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

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

Washington Post narrative writer Eli Saslow answers an essential question: "How'd he get that guy to talk to him?"
August 16, 2018
"During six Sundays, he never varied his routine, faithful as a migratory mallard, his route taking him through a neighborhood of apartments that all seemed to be dying of boredom."

“During six Sundays, he never varied his routine, faithful as a migratory mallard, his route taking him through a neighborhood of apartments that all seemed to be dying of boredom.”

Sometimes a sentence stops me for reasons I can’t entirely explain, or even defend. Often it includes a moment of description or metaphor that teases out a personal memory, or…
August 15, 2018
Immigration reporting from the inside-out: through the mouths and eyes of babes

Immigration reporting from the inside-out: through the mouths and eyes of babes

Dan Barry and a team of New York Times reporters channel the voices of children held in migrant detention camps
August 14, 2018
Letter from Sing Sing: Writing from inside

Letter from Sing Sing: Writing from inside

A convicted murderer shares what he learned about writing, and what writing taught him about himself and about the power of true stories
August 9, 2018
"I think of myself as a humble student trying to get better and just lucky to still be getting chances to do it.”

“I think of myself as a humble student trying to get better and just lucky to still be getting chances to do it.”

Why it’s so great: This isn’t a particularly elegant sentence. It may even come across as disingenuous – a popular, successful Hollywood actor who, at 65, still claims to be…
August 9, 2018
"What is beyond grief?"

“What is beyond grief?”

Why is this great?  Writers wade into the world to witness it in all its dimensions, then remake it in the hieroglyphics we know as words – marks we use…
August 1, 2018
Q&A: Greg Bishop on a quarterback, a suicide and a search for answers

Q&A: Greg Bishop on a quarterback, a suicide and a search for answers

The Sports Illustrated senior writer uses intimate reporting and intricate outlining to weave personal tragedy with societal controversy
July 31, 2018
Learning to read: The daily news as information and inspiration

Learning to read: The daily news as information and inspiration

Editor’s note: Our third Shop Class – part of our Story Craft posts – grew out of breaking news stories and blogs that offer rich lessons on how to do the…
July 27, 2018
"But the sea, too, took its toll."

“But the sea, too, took its toll.”

Why it’s great: Deadline reporting of natural disasters is a tightrope walk. Too little drama and events are reduced to factoids that don’t take hold in the readers’ mind or…
July 25, 2018
Learning to see: A landscape of ice, a blind boy's eyes, a grizzly bear and a wall stain

Learning to see: A landscape of ice, a blind boy’s eyes, a grizzly bear and a wall stain

How writers use color to develop metaphor, meaning and emotion
July 25, 2018