"In Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, Steve Almond employs the radical empathy he displayed as co-host (with Cheryl Strayed) of the podcast Dear Sugars to explore the joys and trials of storytelling, and to explode the myths that hold us back from writing our deepest and truest work. The book includes chapters on plot, character, and chronology, but travels far beyond the earnest intentions of most craft books. It includes essays on humor, sex,...

"Narrative innovation is often thought to be the domain of the avant-garde or the experimental. However, manipulations of viewpoint and timelines and other unconventional techniques, have been part of popular American culture and storytelling since at least the 1940s. How did different forms and styles once regarded as "difficult," become mainstream and familiar to audiences? As David Bordwell demonstrates in Perplexing Plots, popular narratives have...