Advice from the Masters: Roger Schank

Jun 4, 2014 | Better Writing

Wikipedia describes Roger Schank as an “artificial intelligence theorist, cognitive psychologist, learning scientist, educational reformer, and entrepreneur.” That’s pretty heavy stuff. He’s also a good writer.

My favorite Roger Schank book is Tell Me a Story. It’s a book about artificial intelligence and the idea that being able to tell appropriate stories is a good measure of intelligence. The book includes the following.

“Stories illustrate points better than simply stating the points themselves because, if the story is good enough, you usually don’t have to state your point at all.”

Stories are a writer’s power tool. Learn to tell them well.

Want more? Check out the complete list of Advice from the Masters posts.

Sign Up For Blog Posts Via Email