Story Annotations

A profile of a film-score composer that soars like his music

Jamie Fisher's portrait of Nicholas Britell ("Succession," "The Underground Railroad") translates riffs and layers of music into text you can almost hear

By Trevor Pyle • June 15, 2021

Empathy as the prime directive in writing about displaced people

Award-winning author Jessica Goudeau says journalists must expand their toolbox to write about the growing issues of displacement

By Madeline Bodin • June 11, 2021

Story Craft

Sage writing advice from the editor of Column One

Steve Padilla of the Los Angeles Times urges writers to tune up their writing with song

By Madeline Bodin • June 9, 2021

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Story Craft

Sage writing advice from the editor of Column One

By Madeline Bodin

June 9, 2021

Steve Padilla of the Los Angeles Times urges writers to tune up their writing with song

Story Craft

#5 rule of pitching: Make it sparkle

By Jacqui Banaszynski

May 28, 2021

Don't lose an interesting idea in a boring pitch

Story Craft

How narrative moments can elevate a non-narrative story

By Jacqui Banaszynski

May 11, 2021

Little gems of character, dialogue, description and scene make a complex explanatory piece more compelling

Story Craft

An award-winning food writer explores the legacy of sexual identity in the food world

By Aiman Javed

March 9, 2021

A profile of the late San Francisco chef Elka Gilmore shows the work it took to highlight her pioneering role as both chef and gay female in a male world

Story Craft

Who, How and Why? What we can learn from an interview with the Super Bowl streaker

By Jacqui Banaszynski and Lane DeGregory

February 12, 2021

Lane DeGregory of the Tampa Bay Times follows her curiosity to find the scamp who interrupted the Super Bowl

Personal Essays

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

By Jill U. Adams

February 4, 2021

A science freelancer works her way out of COVID malaise with morning writing rituals

From the Editor

Five days and five senses: Free writing as a daily practice

By Jacqui Banaszynski

February 2, 2021

Prompts to help you build stronger writing muscles every day

Personal Essays

How 66 days of shell art helped a retired journalist rediscover her writing voice

By Cathy Henkel

January 29, 2021

Retired sports editor Cathy Henkel created a daily countdown to the presidential inauguration in shells and stones, and found herself telling stories

Story Craft

#4 rule of pitching: Know what’s come before

By Jacqui Banaszynski

January 20, 2021

The lack of a simple clips search can tank your idea

Story Craft

When writing news requires a distance from neutrality to “tell it like it is”

By Roy Peter Clark

January 14, 2021

Writing guru Roy Peter Clark analyzes an "astonishing lead," and unpacks the notions of objectivity and detachment in light of current events

One Great Moment

“The mountains on the horizon …”

By Jacqui Banaszynski

December 29, 2020

Tana French in her novel "The Searcher"

Story Craft

A master of sports journalism tackles a new writing challenge: narrative on Facebook

By Greg Bowers

November 18, 2020

National Sports Media Hall of Famer Dave Kindred's posts about visits to his ailing wife, his late grandson and life during COVID hit a chord with readers