Rebecca Klempner

In response to Rebecca Klempner.

3) Some writers offer advice to colleagues not with their colleagues' best interests at heart. They may fail to see what's working because they are so preoccupied in shooting "competitors" down. They view publishing opportunities as a limited good & don't come with open hearts...sadly.

04:29 PM - Jul 16, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

2) Some writers will give advice without understanding your genre or audience. For example, a writer who writes exclusively for adults may not provide good advice to authors of kid lit, a person who writes literary fic might provide bad advice to genre writers. Feel free to ignore them.

04:27 PM - Jul 16, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

I have a couple additional thoughts:
1) Especially if you are in person, access what the goal of the advice was. Was their feedback given in the spirit of helping you produce the best piece of writing in *your* voice? Some writers struggle to help others sound like themselves.

04:25 PM - Jul 16, 2023

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In response to CharleneEllen.

Yeah, body language like that--that's one solution. And you can often just take one exchange in the dialogue and shift it to being said by the main character's buddy instead of them.

Also, as I said, sometimes, you just cut the character from the scene.

10:20 AM - Jul 12, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

In sum, DON'T MAKE YOUR EDITOR WANT TO FILE A MISSING PERSONS REPORT!
- Make sure characters who appear at the beginning of the scene appear throughout the scene...or cut the character.
- Make sure items you highlight in a scene stay in the scene.
- Don't lose characters w/o explanation.

06:47 PM - Jul 06, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

Similarly, imagine a main character who lives with their family and/or roommates. This is mentioned up front. But a family member (or two) or one of the roommates suddenly disappears.
Again, the first thing you need to ask is, "Does the character serve the story?" If yes, they need to show up!

06:44 PM - Jul 06, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

[Side note: sometimes this can affect an object. Say your main character picks up a cup of coffee at the Starbucks counter, then they bump into a pal near the exit throw their arms around each other an hug. How are they hugging with two arms if there's coffee in one hand?]

06:41 PM - Jul 06, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

If you introduce a character to a scene, make sure that the character is still participating in that scene the whole way through or their departure is explained. It can be useful, also, to ask yourself, "Is this character really necessary to the action in the scene?" Maybe they should be cut.

06:39 PM - Jul 06, 2023

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In response to Rebecca Klempner.

Imagine a #Scene in which two #characters stroll across town and enter a house to ask a friend some questions--but from the moment the friend starts talking, only one of the two initial characters participates in the convo.
THIS IS A PROBLEM.

06:37 PM - Jul 06, 2023

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In response to Danielle Solzman.

I hope you manage not to melt in the rain!!!

04:08 PM - Jul 02, 2023

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In response to Liz N Is Tired of the Nonsense.

You carry the scent of jasmine
and cool my forehead on a hot day.
You bring me the hint of ocean
and of my neighbor's garlic, sauteeing.
Yes, there are times when you poison me
with ozone
and hydrocarbons
and sulfur dioxide.
But it's my fault,
it's a human fault,
for hasty, heedless consumption.

02:18 AM - May 22, 2023

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In response to DJNoneYa.

Super interesting. I love that they included Chief Standing Bear, and how they explained the shift in focus between the book and the film, how a detective story started to delve into relationships.

02:23 PM - May 21, 2023

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