A monthly letter from Gotham’s dean of faculty, Kelly Caldwell (usually writing advice)
Recently, while out with a writer friend, I asked what she’d been up to lately. “Today I finally found the lede for the story I’m working on,” she said. She paused a moment. “Isn’t that the best feeling? When you find your lede?”
For those of you not familiar with “lede,” it’s a word some nonfiction writers use for a story’s beginning. And yes, when you find your story’s beginning, the true, right beginning, it’s an exhilarating moment, indeed. Continue reading “The Opening”
Last year, when I started planning my summer reading list, I decided—instead of combing the usual lists of Great Beach/Hammock/Backyard Reads—to follow the advice of author Melissa Harris-Perry, to read books recommended by people under the age of 18. Continue reading “Summer Reading Suggestions”
Last week, social media exploded when a literary journal published an essay about transgender people. Social media explodes about something every week, but in this case, it was justified.
The essay, in the Antioch Review, was crammed with opinions guaranteed (maybe even intended) to offend. (It was also chock full of mistakes and logical fallacies, so many that I can’t wait to use it as an example of mistakes to avoid in my Essay & Opinion Writing classes.) Continue reading “Outside Yourself”