Author

Roy Peter Clark

@RoyPeterClark

Roy Peter Clark has taught writing at the Poynter Institute since 1977, coaching students of all ages, from elementary school to Pulitzer Prize-winning professionals. He is the author or editor of 21 books on writing, reading, language, grammar, rhetoric, and journalism. He is a contributing writer to the Tampa Bay Times. Poynter has named a national short writing contest in his honor.

Stories are read twice in readers' minds: Once for information, then for meaning

Stories are read twice in readers’ minds: Once for information, then for meaning

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece is published in partnership with the Poynter Institute.I have come to believe that all readers read all stories twice — all the time.The first reading comes…
March 11, 2020
The shift of "branches" in a sentence creates shifts in mood and meaning

The shift of “branches” in a sentence creates shifts in mood and meaning

Writing guru Roy Peter Clark shows how a single, long sentence reveals the power of an overlooked writing tool: the placement of the main clause
February 21, 2020
A tribute to the "beauty and power" of work by novelist Toni Morrison

A tribute to the “beauty and power” of work by novelist Toni Morrison

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was shared, with thanks and permission, by our friends at The Poynter Institute.AUTHOR’S NOTE: American author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison died August 5, 2019, at…
August 6, 2019
Not just a guilty pleasure: "Game of Thrones" holds essential writing lessons

Not just a guilty pleasure: “Game of Thrones” holds essential writing lessons

Esteemed writing teacher Roy Peter Clark shares the 12 things he learned (or re-learned) about storytelling from the epic HBO series
June 5, 2019
Roy Peter Clark on the search for the "embedded narrative"

Roy Peter Clark on the search for the “embedded narrative”

 Not long ago, I came out of a theater in Tampa, Florida, and heard someone calling my name. It was Adan Martinez, a young college student who had just performed…
May 21, 2019
Roy Peter Clark: A red-nosed reindeer lights the way to better writing

Roy Peter Clark: A red-nosed reindeer lights the way to better writing

Roy Peter ClarkEDITOR’S NOTE: In the spirit of the giving season, the Poynter Institute gave us permission to use this piece (first published by Poynter Dec. 10) in which Roy Peter Clark teaches…
December 21, 2018

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, not the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

—Ecclesiastes 9:11, King James Version
March 1, 2018

“No single gesture would do more to demonstrate continuity and stability …”

—LBJ biographer Robert A. Caro in the book “The Passage of Power.”
February 7, 2018

“Before the aurora borealis appears, the sensitive needles of compasses all over the world are restless for hours, agitating on their pins in airplanes and ships, trembling in desk drawers, in attics, in boxes on shelves.”

—Annie Dillard, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"
November 15, 2017

“The private estate was far enough away from the explosion so that its bamboos, pines, laurel, and maples were still alive …”

—John Hersey, "Hiroshima"
October 11, 2017