Story Annotations

Spending time to report a meditation on the long tail of grief

A team from The New York Times immersed itself in Uvalde, Texas, after the "media horde" left and showed the fuller horror of a mass shooting

By Chip Scanlan • January 26, 2023

Jackie Cazares' cross stands at a memorial site for the victims killed in the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday, May 27, 2022.

A profile of a single mom trying to raise a “good man” balances transparency and privacy

Jose A. Del Real delivers a range of straightforward but sensitive stories in The Washington Post series about "Masculinity in America"

By Trevor Pyle • January 19, 2023

Strictly Q&A

How a documentary filmmaker captures “lived experience”

Omar Mullick, who made "Flight/Risk" about the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, discusses pros and cons of print vs film story work

By Kristen Chin • January 20, 2023

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Story Craft

Guidance on the lonely road of writing

By Betsy Mason, Chloe Page, Jennie Dusheck, Kat McGowan, Korrina Duffy and Starre Julia Vartan

January 17, 2023

A group of mid-career freelancers found inspiration, tools and fellow travelers in a weeklong nonfiction writing workshop

One Great Moment

“Sleep will not come for her…”

January 12, 2023

From the novel "The Marriage Portrait" by Maggie O'Farrell

From the Editor

The not-so-secret secret to winning a Pulitzer

By Jacqui Banaszynski

January 10, 2023

Keeping your eye on the prize means keeping it on the story right in front of you — nor the one done yesterday or to be done tomorrow

Story Craft

If journalism is part of the problem, can it be part of the solution?

By Lauren Kessler

January 6, 2023

It is not enough for stories to expose problems to societal problems; they should explore how people tackle those problems

Personal Essays

The real “talent” behind great writing? Passion and practice

By Dale Keiger

January 4, 2023

A writer and editor challenges the notion of born talent, and argues that superior skills are earned through a drive to learn the craft and do the work

From the Editor

Writing practice with a purpose

By Jacqui Banaszynski

January 3, 2023

A career journalist ponders the imperfect mastery that comes from daily deadline writing, with a nod to Yoda

From the Editor

Tools and inspiration at your fingertips: The 2022 editor’s favorites

By Jacqui Banaszynski

December 29, 2022

A non-exclusive list of Storyboard posts that explore the mastery of craft behind the art of nonfiction story work

From the Editor

Sex and cats: The 2022 people’s choice awards

By Jacqui Banaszynski

December 28, 2022

The Storyboard posts that drew the top 10 pageviews from you, the readers

Story Craft

Compression: It’s not just for socks

By Jacqui Banaszynski

December 22, 2022

An unauthorized Harry Potter play and beloved Disney Christmas movie shows the brilliance of selective backstory

Story Craft

Social-change journalism can make “good trouble”

By Paul A. Kramer

December 16, 2022

A Vanderbilt professor wraps up his case for seven reframes of problem-centered story work with a summary of risks and rewards

Story Craft

Making good journalistic trouble, Part VII: Seeing through other moral lenses

By Paul A. Kramer

December 15, 2022

Stories that challenge value judgments and assumptions can help readers reconsider those blamed for and stigmatized for social problems

Story Craft

Making good journalistic trouble, Part VI: Shared responsibility for social problems

By Paul A. Kramer

December 14, 2022

Stories can be framed and reported to show how everyday choices and actions can be connected to oppression and poverty