Monthly Meeting: May 2026 – Rebecca Bendheim and Marissa Macy

Author, poet, and Typewriter Rodeo member Rebecca Bendheim teamed up with author and filmmaker Marissa Macy to lead an interactive meeting. They understand the struggle many authors sometimes experience: having “too many ideas and no clue where to start.” This presentation included a host of brainstorming and plotting exercises along with helpful tips to guide writers and illustrators in discovering which ideas most excite them, what form those ideas could take, and what steps to take first in order to go from idea to finished manuscript.

Rebecca Bendheim is a poet, middle school teacher, and author of the middle grade novels WHEN YOU'RE BRAVE ENOUGH, available at BookPeople, and HOW TO TAKE A RISK, forthcoming from Viking. She holds her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and types poems on Texas NPR and around the country with Austin's Typewriter Rodeo poetry troupe.

Marissa Macy is an author, filmmaker, and improv talent based in Austin. Her debut middle-grade novel, SPELLS TO MEND BROKEN HEARTS, is set to be released by Scholastic in fall 2026. In addition, Marissa has been making DIY films since 2011, including the award-winning film BED EATER: THE MOVIE and the forthcoming feature EASY DIGGING. Marissa manages We Luv Video, a non-profit video rental store, where she recommends movies to people.

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS:

• Brainstorm and jot down your project ideas—especially any “half-baked” ideas (e.g. “historical fiction set in colonial Rhode Island” or “80 year-old twins”)

• Write down themes that interest you. (e.g. “grief” or “can people change?”)

• Start with Character—OR—Start with Plot—OR—Start with Theme

• Character Development: 

–Ask yourself what your character wants that’s obvious to them and to the reader (what do they want that’s clear for all to see?).

–Why do they want this?

–Why do they really want this?

–What from their childhood contributed to these feelings?

• Character-based Obstacles: 

–Side-Characters: e.g. who will the main character specifically clash with?

–Settings: e.g. create settings that are built to challenge the characters

–Situations: e.g. create situations that would be “their worst nightmare”

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• Plot:

–What is the inciting incident? Where does your story start?

–Explore the External, Internal and Interpersonal aspects and how they affect each other: e.g. Matilda is magic (external)—Matilda wants a family (internal)—Matilda’s relationships with her teacher and adoptive parents (interpersonal)

–What is the character’s personal journey and how does this journey fit into the plot?

–What is a potent way to unlock parts of your story?

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• Theme:

–What question is your story asking readers to grapple with?

–How does the theme intersect with plot and character?