Author

Their Eyes Are Wide Open

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…

A Journey to Water’s Edge

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…

Life and Death in the Animal ER

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?…

Crossing Over

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…

Thy Kingdom Come

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…

Andy’s Last Secret

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…

14 Tips for Building Character

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…

Mower Power to Him

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…

Up From the Holler

This is a wonderfully consistent profile, with thorough and effective characterization. Lewin provides telling details that stick to a theme, and yet the portrayal is not simplistic. Her material is…

The New Plague

Like another series by Nutt on this site, “The Seekers,” this piece is not truly narrative. But it shows how a companionable voice and a sense of destination, applied to…