having been selected by Penguin, Waterbrook, Broadman Holman, and other publishers to work with their top tier authors.

Gansky is in frequent demand at writer’s conferences having taught and keynoted in California, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Delaware, Washington, and Canada. He has also been guest lecturer on suspense writing at Taylor University in Indiana.

Drill Bits and Lamp Shades

Years ago Discover magazine ran an article about Amory Lovins (as told to Cal Fussman). Haven’t heard of him? Neither had I, but he’s made a name for himself by having innovative ideas about energy, oil, and the like. He’s a physicist, economist, inventor, automobile designer, and several other things to make mortals like me feel like a gross underachiever. In the article he discusses ways to deal with the world’s energy problems, but that’s not why I mention him. Although I found his thoughts interesting, I found his way of thinking even more so.

He made a point by describing a man who walks into a hardware store to buy a drill bit. Lovins asks, What does the man really want? My knee-jerk response: Um, a drill bit? But no. The man wants a hole. Okay, that seems basic but how many of us think that way? Much of creativity, innovation, and artistic endeavor comes from asking the right question.

Maybe another example.

At the turn of the last century one of the first (maybe the very first) woman business consultants, Mary Parker Follet, was working with a company that made lamp shades. She asked something that at first stumped them. What business are you in?

Like me they went for the obvious, Um, lamp shades?

No, you’re in the light control business.

Seems too subtle to make a difference, but then the, well, light went on. You mean we can make window shades too? The ideas began to flow. The failure to ask and properly answer this question almost doomed the railroads in the U.S. They had difficulty seeing that they were in the transportation business, not the railroad business which meant they missed out on many opportunities.

Now, what business are writers in? Are novelists in the fiction business? Are periodical writers just in the magazine business? Are editors in the word refining business? What about publishers? Are they just in the book business?

What about our man in the hardware store? He’s there to buy a bit, not because he likes the design and feel of the bit, but because he needs to bore a hole into something. What’s your real need; your real desire; your real goal? If everything worked perfectly, what would your creative business look like and how would you measure its success? The man with the drill bit measures his success by the holes he drills. Those holes are evidence of achievement. What is the writer’s proof of accomplishment?

These are questions I ask myself. Life changes us, the industry changes, readers change; therefore we need to be flexible. The answer to the question should never be chiseled in stone but allowed to adapt to our ever changing interests, skills, and world.

What business are you in? I am in the communication business. I peddle ideas, sell concepts, and market thoughts.

Am I a novelist? Yes, but I write nonfiction as well. Am I then a writer of books? Sure, but I also write short pieces, blogs, articles, consult, and edit. Okay, then, that makes me a wordsmith. That, but I also lecture, give interviews, teach classes. You get the idea.

We need to think wider and deeper. What do we really want to achieve? I asked, What is your real goal? Mine is this: I want to make people think. That’s it. Do I want to entertain? Of course, but entertainment isn’t the goal, it’s the means. I want people to say, Wow, Great, Gripping, but most of all I want them to go, Hmm.

I feel most successful when I, through written or spoken words, reach into someone’s mind and tickle it with a new thought.

That’s how I measure success.

Are You a Breadcrumb Writer?

The world of writing is filled with advice. I have a few bookshelves filled with how-to books. Each has something worthwhile to teach, but not one of them can tell me how my imagination works or how to funnel it into something tangible.

All creativity is rooted in the peculiarities of personality. The human stew of emotion, experience, and effort is a recipe unique to every individual. This is true for all artists including writers. At the Temple of Apollo in Delphi is an inscription in Greek that comes into English as, Know thyself. Easy to say; difficult to do.

Writers need to know themselves. If we fill a room with writers we wouldn’t expect them all to look the same. Why do we expect them to think and work in the same way? Some writers must work in the morning, others can’t write when the sun is up. Some writers work slowly, others are speed demons. Is there a right way? (A write way?) Yes: the way that gets it done.

Perhaps the biggest difference among writers is the divide between outliners and intuitive writers. An intuitive writer doesn’t outline or outlines very little. Many of the famous authors you know write this way. I’m an intuitive writer—most of the time. I have outlined novels but prefer not to. Why? It’s not because it makes me or my work superior to others. Trust me, that’s not the case. I write this way because it is the way I’m wet-wired. It is the way my brain works. Intuitive writing (sometimes called discovery writing) means I follow a trail of breadcrumbs left by my characters. Outliners place their own breadcrumbs. Nothing wrong in that. To balance a comment I made earlier, many of the famous authors you know outline their books, some extensively. Why? Because that is how they are wet-wired.

