Cameron Lee Cowan MA, MFA
@cameronjournal.bsky.social
Creative Director, The Cameron Journal | Cameron Lee Cowan is an author, political commentator, and observer of culture
Listen to the whole story on The Cameron Journal Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NURfpTIDck
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Listen to the whole story on The Cameron Journal Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NURfpTIDck
If you want to understand the world, you have to look at the stories that were left out.
Catch my full conversation with Cinda Galt on The Cameron Journal Podcast.
We dive deep into how fiction restores the voices history tried to mute.
Catch my full conversation with Cinda Galt on The Cameron Journal Podcast.
We dive deep into how fiction restores the voices history tried to mute.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
If you want to understand the world, you have to look at the stories that were left out.
Catch my full conversation with Cinda Galt on The Cameron Journal Podcast.
We dive deep into how fiction restores the voices history tried to mute.
Catch my full conversation with Cinda Galt on The Cameron Journal Podcast.
We dive deep into how fiction restores the voices history tried to mute.
This matters today because we are living through our own historical disruptions.
Understanding how women navigated the 19th century—or the 1970s—gives us context for now.
It helps us see the bigger picture in a sober way.
Understanding how women navigated the 19th century—or the 1970s—gives us context for now.
It helps us see the bigger picture in a sober way.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
This matters today because we are living through our own historical disruptions.
Understanding how women navigated the 19th century—or the 1970s—gives us context for now.
It helps us see the bigger picture in a sober way.
Understanding how women navigated the 19th century—or the 1970s—gives us context for now.
It helps us see the bigger picture in a sober way.
One concept stuck with me: the "Small Compass."
Many women lived constrained lives not just because of laws... but because they internalized the boundaries.
They never went past the back gate.
Breaking that internal compass is the real rebellion.
Many women lived constrained lives not just because of laws... but because they internalized the boundaries.
They never went past the back gate.
Breaking that internal compass is the real rebellion.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
One concept stuck with me: the "Small Compass."
Many women lived constrained lives not just because of laws... but because they internalized the boundaries.
They never went past the back gate.
Breaking that internal compass is the real rebellion.
Many women lived constrained lives not just because of laws... but because they internalized the boundaries.
They never went past the back gate.
Breaking that internal compass is the real rebellion.
We often think of history in national silos.
But people lived regionally.
Proximity doesn't guarantee we know our neighbor's history... or our own.
The gap between the NARRATIVE we're taught and the REALITY of the past is massive.
But people lived regionally.
Proximity doesn't guarantee we know our neighbor's history... or our own.
The gap between the NARRATIVE we're taught and the REALITY of the past is massive.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
We often think of history in national silos.
But people lived regionally.
Proximity doesn't guarantee we know our neighbor's history... or our own.
The gap between the NARRATIVE we're taught and the REALITY of the past is massive.
But people lived regionally.
Proximity doesn't guarantee we know our neighbor's history... or our own.
The gap between the NARRATIVE we're taught and the REALITY of the past is massive.
Cinda calls this research process "discovery," not documentation.
It’s about finding the "clanging moment" where two disparate facts collide.
Like realizing the Jesse James gang was active just across the border from the Louis Riel Rebellion.
It’s about finding the "clanging moment" where two disparate facts collide.
Like realizing the Jesse James gang was active just across the border from the Louis Riel Rebellion.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Cinda calls this research process "discovery," not documentation.
It’s about finding the "clanging moment" where two disparate facts collide.
Like realizing the Jesse James gang was active just across the border from the Louis Riel Rebellion.
It’s about finding the "clanging moment" where two disparate facts collide.
Like realizing the Jesse James gang was active just across the border from the Louis Riel Rebellion.
Take Isabel Gunn.
In 1806, she disguised herself as a man to work in the fur trade.
She pulled it off for 18 MONTHS.
The archives list her movements... but only a writer can reconstruct the sheer nerve it took to pull off that performance every day.
In 1806, she disguised herself as a man to work in the fur trade.
She pulled it off for 18 MONTHS.
The archives list her movements... but only a writer can reconstruct the sheer nerve it took to pull off that performance every day.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Take Isabel Gunn.
