Author

"We don't carry that brand, but I think Gimbel's does."

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

If this choice for One Great Sentence seems odd, rest assured we’re not going to go all holiday sappy on you. That’s what the Hallmark holiday movie channels are for.…
When syncopation rocks a nation: "Hamilton" enthralls fifth-graders (and parents) with a rockin' story of history

When syncopation rocks a nation: “Hamilton” enthralls fifth-graders (and parents) with a rockin’ story of history

Shop class: What the hit musical teaches about the art and reach of narrative
Large writing lessons from a small space

Large writing lessons from a small space

A morning’s hasty scroll through Facebook earlier this week showed the above photo from Traci Angel, an author, teacher and freelancer based in Kansas City and a recent Storyboard contributor.…
"...readers want to feel secure in the hands of the author."

“…readers want to feel secure in the hands of the author.”

This simple statement stands as a truism for all storytellers, regardless of platform or genre. Every writer, filmmaker, photographer, illustrator, podcaster, editor and teacher of same should keep some version…
Eulogy for Paradise: A breaking news story framed as the profile and history of a town

Eulogy for Paradise: A breaking news story framed as the profile and history of a town

The Facebook post was conversational and almost light-hearted:And on Day Two of Camp Fire coverage, I spilled water all over my notebook and laptop (tips?!). Seems fitting that the only…
“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!”

“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!”

 That’s how Stan Lee introduced Spider-Man to Marvel Comics readers in 1962. The narrator pronounces these words, which so many of us have heard so many times, in the last…
Serendipity brings two men together on the football field, and in the rest of life

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

A story that garners wide acclaim, gets multiple plays across ESPN and draws tweets from Reese Witherspoon is not your everyday deadline fare. For most writers, it will never happen.…
A brother's death, written by a sister, channeling their mother's voice

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

Sometimes I push writing students to look for new ways to tell stories.Should you start with the “small” things? Is there a story in the way a character dresses? How…
"Developing a writer's voice is almost a process of unlearning, one analogous to children's painting."

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

A clear grasp of “voice” in writing has always eluded me. Not that I don’t have one. Everyone does. But I’ve never been able to define mine, and certainly can’t…
Thoughts on voice: What it is (and isn't). And how to find yours

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

Growing up in a family of Chinese immigrant mathematicians and scientists, then ditching my PhD in biology for a career in journalism makes me somewhat of a maverick. But that…