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Julie A. Oseid
ABSTRACT: Treat yourself to a spine-tingling Edgar Allan Poe sensation by reading about the synergy between stories of horror and legal writing. Poe defined a short-story writing technique and named four qualities-brevity, unity, focus, and brilliant style-as critical. These exact same qualities are familiar to lawyers because they are just as critical for persuasive briefs. This essay examines Poe's critique of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales, reviews some of Poe's own work, and applies Poe's advice about great short-story writing to legal writing.