I’ve just gotten back from fall break, a nice little vacation from marking up drafts and writing critique letters (that’s all I seem to do anymore). Not that the stories weren’t good. Before the break we were workshopping three drafts per class, and I was just starting to get tired of watching all of us make the same mistakes — plot-driven rather than character-driven stories; unrealistic, unbelievable, flat characters; implausibility; etc.As the workshops have progressed, we’ve all really started getting a good grip on what makes good writing, on how to “read like writers,” as Dr. Bailey likes to say. We’re all paying closer attention to details, expecting characters to act like real people, and, I think, starting to make more insightful criticisms than before. He's probably going to assign us our second big short story sometime this week, and since we’ve all learned so much these past two months, I’m eager to read all the new drafts my classmates are going to write.
Dr. Bailey highly encouraged us to revise and rewrite over the break to save ourselves a headache during finals time at the end of the semester when our portfolios are due.
It was really great going home and doing the things I’ve really missed (seeing my family, hanging out with my friends from high school, sleeping in my own bed, eating my mom’s cooking and showering without having to wear flip-flops), and the break also gave me a chance to really sit down and work on “Broken” in a comfortable, familiar place where I could really focus. I spent a lot of the break kicked back in the big swivel chair in our basement with a cup of coffee (mostly cream and sugar) doing a rewrite and watching Alan become more alive on the page. His voice became clearer and more distinct as I filled in the gaps in the details of his life.
I’m actually really excited to have this draft workshopped or at least critiqued by Dr. Bailey because I feel like I’ve made some big improvements to it but it could still be a whole lot better. I can sense that it’s not done yet but I couldn’t exactly tell you why, so I'm eager for some feedback.
