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Craft guides

Notes that help

Good notes describe an experience and name a want. Bad notes rewrite the script out loud.

The shape of a useful note

  • Where — the page or moment, specifically.
  • What happened for you — confusion, boredom, a jolt, a lie you didn't buy.
  • Why you think it happened — a guess, offered as a guess.
  • What you wanted instead — the feeling, not the fix.

Say this, not that

  • "I lost track of what she wanted on page 12" — not "give her a clearer goal."
  • "I didn't believe he'd forgive that fast" — not "add a scene where they talk."
  • "The scene ended before I felt the cost" — not "make it longer."
  • "This landed for me" — say it out loud; writers need the map of what's working.

Room etiquette

  • The writer names what they want notes on first.
  • Writers don't defend during notes — they take them and sort later.
  • One note at a time; no piling on the same point.
  • Notes are about the pages, never about the person.
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