Kelly Caldwell

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.