In 1806, she disguised herself as a man to work in the fur trade.
She pulled it off for 18 MONTHS.
The archives list her movements... but only a writer can reconstruct the sheer nerve it took to pull off that performance every day.
In 1806, she disguised herself as a man to work in the fur trade.
She pulled it off for 18 MONTHS.
The archives list her movements... but only a writer can reconstruct the sheer nerve it took to pull off that performance every day.
The reality is that official records are two-dimensional.
They give us dates. Places. Actions.
But they rarely capture the SMELL of a room, the fear in a decision, or the secret lives lived in the margins.
That is where the fiction writer steps in.
They give us dates. Places. Actions.
But they rarely capture the SMELL of a room, the fear in a decision, or the secret lives lived in the margins.
That is where the fiction writer steps in.
January 14, 2026 at 2:04 PM
The reality is that official records are two-dimensional.
They give us dates. Places. Actions.
But they rarely capture the SMELL of a room, the fear in a decision, or the secret lives lived in the margins.
That is where the fiction writer steps in.
They give us dates. Places. Actions.
But they rarely capture the SMELL of a room, the fear in a decision, or the secret lives lived in the margins.
That is where the fiction writer steps in.
Listen to the whole story on The Cameron Journal Podcast right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFUFTLbkKSE
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Listen to the whole story on The Cameron Journal Podcast right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFUFTLbkKSE
The lesson?
Your audience might not be in a Manhattan high-rise.
They might be the people living the reality you're writing about.
Write for them.
Your audience might not be in a Manhattan high-rise.
They might be the people living the reality you're writing about.
Write for them.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
The lesson?
Your audience might not be in a Manhattan high-rise.
They might be the people living the reality you're writing about.
Write for them.
Your audience might not be in a Manhattan high-rise.
They might be the people living the reality you're writing about.
Write for them.
Don't let the "literary" expectations of an MFA program kill your story.
If you can write something that keeps people turning pages... you have VALUE.
Even if 180 agents don't see it.
If you can write something that keeps people turning pages... you have VALUE.
Even if 180 agents don't see it.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Don't let the "literary" expectations of an MFA program kill your story.
If you can write something that keeps people turning pages... you have VALUE.
Even if 180 agents don't see it.
If you can write something that keeps people turning pages... you have VALUE.
Even if 180 agents don't see it.
There is a massive delta between "literary merit" and what people actually enjoy.
Critics want high art. Readers often just want entertainment.
John calls his book "potato chips." You just keep reaching for one more page.
Critics want high art. Readers often just want entertainment.
John calls his book "potato chips." You just keep reaching for one more page.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
There is a massive delta between "literary merit" and what people actually enjoy.
Critics want high art. Readers often just want entertainment.
John calls his book "potato chips." You just keep reaching for one more page.
Critics want high art. Readers often just want entertainment.
John calls his book "potato chips." You just keep reaching for one more page.
Traditional gatekeepers in NYC asked: "Why set a book in a flyover state?"
They didn't get it.
But the person who lived adjacent to the trauma? She got it instantly.
Proximity beat the pitch deck.
They didn't get it.
But the person who lived adjacent to the trauma? She got it instantly.
Proximity beat the pitch deck.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Traditional gatekeepers in NYC asked: "Why set a book in a flyover state?"
They didn't get it.
But the person who lived adjacent to the trauma? She got it instantly.
Proximity beat the pitch deck.
They didn't get it.
But the person who lived adjacent to the trauma? She got it instantly.
Proximity beat the pitch deck.
John was 99% ready to quit.
Then... a breakthrough.
Not because he rewrote the query. But because of GEOGRAPHIC ALIGNMENT.
His book was inspired by a mall shooting in Indiana.
His eventual publisher? Her editor was literally IN that parking lot when it happened.
Then... a breakthrough.
Not because he rewrote the query. But because of GEOGRAPHIC ALIGNMENT.
His book was inspired by a mall shooting in Indiana.
His eventual publisher? Her editor was literally IN that parking lot when it happened.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
John was 99% ready to quit.
Then... a breakthrough.
