Are you noticing the Glass?
“You need to do the best that you can do, and then you need to take the best that you can do and you need to rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it.” – David Sedaris
Hi Writer!
First – one last pitch for my Flash Fiction class which starts tomorrow in Arlington. I love teaching this one, and would love to have you there!
In honor of the new class, today I wanted to write about feedback.
In my workshops I always begin discussion of student work with a round of positive feedback. I do this for a few reasons: 1. I like that it sets a positive tone for the rest of the discussion, 2. It puts the story’s writer in the frame of mind to receive any constructive feedback that follows, but maybe most importantly, 3. it trains the entire class to notice not just problems, but also what successful writing looks like.
Often, a few students will find it hard at first to identify points to praise.
This is because we all learn to read from published work, where writers and editors have scrubbed off the rough bits and scratches until the writing has the effect of glass between us and the story’s meaning. If we notice the words themselves, it’s the errant ones that cause confusion, or boredom, or distaste.
But as writers, we’re glassmakers, and so we must learn to notice it.
I like the way you…
Here are a few tricks you can use to practice noticing the glass:
Notice Sentences. Set a goal to choose a favorite sentence or phrase from each story you read for one class. Do you see particularly evocative language? Repetition of particular sounds that please the ear? Is the sentence constructed with a surprising or impactful final word?
Notice scope. Has this writer covered a lot of time or events in this story? Or, has this writer magnified one moment or event and to show it in granular detail? Is the landscape of the story global or limited? How do these choices suit the story being told?
Notice characters. Do you love the hero? Hate the villain? Or have a deliciously complex response to someone? Is a character so lifelike that they have given you new insight into a real person?
Pay attention to your own response. Was there a moment in the story when you were especially hopeful, or worried, or invested in a character? Which words made you feel this way? Invoking emotion in the reader is hard work! Praise it.
Do you have a favorite topic to focus on in giving positive feedback? Reply to let me know!
Today’s Reason to Write is…
To capture a funny moment so you never forget it.
This Week I’m:
Reading: I just finished Careless People, the memoir about the C-suite of Facebook. The characterizations of Mark Zuckerberg and his team were as indelible as The Social Network’s. This is an important book to understand the kind of people who are determining what our future will look like.
Watching: The White Lotus finale was last night and … devastated.
Listening to: Checking out the Brandi Carlile / Elton John album
Attending: Last night Greg and I saw David Sedaris speak. He was everything I wanted him to be. Even though I didn’t wait in the colossal line to get my book signed, I did finally pick up a copy of my favorite SD book, Calypso. (It’s always so hard when a book comes out to decide whether to buy it or get it from the library. I inevitably end up borrowing my favorites and then only buy book #3 in the series or the abbreviated gift version or something. The two Sedaris books I already had were “When you are Engulfed in Flames” and “Happy Go Lucky.” Not bad books, but not my favorites of his. Does this happen to you?)
That’s all for now, see you next week.
Happy Writing!
Kayleigh