Hey Story Lovers,
My point of view is skewed. I was out to dinner with my daughter, Tashi, at a place with TVs everywhere. I looked up and said, “Women’s basketball is on.”
Tashi said, “It’s just basketball. You wouldn’t say, ‘men’s basketball.’”
Ugh. Why’d I say that? Why is men’s whatever-sport the default?
On the first day of the World Cup, I saw an Instagram reel by Coach Jackie talking about how everyone is asking, “Why is the U.S. so bad a soccer?” But Jackie said, NO. The U.S. women’s soccer team won the World Cup in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019!
The U.S. is not bad at soccer. The men’s soccer team is bad, but not everyone else.
I’m so glad Coach Jackie cleared that up. But still, get this: My wife, Vicky, and I were watching a movie called Ladies First, where every day was opposite day. There was a church scene with a woman priest. I have to say first that Vicky grew up Catholic. The priest did the sign of the cross and said, “In the name of the mother, daughter, and the Holy Spirit.”
Vicky paused the movie. She stood up. She cheered.
Vicky had never heard the substitution of mother for father. She had never thought about what her priest, her congregation, her parents, or what she herself had been saying her whole life and for the thousands of years leading up to this moment in this movie that showed us how fathers, sons, and holy spirits are blessed, but not us.
Point of view matters. We’re talking about writing from different points of view at the Tips Clinic this Saturday and you’re invited. We have a special guest, Nancy Jorgensen, the author of the essay we’re going to study, published in Short Reads.
The TIPS CLINIC IS NOW FREE because I want everyone in the world to take a writing class. Why not mine?
TIPS CLINIC
SATURDAY, January 20, 2026
12 to 1:30 p.m. ET
Zoom
As always, we have two First Draft weekly writing groups where you write to a prompt (and share if you want).
Click here to join me Tuesdays 12-1 ET.
Click here to join Margery Berger on Mondays 12-1 ET.
The first session is always FREE.
In case you didn’t realize, our website, Writing Class Radio is a story school with everything you need to help improve your writing—more than 200 podcast episodes that break down great essays, tips, stories to study, classes…. Check it out. It’s there for you.
Thanks for reading and writing.
Love,
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