Desmond’s Drops: Respect for Your Craft, Captain Happen, and Excavating Perspective
By Desmond Hall | December 11, 2021 |
Welcome to a new edition of Desmond’s Drops!
This month, enjoy three drops about:
- Treating Writing Like a Job / Respect for Your Craft
- Finding the “Captain Happen” In Your Story
- Excavating Perspective through Backstory
Email subscribers, please click through directly to staging-writerunboxed.kinsta.cloud to view.
Look for more of Desmond’s Drops in 2022!
Have your own bit of wisdom to share? Drop it in comments.
Desmond Hall, author of YOUR CORNER DARK, was born in Jamaica, West Indies and then moved to Jamaica, Queens. His second novel, BETTER MUST COME, a fiercely evocative, action-packed YA thriller that examines that darker side of light-filled Jamaica, released in May, 2024. He’s worked as both a high school biology teacher and English teacher, counseled at-risk teens, and served as Spike Lee’s creative director at SpikeDDB. He’s also written and directed the HBO movie, A DAY IN BLACK AND WHITE, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award. He’s written and directed the theater play, STOCKHOLM, BROOKLYN, which won the audience award at the Downtown Theater Festival at the Cherry Lane Theater. He’s also served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and was a judge for the Addys, and the Downtown Urban Arts Film Festival. Named one of Variety Magazine’s 50 creatives to watch.
Love all of these, Des, but the ear-worm potential of “Captain Happen” has won the day for me! Thanks for passing along the wisdom!
Thanks Therese, Charles Baxter is amazing!
Hi Desmond, I always look forward to your drops. And yes, I need to get to the desk every day. Basically, I do, but I am often doing other writing projects that keep me away from the one I SHOULD be focussing on. Thanks, Beth Havey
I hear you, Beth!
Desmond:
Thanks for sharing Baxter’s advice on Captain Happen. It’s a good test for jettisoning characters who have no purpose in the story, or just giving a reason to characters who otherwise add nothing but who you’ve fallen in love with and just can’t bear to cut.
Totally agree!