Author

Jill U. Adams

@juadams

Jill U. Adams is freelance journalist and former research scientist who specializes in coverage of health, biomedical research, psychology, education and the environment. She writes a column about "everyday health" for the Washington Post. She lives in Albany, New York.

100 ways to paint (or write) the same thing

100 ways to paint (or write) the same thing

A freelance writer learns there is no one "right" way to tell a story, any more than there's one "right" way to make a painting
September 12, 2024
Jumpstart your writing routine: coffee, journals, sketches and postcards

Jumpstart your writing routine: coffee, journals, sketches and postcards

I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year. However, I did launch a new morning routine.Every morning I get up, make coffee, get the woodstove going, sit in my…
February 4, 2021
"Iowa is a fairy tale."

“Iowa is a fairy tale.”

Editor’s note: The sentence in our headline is not the One Great Sentence flagged by Storyboard contributor Jill U. Adams. It’s the opening sentence of a profile of Iowa that…
February 14, 2020
An investigative journalist tries his hand at a true crime series for middle schoolers

An investigative journalist tries his hand at a true crime series for middle schoolers

As a reporter, Bryan Denson seems to have done it all — working the police beat, writing longform narratives, teaming up on big investigative features, and producing a nonfiction book.…
July 2, 2019
High notes from the keynotes

High notes from the keynotes

EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2o19 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University was a full immersion into the craft, challenges and characters of story work. We are scrambling to mine as…
March 29, 2019
Golden nuggets from the rich river of narrative nonfiction

Golden nuggets from the rich river of narrative nonfiction

EDITOR’S NOTE: The 2o19 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University was a full immersion into the craft, challenges and characters of story work. We are scrambling to mine as…
March 28, 2019
"She stares at me, but it feels like she's looking at who I used to be, her little girl with ponytails and a snaggletooth who swore she was a Powerpuff Girl."

“She stares at me, but it feels like she’s looking at who I used to be, her little girl with ponytails and a snaggletooth who swore she was a Powerpuff Girl.”

This sentence contains everything that good narrative writing should. There’s the specific detail of the narrator, and there’s universality — the wonder we humans experience when faced with a child…
March 20, 2019
"I’m thinking longer term, in geologic time, doing just what I can each day and not putting it off because it won’t be brilliant."

“I’m thinking longer term, in geologic time, doing just what I can each day and not putting it off because it won’t be brilliant.”

When I encountered this sentence, I took it personally. I like being brilliant. I like it so much that I don’t write as much as I should. It’s uncomfortable to…
February 20, 2019