Writer’s Mail
May 11, 2011
by Pat Edwards
“Recently I had an interesting conversation with a professional screenwriting coach. She told me that you can tell if students are developing a truly authentic voice by investigating how they develop the central character of their story.
Apparently, one of the most common problems of novice screenwriters is that they write heroes by default, characters whose names are on almost every page but who are actually only leads because of their frequency of appearance. They’re presented as victims of circumstances or malice; they are “done to” or react to the actions of others. But they aren’t driving the story through their choces. They only react. Often writers don’t realize it, but they’re scared to let their “heroes” make mistakes, so they create a straw figure for a hero and focus all their creative energies on the bad guys and continuing escalation of crises.”– Sara Ban Breathnach, “Peace and Plenty”
Writing Contest Entrant Advice
Watch Stephanie G’Schwind, Camille Rankine, Michael Collier, and Beth Harrison offer their advice for poets and writers interested in submitting their work to writing contests. (Note, the advice is a little bit into the video, after the listing of Literary journals and prizes.) http://www.pw.org/content/writing_contest_advice
Notes from 2nd Tuesday of May
Kim Simmons, Chapter 14 Whiteout
Leah asked if Kim could break up the term “short sword” and sometimes call it a sword. Kim said she could. Leah also felt that when Kim was talking about “his wind” it sounded like a fart. Kime suggested using the word “breeze” instead.
Andrea suggested that Wolfe not have his tail wagging during the romantic scene. It seems too humorous for a romantic scene. She also wondered how did Ryoko lose track of so many days. She’s too smart for that. Kim said that it was winter. Andrea pressed that there would still be some sun and some way for the people there to know what day it was.
Randy noted that Ryoko has a child she’s responsible for and wondered how could she abandon the child to go off on a sexual encounter for a few days. Holly added that Kim needs to show that Ryoko has some maternal instinct. (more…)
Tuesdays with Story 