Jenny Lee Wright
@sylviahward
Jenny Lee Wright
@sylviahward
Characters look out a rainy window when they have been given no events to experience, when the emotional plot is over developed
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Plot fails when action happens to characters, and characters are not emotionally engaging with action
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Plot happens when what characters feel causes them to act, or when what happen to the character causes them to feel
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Readers look for evidence of the world, that the world is real - a child’s scrape, dust on the statue, the smell of the food in the kitchen
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
When short stories or novels fail, it’s because they’ve broken the rules they’ve set up for themselves
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
The problem with a gesture like eye rolling - it’s not that it is cliche, it’s that it doesn’t actually change anything, it doesn’t move the story forward, all you can do is be annoyed by it
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Characters without agency, can still have reaction and action, even if they can’t change their circumstances. They don’t have to change their life, but they can change their relationship to the story.
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Writing in third person works for characters who are unable to be observant or tell their story - e.g. children have extraordinary inner lives but are unable to articulate it through vocabulary or aren’t interested in conveying it
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025
Writing in first person is best for characters who are compelled to tell their story
notes taken during a course from Elizabeth McCracken during American Short Fiction’s MFA For All Fall 2025