A Love Note To the Bloggers (and Readers) Out There

"The most important blog post . . . It is on the most important blog. Yours. Even if no one but you reads it. The blog you write each day is the blog you need the most. It’s a compass and a mirror, a chance to put a stake in the ground and refine your thoughts. And the most important post? The one you’ll write tomorrow."

-Seth Godin-

This space *is* my compass and my mirror, and even if there are those who claim that blogging has gone stale (at best) or is completely dead (at worst), I love having this record of these years--a place to call my own. 

So here's to you, writers of blogs--to everyone who shows up with and shares their ideas. Thank you.

And thank you, blog reader, for hanging with me as I refine these (weekly) thoughts on reading, writing, and all things creative.

You keep this space alive.

Photo by Monstera from Pexels

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Grounding Your Reader

You're grounded!

No, I'm kidding. I'm not even talking about that kind of grounding. No one is in trouble.

The "grounded" I'm referring to here is actually a good thing.

The idea of "grounding" oneself has, in the last few years, entered conversations surrounding one's mental health, most commonly with those who experience panic attacks.

"Grounding" is a strategy one can use to bring themselves back to the present. The technique, quite literally, "grounds" one in the current moment.

One of the most common grounding exercises involves locating and naming the following:

5 things you can see.

4 things you can touch.

3 things you can hear.

2 things you can smell.  

1 thing you can taste.

But this exercise isn't only beneficial for anxiety attacks.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Grounding is actually a great tool for writers, especially those who struggle with description.  

Writing is observation, after all, and what is this list if not observation? The fact that it's observation using five of our senses (also a hallmark of good writers)? That's just a bonus. 

Try it. . . . 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

What do you see in this picture?

What can you touch? (What's the texture?)

What do you hear? (Is it loud or soft?)

What can you smell? (Is it strong or faint? Sweet or acrid?)

What can you taste?

Bonus question: What do your characters think or feel about all of this?

While we're at it, why stop at three things you can hear? Brainstorm ten. Trust me: once you move past the obvious (conversation, traffic, etc.) you're bound to come up with something unexpected--something that will surprise you and the reader.

Now . . . how can you incorporate your list of items--5-4-3-2-1 (or more)--into a scene you'd write about this pictured moment?

You wouldn't want to cram the items together, of course. They should be introduced gradually or spread out over the course of several paragraphs. You might not even want to use all of the items you managed to brainstorm, but if you want to ground your reader in the scene you're writing as it unfolds, I can't think of a better strategy.

And don't limit this to just your writing: try it in your daily life. Practice grounding yourself when you're at the supermarket or on that walk, or when you're working or shopping or even cleaning the house. 

Because the more you notice, the more you notice.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Storytelling Laws vs Emotional Impact

A massive debate ensued on our ride to dinner last night. 

It involved a movie my husband and I both watched (at different times) and why he liked it and I didn't. 

The argument centered around the fact that he would rather a story make him feel something than be well-plotted.

My counterpoint was that a story is more relatable and more likely to make us feel something when it follows the laws of storytelling.

There are exceptions, of course, to each of these arguments.

But the timing of this debate is interesting because I'm wrapping up a book on plotting and one of the messages is that just because a story follows a formula doesn't mean it's formulaic. Structure doesn't quell creativity. In fact, storytelling structure helps us wrangle the creativity and put our ideas in the places that they're meant to go to have the most profound effect on the reader.

So my problem with the movie was 1) the believability of the setup, 2) the hero's character arc, and 3) a death used solely as a plot device (it made the guy a better person, but to what end?). 

The movie just didn't "scratch that itch" for me (and that's okay--Rotten Tomatoes reviews are split evenly down the middle (49%), so it's just as likely for a viewer to like it as to dislike it.

And this is where my husband comes in. He thought the plotline mimicked real life and because he felt for the main character thought it was a good/successful story.

My argument is that life doesn't make sense, and that even if an author is writing about the "real world," if he cares about the reader at all, he or she is going to structure that story so that it has the best chance to appeal to the intended audience. 

Ironically enough, I feel like the movie's intended audience was ME, not my husband, which adds another layer to this debate. I don't really buy in to postmodern stream of consciousness, so if a story mimics "real life"--which is often stranger than fiction, anyway--there's very little rhyme or reason for what goes on (unlike within a story world, which, to some degree, needs to make sense in order to be appreciated).

If you have thoughts about this or want to add something to the debate, hit me up on Twitter or comment on the Facebook post. If you can think of exceptions--where storytelling rules were broken and the story was still a success--I'd love to hear them.

I do see his point, but I also feel like a story without a clear and recognizable structure is more likely to flounder than win over an audience.

But if it makes us feel something. . . .

Be Brilliant!

-Katie~

On Style

What is Style?

What is it about Katie Klein writing that makes it "Katie Klein"?

First, I should warn you that a writer's style is constantly evolving. My style today isn't quite the same as it was when I first published The Guardian and Cross My Heart. Those books relied more on dialogue and action to move the pages. My most recent YA (All I Never Needed) was much more introspective. The snappy dialogue and intense moments are still there, but there's a lot of exposition, too--the thoughts and reflection--between the conversations and action.

When I first started publishing, the writing was more fragmented and fast-paced. Today, I use more commas and coordinating conjunctions. And you *know* how much I love an em dash. ;)

I credit these shifts to moving out of reading predominantly YA lit and seeking out more women's fiction.

Still, whether I'm writing for YA or Adults, you can be certain that my stories are going to include some angst and tears, a bit of danger/suspense, and a strong love story element that ends in a happily ever after. The path I take to tell that story is what makes my writing, well, my writing.

But, again, my writing has evolved over the years, and it's still evolving.

So when "style" comes up in the conversation in my classroom, I tend to shut it down. 

"You are still students of literature and writing," I tell them. "You do not have a style, yet. You don't need a style, yet. What you need is words on the paper."

"Ack! But Mrs. Klein! We need our own style if we're going to be great writers!" they say.

"This is true," I reply. "But first, read one hundred novels in your genre. Then put one million words onto the page. If each book you write is one hundred thousand words, that's ten novels. So . . . write ten novels. Then--and only then--will you begin to see a style emerging."

It's likely your first stories and novels will mimic your favorite writers' voices and styles, anyway. It's not until after a million words or so that you will be closer to making your style something that's unique to you.

So the moral of the story is this: don't stress about style. Don't worry about style. Don't think about style until you are well into your writing career.

Until then. . . .

Just focus on getting the words of a variety of stories onto the page, read as much as you can, and always: 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~