Articles

We include this narrative essay by a physician—published in a health care journal—because it’s a great example of the ways that narrative can enliven and enlighten discourse about complicated and…

I started a narrative group at the Akron Beacon Journal in January 2004. We meet roughly twice a month to discuss narrative techniques, how to apply them and improve the…

This piece takes on the theme of idealism; the two others in the paper’s series (of which we are aware) took on themes of optimism and fear. These latter pieces…

We admired the efficient, effective structuring of the reader’s experience, the muscular approach to an unusual narrative. And we think the writing even does Raymond Carver justice.Read “A Journey to…

This piece would be even better with clear point or “take.” We wondered: How does the author want us to think about this story? What themes could he have explored?…

This piece is built around an extraordinary character, an extraordinary setting—Gee’s Bend, Ala.—and tells an extraordinary history. Moehringer’s voice does the subject justice: The voice is at once eloquent and…

This is a finely reconstructed account of a charismatic leader who moved into a town and changed nearly everything about it. We like Lewan’s opening paragraphs: His language suggests legend…

This series got a lot of attention: The Plain Dealer’s Web traffic increased dramatically during the week of its publication, says Stuart Warner, an editor and writing coach at the…

This essay is adapted from Rick Meyer’s notes for a talk at the 2005 Nieman Narrative Editors’ Seminar. Rick’s presentation was paired with Laurie Hertzel’s talk on scenes. We probably ought…

Benham strikes the right tone in this piece—friendly and a touch ironic. The piece is punctuated by creative passages and playful quips. But there’s substance here, too: The playfulness is…