A professor of literature and creative writing, Cokal has published tips for aspiring writers on her website, noting "Great stories give the reader an experience, a sense of events unfolding over time and coming to some kind of conclusion (or a hint that a conclusion is in the offing). In some sense, fiction is didactic, too, for in an emotionally stirring way, it shows the reader something significant about life. You may break some rules, but in general it is wise to guard a few precepts in thy memory." She says first of all to "Write something important."