Short Takes

Don’t be a turkey: Earn your flight wings

What an impatient longform wannabe is learning from writing short

By Jacqui Banaszynski • October 17, 2018

Brendan Meyer chases the story of Thomas Gobbles, an infamous turkey who stalked the streets of Casper, Wyoming. Writing features for the Casper Star Tribune was Meyer's first job out of college. He is now a feature writer for The Dallas Morning News.

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Annotation Tuesday!

The Pitch: Can’t wait? A Marie Claire editor tries to answer pitches within 48 hours

Senior editor Kayla Webley Adler scouts for both hard-hitting and fun stories with women at the center. Helpful hint: pitch a story – not a topic

By Katia Savchuk • October 16, 2018

Story Craft

Divining the true source of stories

A failed water system in Flint, Michigan, also revealed fissures in reporting: Journalists need to reach beyond officials to the people living a story

By Madeline Bodin • October 11, 2018

Featured Contributors

Steve Oney

Katia Savchuk

Julia Shipley

Jasmine Bager

Julie Schwietert Collazo

Tom Warhover

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Featured topics

Investigative Reporting Short Narratives Tom Junod Poverty Narrative Journalism
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Annotation Tuesday!

After the fires: A surprising story of a haunted hero and the ashes of regret

By Julia Shipley
September 18, 2018

Lizzie Johnson of The San Francisco Chronicle revisits the headlines to ask about the aftermath. Not all endings are happily-ever-after.

Why's This So Good?

An alligator attack sparks a Facebook attack – and an invitation to reconsider meanness

By Tom Warhover
September 13, 2018

After a woman drowns saving her dog from an alligator, a reporter sits on a nearby bench and poses a challenge to the trolls who would shame her

One Great Sentence

“No matter how long we study them, the images are unfathomable. No matter how quickly we look away, they are unforgettable.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
September 12, 2018

Chuck Haga, Sept. 16, 2001, the Star Tribune of the Twin Cities

Annotation Tuesday!

Christopher Solomon on how he captured the controversial wolf man of Washington

By Linda Shaw
September 11, 2018

No huffing or puffing. Just research and notes. Lots and lots of notes.

One Great Sentence

“Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
September 5, 2018

Poet Mary Oliver, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award

Why's This So Good?

Rebecca Solnit’s long and winding road through the tangled tale of politics

By Jacqui Banaszynski
September 4, 2018

Shop Class: Matching sentence structure to story tone and purpose

One Great Sentence

“Do not despair of our present difficulties. We believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.”

By Don Nelson
August 29, 2018

U.S. Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, 1936-1998

Annotation Tuesday!

The Pitch (Take Two): Erika Hayasaki on the reality of landing a big freelance story

By Katia Savchuk
August 28, 2018

In the second of a two-parter, the former LA Times reporter scrutinizes the first pitch – and then the revision – that earned her a cover piece in Wired

Annotation Tuesday!

The Pitch: Erika Hayasaki on how to leave the newsroom and kill it as a freelancer

By Katia Savchuk
August 21, 2018

Journalist, professor, author, mother – How does she do it all? With passion, persistence, another paycheck and perspective: "I'm not just one story."

5 Questions

Parachute reporting in a foreign land: Getting it fast and getting it right

By Shannon Wianecki
August 23, 2018

To cover the Kilauea volcano, Simon Romero had to push past tourist brochures, myths and cliches to discover a more authentic Hawai'i

One Great Sentence

“Words. Words upon the wind. What will endure, perhaps is what I have written. If so, it is enough.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
August 22, 2018

Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Geraldine Brooks

5 Questions

Q&A: How a letter, honesty and patience won the trust of a shamed school cop

By Pat Walters
August 16, 2018

Washington Post narrative writer Eli Saslow answers an essential question: "How'd he get that guy to talk to him?"

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