Pay attention to the best stories, and you’ll notice how (unlike life) they flow smoothly from start to finish, with the only interruptions provided (intentionally) to challenge the characters. Pay attention to the best nonfiction, and you’ll notice something similar: it starts by explaining the context to orient you, musters the knowledge you’ll need to understand the author’s argument, and then guides you smoothly through a logical sequence that lets you grasp the author’s argument and decide whether it persuades. In both cases, the author clearly knew where they were going, and wrote in a way that would get you to that destination efficiently.

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