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Got it, thanks so much, Anita!

I forget where it was Denise, but Maas and Bell spoke together. The final talk was by the guy who came up with NaNoWriMo, so if yo were at that one, we crossed paths without realizing it

It's too damn quiet around here. You'd better have a good excuse, John.
http://youtu.be/wWQwx89gy-I

George opened the curtains. It was a bright sunny day without a cloud in the atmosphere. The turquoise blue sky made him think yesterday’s fiasco might have been just a dream.

Edited:
George opened the curtains. With the sun beaming from a turquoise sky, yesterday's fiasco felt like a dream.

Or:
When George opened with curtains, he squinted from the sun. Yesterday's fiasco felt like a dream.

Problems, wordiness, redundancy, boring sentence structure, pacing

James Scott Bell, Revision and Self Editing
http://www.amazon.com/Revision-Self-Edi … amp;sr=1-6

Strunk and White, Elements of Style
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fo … +and+white

Stephen King, On Writing
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fo … +and+white

Done. I deleted the last scene, which is another 500 words...

I think American Sniper is better than Imitation Game, and both are far better than Unbroken.

Of course, I'm also a Bradley fan, but that doesn't color my opinion (much).

What say you?

I know I'm right on Wilson Pickett: I googled:  'Did Wilson Pickett ever show up?'

Here's the answer', just what I remember:
Yes, but it was too late. The bar was closed, the band had broken up, and Jimmy was walking home when a limo pulled up next to him. The driver asked where the club was. When Jimmy informs him that it's closed, the driver asks "Mr Pickett" in the back seat what to do. They drive on, and Jimmy keeps walking.

Casablanca!

(A) The inciting incident
Ilsa shows up at Rick's bar, natch! Of all the gin joints, sheesh!

(B) The conflict (both external and internal) and what category they belong to (character versus society, character versus self, etc.)
Rick vs. society - he's a loner and doesn't 'stick his neck out for nobody'
Rick vs. himself - he's bitter and cynical because Isla jilted him, and sees no reason to be kind or nice because the world sucks.

(C) An explanation of the tension in a particular scene (why do we feel tension and what techniques does the author or film-maker use to create it?)

The letters of transit scene: Ilsa wants the letters of transit for her husband (Victor) and points a gun at Rick to get them. We know, before she confesses it, that she still loves Rick, we know Rick is beside himself with love for her, yet they both deny how they still feel about each other until later in the scene. Then, when they admit it, Rick says he'll give the letters to Victor and implies that Ilsa will stay behind with Rick. But then, when Isla leaves the bar and Victor shows up, Rick agrees to Vistor's request to use the letters to take Isla away himself and let Victor deal with escaping on his own.

We feel the tension because although everyone is 'fessing up to how they feel? What they say, what they do, and what they secretly plan to do are not symbiotic.

So we can see that Rick is developing a conscience and is increasingly aware that he can't be selfish and bitter by keeping Isla to himself and escaping to the U.S., when Victor is more important to the war effort. We can see that Victor is jealous of Rick while pretending to be noble. We can see that Ilsa despises herself for being more in love with Rick than with her own husband.

So the technique, I think, is to show us one thing but let the truth slip through the cracks, so the viewer knows more than the characters. We see that Isla will sacrifice anything for Victor, even if it's not morally right, while we see that Rick is still amoral, willing to give Victor the letters as long as Ilsa stays with him - except he's not going to make Ilsa be his babe. And we see that Victor, the Noble One, is willing tolet Isla escape with his rival, even though he's jealous as hell.

Hey, it's all okay in the end, because we'll always have Paris!

P.S. Apart from us knowing what the characters don't, but being in on their separate secrets, there is of course the ticking time bomb and very high stakes - Victor needs to escape quickly, the Nazi collaborators are circling, and people are willing to kill to get the letters of transit...

Re the last 1.5 minutes: Well shit.

I think the instructor has really solid writing tips.l I'm still waiting for her crotique, but I suspect she'll be very good. I'll keep you posted on it.