LIVE! #16
2 February 2020
Agenda
- Why We're Here / Roundtable Rules
- Introduction to Literary Forensics
- Group Discussion
- Further Study
Why We're Here
We writers want to improve our craft
by reading like a writer
We learn from each other
using Literary Forensics
Roundtable Rules
Always refer back to the book
Practice active listening & serendipity
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but not every conclusion
Always refer back to the book
Reading Teaches Writing
“It’s a novel about how we tell our story, and who else might be trying to tell our story, since our story is usually entangled with somebody else’s . . . ”
- Susan Choi
“. . . I wanted the characters to be in a place that isn't a cultural capital . . .
They're always yearning for
and aspiring to go
where the bright lights are.”
- Susan Choi
What do you feel?
What in the book elicited that feeling?
Every feeling and observation is valid...
but every conclusion should be questioned
We practice serendipity
- nothing is too crazy
Always refer back to the book
What do you notice?
Trust Exercise - Stats
- Marketing: Contemporary Literary Fiction, Romance Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
- Genre: Realistic, Present Day, Arch-Plot Long-Form
- Word count: 92,492
- Print Pages: 262
- Reading Level: 8th-9th grade
- POV:
- Part 1 (Sarah): 3rd Person Omniscient
- Part 2 (Karen): 1st Person; 3rd Person Close ("Karen")
- Part 3: 3rd Person Close (Claire)
- Publish date: April 9, 2019
- Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
- Sold By: Macmillan
- Awards: 2019 National Book Award For Fiction
- Named a Best Book of 2019 by: The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Elle, Buzzfeed, Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Bustle, Refinery29, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, The Millions, TIME
- Barak Obama's 2019 Book List
