ENOUGH of overwrought McKewan-y character description. I need to just launch into the story with an Ann Beattie-ish opener. She has this incredible deep awareness of every small detail of the scene, of where everyone is standing, what they're wearing, what sort of neighborhood this is, and yet she doesn't pause a second to give a single breath of backstory. It just goes. When I was on the short-story writing college schedule, this was what I always chose to imitate. There's no reason this project should be any different given its scope. Okay--assignment for Sunday. The 15 page opener--high school, Celia, no backstory, her introduction, father has no wealth, show will be picked up by ABC, Leslie & Guo swooping in on the lawn, Alan and Margaret see them from across street. End on Cynthia. Some chilling detail in the opener pops up in the end.
Make it loopy--Pynchon, Wallace, Antrim
Make it quick--Beattie, Fox, McPhee
Tell it straight--WRITE IT LIKE A NEWSPAPER STORY
This is what I keep telling myself as I keep getting more and more bogged.
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