Line by Line 11-11-2020
#WritingCommunity,
You are invited to #LineByLineTime, A Mini Critique Hour hosted by @graestonewriter on Twitter.
In the movie Gore Vidal’s Lincoln, the president “runs the lines” of The Gettysburg Address with his aides, saying, “I have a short short short speech, which I will try out on the chickens, as the farmer said.”
(Marvelous, powerful movie that has haunted me all these years.)
Each week #LineByLineTime writers share lines from their WIPs. (Try it out on the chickens, as the farmer said.)
There will be a focus question during the hour, a chance to share, and a time for “best in show.”
Next Time: Titles
Wednesday, November 11th, at 9:00 PM Eastern, we share lines using onomatopoeia and/or alliteration.
I am using Betsy Byars’ Good-bye, Chicken Little, and The Cybil War for our Line-By-Line exercises. Byars wrote MG books for years, won prestigious awards, and knew her stuff. Betsy passed away on February 26, 2020.
I have mentioned before that Betsy Byars had the title, The Cybil War, for years before she wrote the book. It is a wonderful play on words and lives with some of her other great titles, The 18th Emergency and The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown.
We encourage you to share earlier versions of your title so Mini-Critiquers can see the evolution of your work. Perhaps someone will have a suggestion that turns your book into a best seller.
I hope you will join us Wednesdays for #LineByLineTime.
Feel free to make helpful suggestions about other lines the group might explore in the future.