How film class led to fighting wildfires which led to finding a home which led to a memoir

Sarah Berns took Outside readers smokejumping (and brothel-hopping). Now she takes us on a screenwriter's journey through narrative

By Kim Cross • December 11, 2018

Members of the U.S. Forest Service smokejumper crew from Grangeville, Idaho, 2003. Sarah Berns is on the far right in the middle row.

Braving the Drake Passage, swimming with leopard seals and interviewing a non-talker

National Geographic writer Craig Welch drafts behind visual storytellers and turns silent subjects into the compelling voices of climate change

By Cheryl Katz • December 4, 2018

“We don’t carry that brand, but I think Gimbel’s does.”

Macy's sales clerk in "Miracle on 34th Street" (the original)

By Jacqui Banaszynski • November 28, 2018

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“And a lean, silent figure slowly fades into the gathering darkness, aware at last that in this world, with great power there must also come – great responsibility!”

By Jacqui Banaszynski

November 14, 2018

Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider Man

Thoughts on voice: What it is (and isn’t). And how to find yours

By Esther Wei-Yun Landhuis

November 6, 2018

A panel of writers and editors offer tips on nurturing your authentic writing voice, and modulating it for your story and audience

Serendipity brings two men together on the football field, and in the rest of life

By JD Malone

November 13, 2018

How Sarah Spain and a team at ESPN reported the amazing true tale of a father and son who found each other without knowing who they were

A brother’s death, written by a sister, channeling their mother’s voice

By Greg Bowers

November 8, 2018

Writer Kitty Sheehan reconstructs the day of her brother's death from her mother's perspective — observed, interviewed and imagined

“Developing a writer’s voice is almost a process of unlearning, one analogous to children’s painting.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski

November 7, 2018

Susan Orlean from "Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide"

The Power of Storytelling: Daring to bear witness to society’s villains

By Cătălina Albeanu

November 2, 2018

How do you tell the story of an extremist without allowing your own judgment to cloud your reporting? How do you interview people who are racist or violent, white supremacists or members of terrorist organizations? And why do we tell the stories of the bad guys in the first… Read More

Narrative News

The Power (and challenge) of Storytelling: “Seeing more of the truth”

By Zuzanna Ziomecka

November 1, 2018

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of Polish journalist and media entrepreneur Zuzanna Ziomecka’s keynote at the 8th edition of The Power of Storytelling conference, held last month in Bucharest, Romania. The conference theme was ‘Rewrite,’ and focused on how good storytelling can change our understanding… Read More

Narrative News

Narrative in a weekend conference, and the thank-you note that followed

By Cristian Lupșa and Jacqui Banaszynski

October 31, 2018

Power of Storytelling 2018, Bucharest, Romania Below is a post offered on Facebook earlier this month as a thank you to speakers and attendees at the 8th Edition of the Power of Storytelling conference in Bucharest, Romania. The note comes from Cristian Lupsa,… Read More