Not because he rewrote the query. But because of GEOGRAPHIC ALIGNMENT.
His book was inspired by a mall shooting in Indiana.
His eventual publisher? Her editor was literally IN that parking lot when it happened.
Then... a breakthrough.
Not because he rewrote the query. But because of GEOGRAPHIC ALIGNMENT.
His book was inspired by a mall shooting in Indiana.
His eventual publisher? Her editor was literally IN that parking lot when it happened.
He sent 180 queries.
Most went unanswered. The rest? Form rejections.
The industry is designed to filter you OUT, not let you in.
Agents are looking for reasons to say "no." Subject matter sensitivity. Market timing. Risk aversion.
Most went unanswered. The rest? Form rejections.
The industry is designed to filter you OUT, not let you in.
Agents are looking for reasons to say "no." Subject matter sensitivity. Market timing. Risk aversion.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
He sent 180 queries.
Most went unanswered. The rest? Form rejections.
The industry is designed to filter you OUT, not let you in.
Agents are looking for reasons to say "no." Subject matter sensitivity. Market timing. Risk aversion.
Most went unanswered. The rest? Form rejections.
The industry is designed to filter you OUT, not let you in.
Agents are looking for reasons to say "no." Subject matter sensitivity. Market timing. Risk aversion.
Listen to one of my favorite interviews on The Cameron Journal Podcast right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvbw4K_i1zs
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Listen to one of my favorite interviews on The Cameron Journal Podcast right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvbw4K_i1zs
If you want to understand the dual nature of creativity, look East.
Method gets you in the door. Wisdom keeps you there.
Read more about Stan Lai and cross-cultural storytelling in the latest from The Cameron Journal.
Method gets you in the door. Wisdom keeps you there.
Read more about Stan Lai and cross-cultural storytelling in the latest from The Cameron Journal.
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
If you want to understand the dual nature of creativity, look East.
Method gets you in the door. Wisdom keeps you there.
Read more about Stan Lai and cross-cultural storytelling in the latest from The Cameron Journal.
Method gets you in the door. Wisdom keeps you there.
Read more about Stan Lai and cross-cultural storytelling in the latest from The Cameron Journal.
In a world of rage-bait and hot takes, Lai's approach is a sober reminder.
True creativity isn't about shouting the loudest.
It's about having the patience to understand the silence.
True creativity isn't about shouting the loudest.
It's about having the patience to understand the silence.
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
In a world of rage-bait and hot takes, Lai's approach is a sober reminder.
True creativity isn't about shouting the loudest.
It's about having the patience to understand the silence.
True creativity isn't about shouting the loudest.
It's about having the patience to understand the silence.
This is the gap between narrative and reality I often talk about.
We want the easy narrative: The Genius. The Conflict. The Hero.
The reality is quieter.
It's about recognizing your own ignorance and letting WISDOM fill the void over decades.
We want the easy narrative: The Genius. The Conflict. The Hero.
The reality is quieter.
It's about recognizing your own ignorance and letting WISDOM fill the void over decades.
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
This is the gap between narrative and reality I often talk about.
We want the easy narrative: The Genius. The Conflict. The Hero.
The reality is quieter.
It's about recognizing your own ignorance and letting WISDOM fill the void over decades.
We want the easy narrative: The Genius. The Conflict. The Hero.
The reality is quieter.
It's about recognizing your own ignorance and letting WISDOM fill the void over decades.
Lai also destroys the myth of the "struck-by-lightning" genius.
Slow down the tape of inspiration...
It's just the mind RECOMBINING things it already knows.
If you don't feed your mind diverse experiences, you have nothing to recombine.
Slow down the tape of inspiration...
It's just the mind RECOMBINING things it already knows.
If you don't feed your mind diverse experiences, you have nothing to recombine.
January 12, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Lai also destroys the myth of the "struck-by-lightning" genius.
Slow down the tape of inspiration...
It's just the mind RECOMBINING things it already knows.
If you don't feed your mind diverse experiences, you have nothing to recombine.
Slow down the tape of inspiration...
It's just the mind RECOMBINING things it already knows.
If you don't feed your mind diverse experiences, you have nothing to recombine.