This brilliant essay discusses the way strong endings in fiction often “hover” or don’t come to a full stop.  Note, this is a delicate truth. Writing endings that “hover” does not mean no resolution or an abrupt cutting off. The ideas being pursued must have a sense of finishing, but the ending itself may hover […]

In this short story by Ernest Hemingway, two waiters discuss the case of a regular customer who comes reguarly to their bar and prevents them from being able to go home. The dialogue opens with the conflict: the man has recently attempted suicide. Notice how the entire story unfolds from what is said between the […]

This story from the philosophical science-fiction writer Ursula K. LeGuin showcases the writer’s use of precise detail and direct address to the reader. (Notice her lines about the difficulty of describing “happy” people.) I also like how LeGuin here loudly ignores the oft-given rule: Show don’t tell. This story is very much about telling. Make […]