One Great Sentence

“… America was postoned.”

Zachary T. Sampson of the Tampa Bay Times, with a crucial assist from colleague Jay Cridlin, in a story about coronavirus closures

By Lane DeGregory • March 27, 2020

Original members of the rock band America

What we can learn about writing and life in a graduation speech sent from a distance

A letter from Roy Peter Clark to the class of 2020 says coronavirus can remind us of "one of the greatest gifts of all: A great story"

By Jacqui Banaszynski • March 26, 2020

Annotation Tuesday!

Writing the character, contradictions and soul of a place

Dan Zak of the Washington Post toured 800 miles of Iowa in five days to explore the real place behind the political headlines and cultural cliches

By Tom Warhover • March 24, 2020

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5 Questions

Calling out Olympic officials’ past failures as coronavirus threatens the 2020 Games

By Dale Keiger

March 18, 2020

Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins is fierce in her support of striving athletes: "I make my living off their sweat."

Why's This So Good?

When a profile is also about art is also about climate change is also about grief

By Trevor Pyle

March 12, 2020

A science journalist kept looking for the right way to write about the emotion of climate change, and found it in the portrait of an Oregon artist

Annotation Tuesday!

A war correspondent and mom faces new fears in the early days of coronavirus

By Katharine Gammon

March 17, 2020

Singapore-based freelancer Megan Stack uses journaling, texts and personal experience in a New Yorker essay about our collective social anxiety

Story Craft

Stories are read twice in readers’ minds: Once for information, then for meaning

By Roy Peter Clark

March 11, 2020

Writing scholar Roy Peter Clark focuses his lens on "double vision" reading, and offers lessons for how writing can support that

Narrative News

Why storytelling can be more important — and sexier — than fishing and hunting

By Line Vaaben

March 10, 2020

A journalist and teacher draws on research that shows stories give us an evolutionary edge — and passes out bags of rice to other storytellers

From the Editor

Coronavirus is a reminder of this universal lesson: No experience is ours until it is

By Jacqui Banaszynski

March 6, 2020

When you're in the middle of a news story, you read the coverage differently

Narrative News

What journalistic process can teach both kids and scientists

By Claire Hassler

February 28, 2020

"Science Storytellers" uses reporters' notebooks as a bridge between childhood curiosity and scientific expertise

5 Questions

How the personal narrative can make the difference between prison and release

By Trevor Pyle

February 25, 2020

A veteran journalist discovers the role of story in America's prison system — and "human resilience and grace in the face of adversity"

Story Craft

The shift of “branches” in a sentence creates shifts in mood and meaning

By Roy Peter Clark

February 21, 2020

Writing guru Roy Peter Clark shows how a single, long sentence reveals the power of an overlooked writing tool: the placement of the main clause

Narrative News

A new science writing anthology offers lessons for any journalist covering a complex world

By Jacqui Banaszynski

February 20, 2020

"The Craft of Science Writing" collects more than 30 pieces from the how-to website "The Open Notebook"

One Great Sentence

“Iowa is a fairy tale.”

By Jill U. Adams

February 14, 2020

Dan Zak of the Washington Post in a story about the 2020 Iowa caucuses

Story Craft

How writers show you the love

By Jacqui Banaszynski

February 13, 2020

Shop Class: A Valentine's Day special on putting emotion into your stories