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The Storytelling Secrets of Matthew Weiner
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The Paris Review, the most intelligent website anywhere on the craft of writing, interviews Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men. Some highlights: As a boy, Weiner was not much of a reader. But he loved listening to stories: I read very slowly. I’m a good listener. If they’d had books on tape back…
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The Power of Status Details
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Simple constructions can create a dynamic, even dazzling style. Details make all the difference. When you show readers things that they would not notice on their own, and then arrange them in a pleasing way, you’ve got style. So what kinds of details make the biggest impact on readers? Tom Wolfe answers this question…
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Use the 1-2-3 Code to Give Your Writing Clarity and Power
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Years ago, I went to paradise in search of the secret of youth sports champions. A team of work-class families from an old Hawaii plantation town of Ewa Beach won the Little League World Series in 2005. They beat the top-seeded American team, an affluent band of year-round players from suburban San Diego, and…
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Writing Tips from the Pros
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From fourteen eminent men and women of letters, courtesy of the Guardian of London, come 247 rules for writing fiction. My favorites: Be prepared From Geoff Dyer, a mind game, namely, tricking yourself into a good choice: Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it’s a choice between…
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The Power of Patterns
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Man is a pattern-seeking animal. To understand anything—from brewing coffee in the morning to understanding Trevor Noah’s jokes at night—we need to see patterns. When we “get” the pattern, we can understand complexity within the pattern. The catchier we can make the pattern, the easier it is for the reader to follow along—and get…
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Halberstamitis
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David Halberstam wrote sprawling books about politics, war, sports, firefighters, mass media, show business, and everything in between. Halberstam looked for the universal in the particular and the particular. His prose sometimes reached. Sometimes he wanted to get dramatic while describing ordinary people and moments. And as he connected one observation to another —…
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Presidents and Metaphors
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President Barack Obama and the Republicans continue to wrestle over the nation’s debt and everything else under the sun — tax rates, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (and, by extension, Obamacare), education and R&D funding, the national parks and the space program, and in fact everything packed into the monstrosity known as the federal…