Great feature writing: New York Magazine and Vulture

As someone whose writing relies heavily on wit, I always look forward to Vulture's television recaps each week. 

The recaps I've followed the longest are Gossip Girl's, though the New Girl (or should I say New Schmidt) ones are a close second. New York's senior editor Jessica Pressler been recapping Gossip Girl for the last two seasons, and I enjoy reading her insightful analysis of what some might see as an insipid program.

While some of the other TV recaps on Vulture are written in essay format, Pressler writes the Gossip Girl recaps a bit differently. 

Specific quotes and actions from each episode are filed under 'real' and 'fake,' and at the end of each recap, Pressler tallies the points to see whether that episode was realistic or not realistic. Though these are, of course, tongue-in-cheek since the world of Gossip Girl is one unlike any other, the points are entertaining, to say the least.

Pressler also makes reference to earlier seasons as well as the Gossip Girl book series in her recaps, which shows that she commits to extra research and finds connections that average viewers may not notice. 

She's created a persona for each character and bases her analyses around these, and points are often awarded based on how closely each character behaves to these ideals. When a character does something that they normally wouldn't, Pressler is the first to notice and point out the discrepancy.


Aside from Gossip Girl recaps, Pressler also writes blog posts for Vulture's "Daily Intel" blog and even interviewed Penn Badgley on his involvement with the Occupy Wall Street movement, not to mention her summer 2012 cover feature on Emma Stone. Pressler's dedication to Gossip Girl and its recaps paid off with the opportunity to interview one of the stars -- this is a great inspiration for young writers to sharpen their review skills, because you never know who you may have the chance to interview.


I'd love for my writing to be even a quarter as witty and sharp as Jessica Pressler's is. Whatever Vulture deems "the greatest show of our time" is what I would love to recap -- Jessica Pressler has the perfect job.


UPDATE: While in New York this summer, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Pressler for coffee at the New York office building. She is every bit as charming and intellectual in person as her writing suggests!