(I pause this chapter for a brief rant. Intuitive writers are NOT seat-of-the-pants authors. I find the phrase demeaning. Okay, back to the point.)

Some avoid outlining and creating long character backgrounds because they think the work is too hard. Well, it is difficult, but any working intuitive writer will tell you that their process is no easier. In some ways, being an intuitive may be more difficult.

Dr. Joel Gregory, former professor of homiletics at Southwestern Seminary, preached a memorable sermon in which he said, I am often asked by my students, ‘Dr. Gregory, in preparing a sermon do I start with the contemporary human need and move to the biblical text, or do I begin with the biblical text and move to the contemporary human need?’ I tell them, it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you end in the Bible.

Should you outline or follow in the shadows of your characters. It doesn’t matter as long as you produce a well-written and well-plotted book.

Experiment. I believe every intuitive should try outlining. If you’re uncertain what works best for you, start with an outline. You’ll know soon enough.

Adverbs Done Right

I not only write, but I edit. That means that publishers hire me to do everything from touch-up to complete rewrites. I not only edit, but I review. I have a publisher client that sends proposals to me for evaluation. This means I see a lot of writing. Some of it is good; some, well, not so much. As I do this work I notice trends common to new writers. Mostly, I notice bad habits. One such habit has to do with adverbs.

If you’ve ever been to a writing conference, then you’ve probably heard this advice: Kill the adverbs. Eradicate them. Excise them. Evict the little buggers. This is not new. William Strunk wrote in Elements of Style, Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words . . . Almost every book written about writing says something similar. So why am I repeating it here? Because as often as we’re told not to use unnecessary adverbs, we are seldom shown how to use them correctly.

This came to mind while I was reading a bit of Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life. I came across this:

You make the path boldly and follow it fearfully.

First thought: What? A writer of her caliber knows better than to use adverbs like that, and to use two in such a short sentence . . . Wait a minute. I read the sentence again and that forced me to lift my judgment. Dillard had just schooled me.

Here’s the key with adverbs: If you can take them out and the sentences still stands, then you’ve done useful pruning. If the sentence deflates, then the adverbs belong.

In Writing Tools, Roy Peter Clark gives a comparison of bad adverb verses good adverb:

1. She smiled happily. (Ouch.)

2. She smiled sadly. (Now that says something.)

The first sentence is just silly; the second creates an engaging image.

Back to Dillard’s sentence. What happens if we take the adverbs out? We get this: You make the path and follow it. Is that a good sentence? Sure, but it’s not as strong as, "You make the path boldly and follow it fearfully." In this case, the adverbs not only belong, they do the heavy lifting. Removing them hobbles the sentence, and lessens the impact.

Adverbs are not evil, but they are overused so question their role in your writing. If they bring something to the table, fine; if not, boot ‘em out.

Six Ways Writers Invest in Themselves

For some, writing is a career; for others it’s a hobby. Either way, one doesn’t become a great writer without a little investment. Sure, we put money into computers, software, red pens, and writing magazines, but we also need to invest in ourselves. Here are six of my favorite ways writers invest in themselves:

1. Buy books to help them grow in the craft.

This includes serious books like Cheney’s Get the Words Right to lighter but still very useful fare such as Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty.

2. Buy books in their genre.

Few things get the imagination motor running more than reading books in your genre. During a recent World Series, a reporter found Steven King sitting in the stands. King is a baseball fan. Those around him held hotdogs and drinks. King held a book. He was reading between plays. He went on to talk about how great the book was. People like King and Dean Koontz devour books.

3. Buy books not in their genre.

To keep your creativity and imagination from becoming ingrown, read books different from what you wright. If you specialize in fiction, then read some nonfiction. If you’re a book person, read magazines. If you write romance, read suspense. Doing this will exercise the mind and broaden your horizons.

4. Go to the movies.

Movies are acted short stories. Having a story play in front of your eyes will jumpstart your thinking. I have had many ideas come to me while watching a movie—ideas that had nothing to do with the flick. Being immersed in a creative medium helps me stay on my creative edge.

5. Nap.

Yup, I said nap. Creative thinking is hard work. Working at a computer tires the eyes. I prescribe the occasional nap. Several writers have told me they have a sofa or easy chair in their office just for this purpose. They don’t sleep the afternoon away, but a fifteen minute snooze revitalizes them.

6. Attend a writers conference.

Few things move a career along better than good writing classes led by experienced faculty, hanging with other writers, and getting away for awhile. It is a true investment.

Forecast: Brainstorm

brain·storm [bráyn stàwrm]

noun (plural brain·storms)

a sudden clever idea (informal)

While chatting with a friend online, I said, I thought about you while I was in the shower. Granted, I could have started that conversation a little