Alyssa & Leslie critique the short story “Her” by John Rose. They discuss the use of trademarked characters, establishing setting and point of view, and rapid fire dialogue. Alyssa gives her most emotional performance yet. Sorry about that.
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“A consolation: as you perform the necessary editing, it really hurts. “I love that line, it’s such a neat bit, it’s brilliant” Brilliant isn’t actually enough—it’s got to be brilliant, and have a place there. And oddly enough, you cut it, but in a weird way, it’s still there. It’s gone but it hasn’t actually gone. It’s still there in your denser, and your richer and your better text. It’s in the texture. Books are palimpsests of your earlier drafts. So don’t be too disheartened because it’s gone, because it isn’t really. Or to give you some Confucianism: what the pruning shears remove remains on the tree in its enhanced vigour.”
Inline Critique
