Thread by @visyap

I saw @MillerMadeline at the Brattle Theater tonight and asked about how to do good retellings. Some parts of her reply:
🐚 follow your obsessions
🐚 dig into what’s interesting for you
🐚 DO WHAT YOU WANT
🐚 let your interpretation simmer within you, so that it’s yours

She also said “it doesn’t matter how close/far you are from the source material, as long as you’re doing what you want.” My takeaway: interpret the story the way you want to. There’s a reason certain stories are timeless. Hold true to those things, then go for *your* version.

Other notes that are too good not to share:
🌿 What do you keep getting caught on?
🌿 How do you grow up and construct yourself? [on building a character's past]
🌿 Look for the tantalizing hints
🌿 Writing = lots of casting around, trial and error. I go down every wrong path

And still more:
🌿 [on stories for children] There's something real happening in that picture. Kids want what's real
🌿 A woman's life and inner thoughts *should* be interesting. That counts as plot.
🌿 [on choosing Classics as a college major] I wanted to keep loving this work

And here are some good final bits:
🌿 [on approaching a hard part in a story, like bringing the centaur into Song of Achilles] No one has to see it
🌿 "I'm not musical, but writing is like tuning an instrument. I'm listening for something."
🌿 What do you want to grapple with?

Lastly: one major takeaway I had was the importance of knowing your central question for your story. For Song of Achilles, her q was: Who is Patroclus, why does he matter so much?

What are you digging into for that character? What fascinates/unsettles you about their tale?

Listening to her read/speak was like fireworks in my brain! Of course I have tons of classwork to prepare for tomorrow. But it’s still lovely to have the ideas bouncing around in the back of my head.

TL;DR book events are great, ty @HarvardBooks for bringing authors over!