One Great Moment

“…no one feels the entry wound …”

A review of TV series becomes a study in metaphor

By Trevor Pyle • August 4, 2021

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Personal Essays

How a writer’s kaleidoscopic mind learned to still the distractions with haiku

A successful stage actor and director searched for the tools he needed to write in his own voice

By Scott Plate • July 29, 2021

Strictly Q&A

Foreign reporting: Peter Hessler on seeing China through a personal lens

The author, New Yorker writer and China veteran talks about the benefits of ‘longitudinal research’ and the imperative of international reporting

By Simina Mistreanu • July 28, 2021

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Chip Scanlan

Chip Scanlan

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Julia Shipley

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Roy Peter Clark

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Personal Essays

The role of editor as story director

By Don Nelson
July 16, 2021

All the world is, indeed, a stage — and all stories a sequenced (true) play

One Great Moment

“… and the cold came biting …”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
July 15, 2021

Peter Geye in his novel "The Lighthouse Road"

Story Craft

#6 rule of pitching: Stay focused

By Jacqui Banaszynski
July 8, 2021

A good pitch is not a scattershot, but a clearly stated central idea or question that is fresh, relevant, and a fit for the publication

Story Annotations

A profile of Ahmaud Arbery reveals the dangers of “running while Black”

By Chip Scanlan
July 6, 2021

Acclaimed author Mitchell S. Jackson won both Pulitzer and National Magazine awards for his edgy and intimate Runner's World story

Narrative News

Industry news that honors the craft and reflects the times

By Jacqui Banaszynski
July 1, 2021

A sampling of awards, events and announcements offers a chance to reprise Storyboard posts that show how the best of the work is done

From the Editor

The journalistic dangers of binary thinking

By Jacqui Banaszynski
June 30, 2021

As society evolves, journalists need subjects, sources, interviewing skills, and style guides to evolve along with it

Personal Essays

What journalists need to know when interviewing a transgender person

By Bethany Grace Howe
June 24, 2021

A transgender activist and former journalist urges reporters to move past the bathroom question and other false stereotypes

Story Annotations

A profile gives voice to a transgender teen who is denied her full identity

By Trevor Pyle
June 23, 2021

Samantha Schmidt of The Washington Post follows a girl who struggles to keep her voice and newfound happiness during COVID isolation

Story Annotations

An early portrait of gender transition with no style guides to steer by

By Madeline Bodin
June 22, 2021

Lane DeGregory's profile of Maddie, published in 2002, is a study in sourcing, immersion, empathy and tone

Strictly Q&A

How the voices of five young women from remote, coastal Maine challenge stereotypes

By Monique Brouillette
June 16, 2021

A former educational policy advisor turned questions about raising her daughter outside the city into a surprising portrait of rural America

Story Annotations

A profile of a film-score composer that soars like his music

By Trevor Pyle
June 15, 2021

Jamie Fisher's portrait of Nicholas Britell ("Succession," "The Underground Railroad") translates riffs and layers of music into text you can almost hear

Strictly Q&A

Empathy as the prime directive in writing about displaced people

By Madeline Bodin
June 11, 2021

Award-winning author Jessica Goudeau says journalists must expand their toolbox to write about the growing issues of displacement

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