Thank you everyone for listening to my fragmented prose. I brought straggling bits and piece – fragments I have no idea what to do with (if anything), mostly because they are the essence that I hoped would reveal what I’m missing in storytelling. All of your comments helped a great deal. “That sounds like rap. I’m left with a block of solid white noise. That was so dense – but I like dense. That was more than one piece, right?” All of that helped more than you know!
My time with Julie reinforced the outline for my chapters of the pastiche type text I’m working on – and in going over that, it informed me that the underlying story can indeed appeal to a wider audience. Lisa gave me the one bright key, the thing I’ve been missing in storytelling. The one peg I need to hold onto and return to if I start getting too playful with the language and the beats. It’s the essential key that will help me drive plot, create dialogue, and action. That’s what I needed!
The results of these two meetings was exactly what I came for. Everything else was a beautiful surprise. I am used to extreme tear-ass critiques, group readings for critical analysis of one’s work. It requires thick skin and to depersonalized, so this was something quite different for me.
My biggest surprise – the exceptional quality of writing each and every one arrived with! Everyone arrived, already a writer. There was no question of that!
Thank you ALL.
Susan