Malcolm Gladwell’s Tips for Structuring a Story Like “The Ketchup Conundrum” (with Video)

A prolific staff writer for The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell’s books include The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw—all of which have enjoyed lengthy runs on the New York Times bestseller list. Gladwell’s writing style features in-depth reporting that challenge current assumptions; a well-known example of this is in his New Yorker article â€Å"The Ketchup Conundrum.† According to Malcolm, the question that should drive your writing is always: What is interesting? What do you find interesting as a writer, and what do the people around you find interesting? Just because you set out to accomplish one thing with a story doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to make that thing happen. Diversions and problems that can’t be solved frequently come up. And sometimes their interesting qualities override the original idea.