In her book Story Genius, former literary agent and author Lisa Cron diagnoses a common underlying cause for why many books are beautifully written, but meandering and vague: The writers “inadvertently [fell] into the trap of treating [the narrator’s] POV as if it were a camera lens, passively recording the things that happened.”

“How much time do I need to spend describing the Holocaust—the horrendous conditions of the trains, the camps, etc…? Someone told me not to, because everyone knows it already. But also, it was 81 years ago.”

One of my favorite movie quotes is from Pulp Fiction, when John Travolta’s character is repeating to Uma Thurman a wild rumor involving her, a foot rub, and someone getting thrown out a window.

Hello from NYC, writers, where July is mushy. A New York July is humid, subject to heat waves like the one we endured over the July 4th holiday, and slower (for us), not only because of the climate, but because like 75 percent of New Yorkers are away. A New York July is humid, subject to heat waves like the one we endured over the July 4th holiday, and slower (for us), not only because of the climate, but because like 75 percent of New Yorkers are away.

Awhile back, my students and I were humming along, doing what writing classes do, when I accidentally kicked a screw loose, and the wheels came off.

When author Daniel José Older was still an aspiring novelist, writing stories in between shifts as an NYC paramedic, he hit a snag. He couldn’t make sense of his characters.

In our never-ending quest for authenticity, writers make a lot of the same mistakes — avoiding the words “I don’t know,” for example. Or writing every story like you’re a WWII radio journalist, reporting from the European front.

There are so many ways to structure a story. Freitag graph. Save the Cat. The Hero’s Journey. Inverted pyramid. Rashomon structure. Vonnegut’s Shapes of Stories. To name just a few. 

Lately, the word “identity” is getting beaten up in the news cycle again. And again, no two people seem to define it the same way. Sample the headlines and you’ll see people using “identity” to mean “resentment” or “political affiliation” (which can be a part of your identity but is not a synonym for it), or “ego.” 

Maybe you took advantage of the quiet days around the New Year to finally compose your pitch. Maybe you’ve been pitching something of yours for production or publication or recognition, and now that people are finally back from their holiday breaks, you’re ready to get it out there again. Maybe you made a resolution.