2020

#WritingCommunity,

You are invited to #LineByLineTime, A Mini Critique Hour hosted by @graestonewriter.

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 wrap-up question.

…

July 22, 2020: Main Character Physical Description

July 22, 9:00 PM Eastern, the #WritingCommunity will tackle a physical description. Genre plays a big part in this. Many readers don’t want too much, as they like to imagine what the character looks like.

Character description may be best done in stages and is not generally done in the first paragraph. Readers are more interested in what the character is doing, than how she/he looks.

This week, your description doesn’t have to be a line from a work, but perhaps the essence of your character’s appearance when first seen or noticed.

I am using Betsy Byars Good-bye, Chicken Little for simple examples of our Line-By-Line exercises. Byars wrote MG books for years, won prestigious awards, and knew her stuff.

In this scene, Mrs little has run to the site where her brother fell into the Monday River:

It was, Jimmie thought, a pantomime of grief. His mother wrapped her arms around her body. She swirled and clasped her hands to her head. She turned to demand something of the tall policeman, and then fell to the ground, her coat still flaring out behind her. Her bright-red coat was the only spot of color on the scene.

These lines give a vivid picture of Mrs. Little, and tells more than the color of her hair. We infer that she doesn’t have a hat on, is probably thin, not tall, and is wearing a bright-red coat that swirls and flares.

I hope you will join us Wednesday. Feel free to make helpful suggestions about other lines the group might explore in the future.

Return to This Week’s LineByLine

// //