Line by Line- 9-30-2020
#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.)
During the hour, there will be a focus question, a chance to share, and a time for “best in show.”
…Nex
Next Time: Your Wisest Line
Wednesday, September 30th, at 9:00 PM Eastern, the #WritingCommunity will share lines contain wisdom. Don’t worry if you are not a sage. We don’t need to have your words carved in a monolith. Sometimes, the little things turn out to be the wisest.
I am using Betsy Byars Good-bye, Chicken Little and The Cybil War for examples of 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.
In this scene from The Cybil War, Simon and Cybil are riding bikes. Simon realizes that he should live in today, rather than the world of, “What if my father hadn’t left.”
It’s a good life lesson for all of us: Am I going to stay mired in the mud of “what if,” and “I don’t like my situation” or join the life I have.
As they turned the corner in a wide arc, Simon suddenly thought that his father was missing a lot out there in that turquoise mine. It was the first time he had felt sorry for his father rather than for himself. Because in this world, with all its troubles, even if you had to sit by Harriet Haywood in the movies in the afternoon, you could still be riding beside Cybil Ackerman in the evening.
I hope you will join us Wednesday for #LineByLineTime.
Feel free to make helpful suggestions about other lines the group might explore in the future.